Patch and ball or paper cartridge, which one os more accurate

[Gamechaser]

I have been doing some shooting with my 72 caliber smoothbore and have noticed that shooting the Civil War Style paper wrapped ball with powder charge is more accurate than a patch and ball, or patch ball and over powder card. Don't know if this has been asked before but have any of you messed with this combination before.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Typically I find it faster to ‘tune’ a patched load, but have gotten remarkable results from paper cartridge loads, yes.

 

[tenngun]

Lots of smooth shooters get outstanding results from near bore size ball

 

[Ballshooter]

I tried some paper cartridges in my Kibler smoothbore at 60 yards it will shoot well enough for hunting.

 

[Stantheman86]

I shoot my .69 Smoothbores like they're supposed to be used, with paper cartridges.

 

[smoothshooter]

With smoothbores, there are so many variables there is no pat answer to that question.
For best results, it’s all about trial and error.
With paper cartridges, little things like type of paper, thickness of paper, how many wraps, powder granulation and quantity, etc.
Sometimes they make rifles look good because of the rifle’s relative relative simplicity. The worst rifle loads will shoot better than really good smoothbore loads.
I’m sure this fact was not lost on many of our ancestors unless they planned on shooting a lot of shot for some reason.

 

[Gamechaser]

I tried some paper cartridges in my Kibler smoothbore at 60 yards it will shoot well enough for hunting.

Do you shoot round or mini? The only thing I have right now is round

 

[Brokennock]

Neither is "more accurate."


I have a gun that likes either, depending on powder charge. Also depending on patch thickness and ball size. The gun does not like tightly patched loads. It likes a loading with the ball sandwiched between wads even better though.

Smoothbores are all about load development (and maybe a little magic sprinkled with luck) with a willingness and ability to throw out the conventional wisdom of rifle loads.
I agree with @Flint62Smoothie that a patched load should be the easiest to tune,,, but,,,, bear in mind what I said above about being willing to throw out rifle load conventional wisdom.
The biggest problem I would see with tuning a paper cartridge roundball load is consistency of bore conditions. A lubed patch, or a combination of lubed wad, with a tight fitting card in the mix somewhere,,, should keep bore conditions fairly consistent. I'm not sure a paper cartridge can do this. I would think (and very well could be wrong) that the fouling conditions of the bore will change a lot from shot to shot,,, mostly just getting worse,,, affecting the fit of your cartridge.

 

[Gamechaser]

Neither is "more accurate."


I have a gun that likes either, depending on powder charge. Also depending on patch thickness and ball size. The gun does not like tightly patched loads. It likes a loading with the ball sandwiched between wads even better though.

Smoothbores are all about load development (and maybe a little magic sprinkled with luck) with a willingness and ability to throw out the conventional wisdom of rifle loads.
I agree with @Flint62Smoothie that a patched load should be the easiest to tune,,, but,,,, bear in mind what I said above about being willing to throw out rifle load conventional wisdom.
The biggest problem I would see with tuning a paper cartridge roundball load is consistency of bore conditions. A lubed patch, or a combination of lubed wad, with a tight fitting card in the mix somewhere,,, should keep bore conditions fairly consistent. I'm not sure a paper cartridge can do this. I would think (and very well could be wrong) that the fouling conditions of the bore will change a lot from shot to shot,,, mostly just getting worse,,, affecting the fit of your cartridge.

I agree

 

[hanshi]

I've never tried paper cartridges in my smoothbore but get excellent accuracy with prb. I load prb with a relatively thin patch and the load is not tight. The "bare ball" isn't quite as good or consistent but gives accuracy that works well for hunting. Here's a comparison of the prb and bare ball at 50 yards.
Bare ball target on the left and prb on the right.

 

[centershot]

From what I've read on this forum, many seem to cast the thought of consistent bore condition to the wind. I'm speaking of those who claim to be able to shoot multiple rounds with no thought of wiping the bore. My experience has borne out what Dutch Schoulz told me many years back; "A consistent bore condition is necessary for yyour gun to deliver best accuracy." How you achieve that, is up to you and your gun to decide.

 

[bud in pa]

The best I ever did, as far as the number of shots with a paper cartridge was 15 before any resistance was felt in loading. I was getting 3 to 4 inch groups. I used 575 ball and paper from an art pad with 70 grains of 3f Goex and Lehigh Valley lube. Range was 50 yards measured from my bench.

 

[Stantheman86]

I've also just dropped a loose ball down the pipe and used newspaper wadding on top

Same accuracy as a paper cartridge

 

[Gamechaser]

Just sounds backassward,putting ball down then wadding,but if it works! Id like to try all combinations in this gun to see what it likes

 

[Kev308]

I have found that my smoothbore- 62 cal fowler likes both prb and paper loads. The catch is it will only shoot the paper well if I use a particular paper for the cartridge. I have a small roll of masking paper the painter used in the shop. They both shoot a very close impact on paper.

 

[Daryl Crawford]

Just sounds backassward,putting ball down then wadding,but if it works! Id like to try all combinations in this gun to see what it likes

It does, but if shooting bare ball, the paper wad on top stops the ball (which is smaller than the bore) from falling out of the barrel.

 

[bud in pa]

I like the paper cartridge for hunting in case I need a fast follow up shot.