Once again

[Captndan]

so why patch a ball? .490 ball and .015 lubed patch wont go down the barrel. I know use a shiner patch. But if you keep the barrel clean why patch the bullet? Or why not put the lubed patch between the powder and the ball?

 

[Trot]

The patch around the ball is what seals the bore and grips the ball to the rifling. Without it the ball is just going to act like it is fired from a smoothbore. I would try to find some smaller balls or a mould to make them. I just checked, Hornady makes .480 round balls, give them a try.

 

[mooman76]

The ball needs to spin for better accuracy. Do you have a way to measure the balls? Could be they are slightly larger than .490. I have uses flannel before. Not the best material but it works with light loads and it compresses more than other material.

 

[ord sgt]

The patch holds the bare ball and fills the gaps between the lands and grooves of the firearm. The patch prevents blow by of the powder charge, thus giving better velocity. Not to be a smart azz but are you sure that you have a .50 calibre? That patch/ball combination should load easily. I use a .495 roundball and a .015 lubricated patch. My rifling is .012 deep, so it loads easily enough.
That raises the question of....are your patches lubricated in some manner? Saliva, moose milk of off the shelf patch lube or some other form of lube?
It takes some pressure to start the ball/patch into the barrel and some force to push the ball down the barrel to seat on the powder charge. A short starter is suggested to first start the ball into the barrel.

 

[Carbon 6]

so why patch a ball? .490 ball and .015 lubed patch wont go down the barrel.

First off have you verified all the dimensions ?
Are you competent at reading a micrometer or calipers ?
Are you using a ball starter ?

 

[Ames]

Who told you they were .490 anyway? Just questioning the source.

 

[Thunder14]

If you cant get a 490 ball and a .15 patch down the barrel either its not a 50cal or you aren’t starting the ball and patch with a short starter and are trying to just ram it with the ramrod.I can get a 490 and an .18 patch down any of my 50cal and with a .15 the greatest of ease.

 

[Thunder14]

Show us a picture of the ball and patch on the end of the barrel you aren’t doing something correct

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

I have a .44 flinter that was made for me back in 75 that I fired 3/4 rounds thru at 75yds. and when it got too hard to load I shot 2 rounds without any patching and got almost the same accuracy, maybe 2-3" more spread.
Give it a try sometime, you might be surprised!

 

[Grenadier1758]

I've done that with my smoothbore fowling gun. The first few rounds are patched and after that I use a bare ball.

 

[GANGGREEN]

I don't really know about such things and maybe I'm completely wrong, but aside from the gas seal, the patch holding the lands/grooves for spin/accuracy, etc. it seems to me that shooting a lead ball without a patch is also likely to lead to some lead fouling in the barrel. If so, I'd rather not have to deal with any extra cleanup to make the gun ready for the next go around.

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

I've done that with my smoothbore fowling gun. The first few rounds are patched and after that I use a bare ball.

That is going to be my next gun, a fowler, lucky you!

 

[Grenadier1758]

I will admit, with my rifled firearms, I run a damp patch down the barrel so the patch and ball can work together.

 

[Tanglefoot]

I have a flintlock pistol that was "supposed to be" a .58 caliber, and the barrel is so marked. I had a horrible time loading that scudder with patched .570 round balls when I first got it, using the same .015-,017 patch material I used in my rifle. Had to rest the butt on the ground and hammer the loading rod down with a chunk of stove wood during one match. Finally I pulled the barrel and then the breech plug and miked it. Should have done that first instead of taking the word of whoever marked that dang barrel. It was a .560 bore, not a .580 ! I had been forcing an oversized round ball plus .030" of patching down it. Granted, it shot very accurately, perhaps because I was in effect swaging the bullet into the rifling. SO, my guess is that if you cannot seat your .490" round ball plus patching in that bore, either the bore is considerably less than .500 or the ball is bigger than you believe. Measure `em. My father often said, "Trust .... but verify. "

 

[Kansas Jake]

Captndan, is this your first muzzleloader? Not being a smart a++ here, just seeking information. On most of my 50 caliber muzzleloaders a patched ball can't be started down the barrel by simply pushing it in with the ramrod. I have to give the patched ball a good thump with a ball starter or in some cases I've used a little brass hammer. A thinner patch as you observed will start easier. Also the type an amount of patch lube will effect how easy the ball starts.

The second part as most note is the patch helps seal the ball and impart spin on the ball when the gun is fired. The patch also to some extent helps clean firing from any previous shot. Many people also swab the bore between shots with a damp patch before reloading the next round. A .490 ball should start in most 50 caliber barrels, but most will require a short starter with a .015 patch.

 

[Flinty Scot]

There can be a variation in the bore sizes from different gun companies, yet all marked a "standard" size. If you's is slightly tighter, you may need to try a slightly different size ball.

I can load a .490 ball in my .50 rifle, but it's snug enough to get very hard to load after a couple of shots, if I don't swab the bore between shots. Fine by me at the range because it's very accurate that way. Hunting or on a woods walk at a rendezvous, swabbing is awkward and slows me down, so I tried a .480 ball. It's not quite as accurate but only enough to worry about at the range.

The .480 works fine for general use, when I want to load & fire repeatedly w/out swabbing. With a thicker patch, say. 018 instead of .015, full accuracy is back - but is difficulty loading after a couple of shots. It's a juggling act and part of getting to know your rifle.

Keep after that sweet combination; its well worth it.

 

[Tanker]

My father bought a very cheap tradition flinter years ago. It came with everything but powder for about 130.00. It is crazy accurate and a pain to load. I had the thinnest patch I could find and shooting 490 balls. With a clean barrel you would have to pound the round down. We tried different lube different ball and everything we could think of. Eventually it went to the safe and sit there. 10 plus years later I decided to try to make it work. I laped the barrel. I now can shoot 2 rounds before I have to do a good cleaning to shoot again. If all else doesn't work try lapping the barrel. One thing of note I tried different powders and surprisingly a certain brand of synthetic powder worked really well. I could shoot 6 or 7 rounds with out cleaning. All loads were as easy as the first. (I was given 2 cans of the old clear shot)

 

[TNGhost]

so why patch a ball?

Because it works.

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

I've done that with my smoothbore fowling gun. The first few rounds are patched and after that I use a bare ball.

I see that your in a reencatme

I will admit, with my rifled firearms, I run a damp patch down the barrel so the patch and ball can work together.

Don't admit anything....he he! Just kidding!

 

[hanshi]

True, it might not be a .50 after all. A .490" ball will usually roll pretty freely down the bore of a .50 cal. If yours doesn't then it may not be a .50. A smooth bore, short starter and a good lube ought to make loading a correct ball quite easy. Polishing the bore using a piece of Scotch Bright pad might help as well.