How tight a patch?

[CWC]

My flint .54 GPR was delivered yesterday. I gave it a good cleaning and took it out today. This is my first time shooting a muzzle loader, so I'm not sure if the amount of pressure required to load was right or not. I was expeccting to be able to push the ball into the barrel with a whole lot of pressure from my thumb, and then drive it down with a few steady strokes of the rod. However, I couldn't even budge the ball with my thumb, and had to beat it into the barrel by hammering it with a screw driver handle. I then was unable to easily push the ball down. I had to put a whole lot of my body weight into the rod as I pushed it down. So, my big question is how much pressure it should take? Also, I was shooting .530 Speer RB's with spit patched .015 pre-cut pillow ticking over 80 gr FFFg. Thanks for any input.

 

[k.jacobfrost]

I am just going off of info that I have picked up from this forum, so I may vary well be wrong.

But I will give it a go anyway, the more knowledgeable can feel free to correct me of any mistakes I will probably make. :bow:

Just using some simple math it would seem that with a .530 ball and .015 patch you end up trying to push something measuring .56 into a hole measuring .54 I would think using a .530 ball you might want to consider using a .010 patch which I think would give you a total size of .55 or a .005 patch (I don't even know if they come that small) which would give you .54 exactly.

This is just my understanding, I would suggest you wait until some more knowledgeable people speak up.

Frost

 

[CWC]

Thanks for the reply. Is the cotton drill cloth that I've read about thinner than ticking?

Also, let me clarify one thing about my original post. This wasn't a fouled barrel issue. It was this difficult to load on every shot. Even the first shot out of the rifle, and the shots right after I cleaned.

 

[Wes/Tex]

I suppose the quickest fix would be pre-lubing the patching with some sort of lube. A lubed patch will compress a bit better than spit patching. You still want the ball/patch combo to be a bit hard to load. A loose combo, while easier to load, will probably be more prone to burning through the patching. You would probably make life easier with a short-starter, PC or no. If you look around, you may be able to come up with some .013" Irish linen material or give .010" ticking a try. Good luck.

 

[renovato]

You might try some Hoppe's patch lube and solvent to see if it helps.

It sounds like your combination is a bit too tight though. You might try a smaller ball, or .010 patches. Thinner patches blow easier though, so if you have access to a small ball it might be worth a try.

 

[roundball]

My flint .54 GPR was delivered yesterday. I gave it a good cleaning and took it out today. This is my first time shooting a muzzle loader, so I'm not sure if the amount of pressure required to load was right or not. I was expeccting to be able to push the ball into the barrel with a whole lot of pressure from my thumb, and then drive it down with a few steady strokes of the rod. However, I couldn't even budge the ball with my thumb, and had to beat it into the barrel by hammering it with a screw driver handle. I then was unable to easily push the ball down. I had to put a whole lot of my body weight into the rod as I pushed it down. So, my big question is how much pressure it should take? Also, I was shooting .530 Speer RB's with spit patched .015 pre-cut pillow ticking over 80 gr FFFg. Thanks for any input.

Personally, I'd add 3 things you might consider:

1) Get a short starter...I have to use a short starter on everything I shoot..beating a lead ball with something only distorts it and makes it harder to seat;
2) Use lubed patches, they start easier, and seat easier;
3) .010" patches don't provide much protection from the fire, are prone to failure as a result, and don't hold / introduce much lube into the bore.
Either don't go thinner than a .015" patch and/or use Oxyoke wonderwads over the powder as a firewall if you're going to using .010" patches.

