patch/ball related to bore size

[Dave Poss]

I know some people like a tight patched ball and some like it alittle looser...but is there a formula for compression on the patch and ball? IE...if you shoot a .45 and use 20/1000 patch with a .445 that equals .465 which means that 15/1000 is going somewhere and the rifleing isn't that deep! :: Is it just trial and error to come up with the right combo of ball size vs. patch thickness? :hmm: I know my question is "clear as mud" but out of all the people in the forum, SOMEONE has to be a mindreader and know what I mean!!! thanks

 

[Stumpkiller]

As far as I know there is no formula. As you note, as long as the patch plugs the bore it should work. Finding the one that gives the best results with YOUR rifle is trial and error. I have seen mentioned that you want a 50% compression, but I generally go with ease of loading (no pounding or banging ramrod end on tree required) vs. accuracy (something resembling a group occasionally drifts across the target paper).

Lately I have been trying to get accuracy combined with multiple shots between wiping. I've got my .54 where I'm happy with 10 shots between wipes, but my .50 is still every other. I'm using a 0.021" tic with .490 and .530" balls. That's a pretty tight seal (learn me to buy six yards of cloth at a time). I figure I'll end up going back to 0.017 or 0.018" tic in the 50, possibly 0.015". I am going to order a box of Hornady's 0.480 balls just for spit and giggles to see how they shoot. With my luck they will, and I'll never find a mould in that size.

 

[Musketeer]

I have always doubled the patch thickness figure when calculating ball/patch diameter. For example, if you are shooting a .445 ball and a .020 patch your uncompressed diameter would actually be .485. See cheap, shoddy and not-to-scale illustration ( :crackup below:

So in other words: .445+.020+.020=.485.....Is this the correct way to measure? :thumbsup:

 

[Dave Poss]

You mean the patch is supposed to fit all the way around the side of the ball?????? DUH !!! :shocking: Now you see why I try to stay clear of technical stuff. I guess I have to face the fact that my high school and college councilors were right when they told me..." running a paper route isn't REALLY such a bad career!" :cry:

 

[madstone]

You're in luck Longknife! I happen to think and type clear as mud. Thus I understood.
It is trial and error. I've tried darn near everything and erred most always! But as they say "Even a blind hog will occasionaly find an acorn". If the patch is too hard to push easily down after a handful of shots I try something thinner. The handful size depends on my incompetence!
I fear nothing more than seeing a badly wounded deer down and thrashing away as I find my reload ball is stuck!! (That's why we carry them "hawks" and longknives aint it?)

You got the math right if we only knew the real bore and groove depth/sizes. Some of "these folks" can probably calculate how much patch should be used for x-number of grooves this deep in this size bore, etc. They are a lot smarter than me though so I just had to try and fail, usually. I been shooting ML's for longer than I care to reveal. But I didn't have a forum and the old ML men were getting scarce so I tried everything wrong or stupid at least once!
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