I Need Patch Help

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

I'm barely keeping my groups in the 9 ring at 50 yards. Granted, I can't see worth manure, but I'm not liking the looks of a few patches that came from my rifle.

Patch material is .008" pillow ticking (off one of my old pillows), compressible to .0075". Load is 70gn Pyrodex FFg.

Lube moistened patch (just enough to feel it)...

Lube saturated patch (can see it standing and wets things it touches...

Same as the second pic...

I was using old T-shirt material, but was told that it was too loosely woven. However, I was getting decent accuracy and it was holding together like the number two and three patches with just spit lubed.

I think this stuff is just old and thin, and blowing apart. I know I find lots of lil' pieces in front of the rifle if they're not saturated.

The balls are supposed to cast at .490", but they mic at .492".

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Josh

 

[R.M.]

Go to a fabric store and buy some new pillow ticking, should mike out around .015"/.018". That manure you're using is rotten.

 

[saber]

yes go to a fabric store but take your mic and try some good linen in different mics and try so wonder lube if you like what you have put a over powder dry patch then your patched round ball

 

[Bill Hall]

Yep. The term we use as "pillow ticking" doesn't nesseccarily equate to what all pillow makers use. Plus, old pillows will have wear and tear and hair oil and sleep drool and (better stop there). Like RM was saying, get some new material and make sure it's a little thicker (.015"-.018"), machine wash and then throw it in the dryer. That way you can start your shooting career with some known good material, instead of some unkown mystery stuff. We'll go from there. Bill

 

[necchi]

#4 for getting some proper material,,gonna hafta spend a few bucks,,,
But that's it, just a few, start by asking for just a 1/4 yard.
It will save ya alot of powder an caps trying to find a good load with bad fabric for a patch.

It's generally not a good idea to use old clothing for shooting patch, fabrics wear in different spots from use. The edge will be thicker than the middle, so even if you do find something that works, it's not repeatable because the fabric is just a bit different a few inches over,,makes great cleaning patches :thumbsup: But not good fer shootin :grin:

 

[Josh Smith]

Thanks all.

What's all this I've been reading about TP over the powder?

Josh

 

[lonehunter]

That is to keep from getting your powder wet from your lube. dont worry about all that yet, get yours shooting, then there will be pleanty of what ifs to think about! :wink: :v

 

[D Sanders]

Lose the "T" shirt material. Go to the fabric store and buy some pillow ticking or blue denim in the .015 to .018 thousandths range and try that. Your patch lube is still OK but start there. Things will improve. After that you can experiment with your powder charge and maybe swabbing the bore between shots. :hmm:

HH 60

 

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

Thank you.

I just realized that I have some scrubs I accidentally shrank before I could wear 'em.

Guess what they're made of..? :thumbsup: Doesn't look like the local Walmart has any of that fabric. At least it's not listed online.

Thanks!

Josh

 

[necchi]

Hello, I have some scrubs I accidentally shrank before I could wear 'em.

Your barkin up the wrong tree Josh,,you need some better material if your bound and determined to make your own patches. your missing something here, your gun needs a bit thicker fabric for patch,,esp if your using 490 ball.
The local walmart isn't going to list everything in the fabric dept. If they have a fabric department they WILL have ticking or denum!
5 guys have recomended what ya need, can't help ya if'n ya won't give it a try.

 

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

These scrubs are pure cotton denim. That's how I shrank 'em.

Regardless, I do intend to go take a looksee today or tomorrow. See what they have.

Thanks!

Josh

 

[rafterob]

Lose the "T" shirt material

No,No,No, don't lose the T shirt stuff because it makes great cleaning patches. The denim scrubs may be too thick. But if it is a tight weave denim it may be worth a try.