IMO, a short starter and .015"-.018" patches with actual lube in them should fix your problem.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Use pre llubed patches- you can lube your patches yourself at home; just do it a day or so before you go shooting- and clean the barrel between shots. If you let fouling build up, its going to be tough to seat a ball even using NL1000( Wonder lube). i do also like Black Solve, by Hoppes, or my own homemade version of moosemilk. ( Water soluable oil, liquid soap, hydrogen peroxide, and water.) I run a wet patch down after each shot, and then run a dry patch down to clean out the moisture. In hot weather, I take alchohol with me and use a patch soaked in alcohol to dry the barrel after the wet patch. These things are done when range shooting, not hunting. Since hunting seasons are pretty much during cooler weather, I don't worry about humidity. The alcohol stays home. I do clean between shots, so that the gun bore is consistently clean for each shot, the same as for the first. It also helps to keep the crud out of the barrel so you don't have concerns about rust when you remain in the field hunting, and hoping for another shot that day. With my smoothbores, I also run a lubed patch down the barrel after I have loaded the shot and overshot card, or run a PRB down the barrel. The added lube protects the bore from rust, and aids in keeping fouling to a minimum when the shot is fired. I also gain about 20 FPS in velocity with that lubed bore.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

Since you're in the experimenting stage why not try an overpowder wad of felt and use a thinner patch for your ball and some lube other than spit? I use Go-Jo white tub hand cleaner myself, there's a contigent here that swears by 'moose milk' and 'snot', others peanut oil, petroleoum jelly - ad infintium. Drill cloth is generally a little thicker than ticking, drill is actually light canvas. get that short starter.

 

[MikeChapin]

All of my rifles need a sharp slap on the short starter to get in the barrel. After that they go down easy enough. I spit patch everything except when I'm hunting.

Round ball mentioned not going below a .015 patch without a felt wad. My .53 would burn out anything below a .020 so I went down .005 on the ball and up a little on patch thickness. It has worked out well.

On that particular rifle I use 50 grains for 25 and 50 yards and 80 grains for 100 yards and hunting.

 

[Snuffy]

You need one of these right here.

Takes two palm-slaps to get that ball down far enough for the ramrod-seating. First palm-slap is when using the short brassy end attached to that ball in the photo -- the other palm-slap will be after placing the long end of this ball starter on top of the ball after the first slap.

Caution! No cheeks will turn with these two slaps..:grin:

 

[gcebulka]

My flint .54 GPR was delivered yesterday. I gave it a good cleaning and took it out today. This is my first time shooting a muzzle loader, so I'm not sure if the amount of pressure required to load was right or not. I was expeccting to be able to push the ball into the barrel with a whole lot of pressure from my thumb, and then drive it down with a few steady strokes of the rod. However, I couldn't even budge the ball with my thumb, and had to beat it into the barrel by hammering it with a screw driver handle. I then was unable to easily push the ball down. I had to put a whole lot of my body weight into the rod as I pushed it down. So, my big question is how much pressure it should take? Also, I was shooting .530 Speer RB's with spit patched .015 pre-cut pillow ticking over 80 gr FFFg. Thanks for any input.

A few things to consider....
1) Get yourself a ball starter (these are also called bullet starters, or short starters)[url] http://rmcsports.com/catalog.htm http://rmcsports.com/rmcsports_cfmfiles/product.cfm?msection=1043[/url]
2) Center the patch with the ball on top of it over the muzzle and seat it with finger/thumb pressure. Next, use the short stubby end to start the ball by placing it on top of the ball and holding it steady with one hand and giving it a sharp smack with the other.
Now, use the long end to drive the ball further down. You may have to smack it a couple of times to get it to go down.
Now, with the ram rod push it down the rest of the way using short strokes. From the sound of things, you'll have to sort of beat it down all the way.

3) Try using pre-lubed patches.

4) Use additional lube on the pre-lubed patch before loading. There are many types of lube on market and a quite a few recipes on this forum. I use "Bore Butter" and "Natural Lube 1000" (depends on what tube I grab)

5) You can lube some of you unlubed patches by getting a plate, some patches, smearing some BB or NL on the patches and then putting the plate in the microwave. I use 30 seconds at a time and keep repeating until the lube has melted into the patches. Don;t try the microwave trick with a petroleum based lube.

 

[CWC]

Thanks for all the replies. I bought some .010 patches, and my smaller RB's just showed up today from TOTW. I got 50 of the .526. I'm gonna try to go test them tomorrow.