patch making--a savings?

[Otter]

It has always amazed me that folks that will bring a $1500 rifle to a shoot will complain about the cost of accoutrements necessary to shoot it or the cost of entry.

That said . . . I cut my own for all my calibers and I cast my own round balls, as well. I also make, or have made, most of all my shooting accoutrements and rendezvous gear. For me it's, as you said, the satisfaction of making your own, not just the cost savings, although that is nice. Just as far as patching goes, I use cast off bed sheets (assuming they are of the proper material and thickness) that I get for "free" and I can cut them at the muzzle with little time invested in pre-cutting. Cleaning patches I cut from cast off flannel nightgowns my bride has no more use for. They get cut with a rotary wheel cutter in a few minutes for several years worth.

I save money where I can AND I'm helping to save the world by recycling unwanted cloth . . . But, I have NO problem with folks who buy ready made stuff if they want to.

 

[nodakhorseman]

I must say, you've all done a fine job selling me on the benefits of making your own!!!

I'm a penny pincher by nature, so making my own will suit me just fine.

So--if I went to Wal-Mart, how would I know what to buy? I'm currently using store bought .018" pre-lubed pillow ticking.

 

[BrownBear]

Just go to the fabric section and get the blue striped or red striped all-cotton pillow ticking. There's some all-red fabric right there with it that looks the same thickness, but mikes bigger once you get it home. Depending on whether I'm using my mike or my bud is using his, it runs somewhere between .020 and .023. A'course, we don't agree on how thick the striped ticking actually is either!!

 

[roundball]

Back in the early 90's it quickly became obvious that store-bought balls and pre-cut patches cost a lot if I shot a lot.

What I discovered was, as EBay was just cranking up there always seemed to be somebody who had a small garage home business that was folding up and I'd stumble across 15-20 bags of 100 TC precut/prelubed pillow ticking patches at low prices, which I'd then get even lower by making a volume purchase deal, and buy them all for $2-3 bucks a bag delivered price....015", .018, .022".
One buy was excellent for 3000 Oxyoke .020" prelubed patches at $2.50/bag delivered.

I did several times and built up a supply of several thousand patches in various sizes and calibers. I keep them sealed in ziploc bags in normal household temperatures and the ones that are 10-20 years old work just a perfectly as brand new ones. Just bought 1000 x .015" x .54cal prelubed cotton patches under the Traditions label (but are Oxyoke) a couple months ago for $25.00 delivered.

I eliminated ball centering problems by using at least one caliber size larger patches for a given caliber like a .50cal for a .40, .58cal for a .54, etc.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

I must say, you've all done a fine job selling me on the benefits of making your own!!!

I'm a penny pincher by nature, so making my own will suit me just fine.

So--if I went to Wal-Mart, how would I know what to buy? I'm currently using store bought .018" pre-lubed pillow ticking.

While lots of material will vary, I have found the red-striped pillow ticking @ W-M to be around 0.018-0.020" before washing, fluffing 'some' after washing, but measuring +/- high teens after lubing. I think it might be a good choice for you!

 

[laufer]

+ 1hr of labor/ enjoyment= $25 to 35 (depending on the experience.) (if outsourcing to china or panama = $1.5 to $2.5/ hr.)

Hmmph. I guess if that fits the question at hand, I better sell my guns and buy beef instead. I figure my venison costs me around $1,000 a pound if I factor in all the range time and hunting time that goes into it each year. :bull:

:yakyak:
sure, you can buy your own beef and stay home, i would rather go to the range with bought patches than stay at home and make patches. :hatsoff:

 

[Dave K]

With a rotary cutter, even I have no idea how many patches I can make while watching an hour of TV. Of course I also make all my cleaning patches as well. Maybe 2 times a year making shooting patches, will give me many years supply on some calibers. But the cleaning patches are very important as well. Even for my non-muzzleloader guns. I may actually make more cleaning patches than shooting patches. Have to do something while in front of the TV.

 

[laufer]

With a rotary cutter, even I have no idea how many patches I can make while watching an hour of TV. Of course I also make all my cleaning patches as well. Maybe 2 times a year making shooting patches, will give me many years supply on some calibers. But the cleaning patches are very important as well. Even for my non-muzzleloader guns. I may actually make more cleaning patches than shooting patches. Have to do something while in front of the TV.

and i thought only the ladies are multitaskers! i can only do one thing at the time, and with no tools for all the patch work, no interest in time in front of the tv, i just prefer to buy them in large quantities on sale, and use them on the range. seal them well in a plastic bag with a few drops of olive oil, they have lasted me for 3-4 years before use. i had never, ever had to throw one away, and if you buy them this year on sale for 2/100, three years from now they are very, very cheap. just my 2c!

 

[BrownBear]

I'm not about to pass up cheap prelubes when I find them, cuzz I'm not the only shooter in the house. My wife hates cutting and lubing her own, much less cutting at the muzzle. Same for our daughter when she gets around to shooting muzzleloaders. I don't particularly care for prelubing, so factory prelubes are a great way to keep the little ladies happy.

It's not a religious conformity issue with me. Everyone should shoot what they want, and keep their noses out of their neighbors' shooting bags.

 

[laufer]

...

It's not a religious conformity issue with me. Everyone should shoot what they want, and keep their noses out of their neighbors' shooting bags.

sure, or even better, you can keep your nose in your neighbour's bag, just don't try to convince them that you know what they need and how they should use it! :wink: i personalaly do not have time for all that, for the guys who make their own patches and lubes, i thank you all for the education, who knows, i may need it someday, but until that tday i would rather be on the range or in the woods, than in front of the tv cooking lube and making patches. over an out!

 

[Dave K]

Must be cabin fever setting in. I read where some people worry about the price of powder and will only shoot one brand made be "Y" company, because it is cheaper and they are content with it's performance, that is fine. Then when they talk about patching, they will be sure to buy the premade stuff, which is good stuff also, but not consider the price of that. I can shoot the powder I prefer (which happens to be more expensive) and use the patches I make and my cost per shot is cheaper than store bought patches and cheaper powder. If you would like to shoot cheaper, make your own patches, pour your own lead,buy cheaper powder. Bottom line is, do what makes you happy. I guess I have too many guns that like a different patch thickness and are of different cal. as well. The question though is "Patch making....a savings?" The answer is, yes it is.