 

[rawhide]

hey Josh I use driil cloth. stuff they use for pokets on pants. works great! I lube them with olive oil. the cloth cost me I think 6 bucks a yard. go's a loooooooong way. last I bought was last april and I still have some left... (I shoot alot 3-4 times a month) when you get it wash it in warm water and let it air dry to get the starch out. oh the stuf miced out to be .012

 

[buford87]

Can also check out stores like Joann's Michael's Hobby Lobby. Make sure materael is 100% cotton. Look for muslin, denim , drill ,pillow ticking. All in the .012 to .018 range for a start refine your search later...........watch yer top knot..........

 

[BigDogg]

I've been using store bought precut pillow ticking patches, not pre-lubed however. I lube them at the range with Track of the Wolf's Mink Oil patch grease. The patches are .018 thickness and I use a .490 roundball. These patches are a tighter fit than the .015 patches I was using previously, and my accuracy has SIGNIFICANTLY improved. I have some #40 Drill cloth I got at JoAnn Fabrics that I'm going to try too. Thicker patch =improved accuracy, at least in my case. I prewash them to get the "sizing" starch out of them.

 

[D Sanders]

Lose the "T" shirt material

No,No,No, don't lose the T shirt stuff because it makes great cleaning patches. The denim scrubs may be too thick. But if it is a tight weave denim it may be worth a try.

The "T" shirt material maybe OK to swab with but I wouldn't shoot it.

HH 60

 

[FPDoc]

Make sure the material is 100% cotton or linen, some of the new "pillow ticking" can have polyester etc. in it and that is not so good.

 

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

Got some fabric last night when I went out for caps.

It feels like a light canvas to me, so I'm hoping it's the right stuff. Unwashed it measured .018 compressible to .015; washed, it measures .020" compressible to .010".

There was another customer there. She was asking all sorts of questions about guns, and she knew sewing, and she said it was very tight weave.

They didn't have any striped stuff that measured over .008". Actually I don't remember seeing striped stuff period, just floral patterns.

No matter; I like this much better.

So, this the right stuff?

Thanks,

Josh

 

[MikeChapin]

It looks similar to stuff I use in a few of my rifles. The stuff I use runs about .025-.027. I go by feel using old Ox-Yoke stuff as a reference so don't take the thickness I spout as gosple. I very seldem go by peoples mic readings since it seems everyone squishes on the cloth differntly. As long as they do it constantly, they have a good reference point for their own stuff.

The new patching will load a little stiffer than the stuff you have been using. All my MLs take a slap on the short starter to get the ball in the barrel but they go down easily after that.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Take the Advice you have been given here. You have to stop trying to " Make do" with whatever YOU think might work. Its clear from the pictures you don't know what you are doing. Its not rocket science, but there is a method to our "Madness". :grin:

The evenly spaced holes tell us that the fabric is tearing on the front of the LANDS at the muzzle, because the fabric is Too Thin. THE SHAPE of those rectangular holes tells us what is CUTTING the patch.

The HUGE BURN hole in the center tells us the patch is NOT lubed properly, AND, the fabric is too thin. Sometimes you get the right thickness, and the right lube, but then use one of the Hot burning substitute powders, and that extra heat, in a long enough barrel will also burn a hole through the middle, where a similar charge of black powder won't.

The diameter of the patch tells us that you are trying to use too small a patch-- why? Cloth isn't that expensive.

And the dark, wide ring of carbon tells us that the patch is again too thin to fill the grooves and prevent gas blow-by.

T-shirt material always has some synthetic threads in it- to make them stay-press. Synthetic materials MELT at very low temperatures, so the fabric cannot stand up to the heat even of black powder in the barrel. When it burns, it leaves some nasty sticky residue in your barrel, that usually requires solvents and a bore brush to remove. Those are the reasons we DON'T recommend using T-shirts for patching.

I use a t-shirt as a rag to wipe down the OUTSIDE of the barrel to remove both BP residue, and fingerprints, before oiling the outside for storing. Some people use old t-shirts for cleaning patches, but not for the patch that wraps the ball. :hmm: :surrender:

Those are the direct causes of your groups being so poor at 50 yds. Hang in there. You will get it right eventually. The gun is obviously capable of giving you very good groups if you learn to "feed it" right. :v :grin: :thumbsup: