How to load muzzleloading pistol

[brudford]

Have been shooting cap and ball for years to load, powder,
wander wad round ball and seat.Want to get into single shot
percussion pistols,how do you load ? do I use pillow ticking ? what is it and where to buy ? lube both sides of
patch or just one side / Or lube ball ? what thickness of
patch / will old cotton tee's work or material need to be
more firm ? what kind of lube ans I make my own ? Should the patch be the same diameter as the ball and barrel or
little oversized ? Thanks

 

[bob1961]

just load it like ya would yer rifle....the same but with smaller loads of powder....and with a pistol stand to make it easier...........bob

 

[Zonie]

bo: I moved your post because we now have a great Pistol Section and there are some great pistol shooters here.

The following is my opnion concerning your questions.

"Want to get into single shot
percussion pistols,how do you load ?

As bob (I mean white buffalo) said, they load just a rifle: powder and patched round ball.

do I use pillow ticking ? what is it and where to buy ?
You can use store bought patches or make you own from some strong cotton cloth. Pillow ticking is a fairly heavy cotton material that can take the abuse of being shot down a gunbarrel. Most folks buy it at WalMart. It's the stuff with blue and white stripes (or red and white).
If you do buy pillow ticking, you should be aware of the fact that it's rather thick (.018) While this is good for rifles, it is a bit thick (IMO) for pistols.

(Do I ) lube both sides of patch or just one side / Or lube ball ?

You can use Crisco or one of the special products like "Bore Butter" or make you own using Stumpkillers formula for Moose Milk (or snot). If you plan to shoot the gun within a minute or so of loading, you can use just spit.
Whatever you use, the patch should have a fair amount of it on the outside. Applying lube to the ball won't do the job.

what thickness of patch?
This will depend on the gun. The ball should be smaller than the bore so for a .45 caliber use a .440 diameter ball. For a .50 caliber use a .490 dia ball.
The patch thickness should be between .010 and .018.
As I mentioned, pillow ticking is about .018 thick and many folks find it hard to load in a pistol because it is difficult to hold on to the pistol while your starting the ball. For this reason, I suggest trying the .010-.015 thick material, and I lean towards the .010 thick stuff.

will old cotton tee's work or material need to be
more firm ?
An old cotton tee shirt might work, and because it's thin it may load fairly easily. Because it was designed to be nice and soft next to your skin, I suspect it won't be strong enough to work as a good patch but, go ahead and try it if you want to. Just make sure it is pure Cotton.

what kind of lube ans I make my own ?
You can check out the following links:

MAKING YOUR OWN PATCH LUBE
LUBE WARS, THE SUMMARY


Should the patch be the same diameter as the ball and barrel or a little oversized ?
Some folks put the patch material over the muzzle, place the ball on it and use a short starter to start the ball into the bore. Then they cut off the stuff sticking out of the barrel.

Most folks use pre cut patches. These can be round or square. For a .45 they should be about 1 inch in diameter. For a .50 they should be about 1 1/4 diameter. This is not real critical. The main thing is the place where the ball will be touching the bore must be covered with the patch.

Happy Shooting

 

[50 cal gal]

This was very informative. Thanks for sharing the wisdom. :thanks:

 

[Zonie]

Any time. :front:

You will find that muzzleloaders are more than happy to help anyone who's interested.

 

[crockett]

Just a couple of more thoughts. You want to experiment with different combinations. One advantage of buying a quality patch is you know the thickness. Sometimes a tighter fitting ball(thicker patch) is more accurate.
You also need to make a stand to position your pistol as it is loaded. This differs from a cap and ball revolver.

 

[gordy]

I've tried the tee shirt patches,and as You said,they are too thin and soft to do the job.Most burn-out even with light loads.