any one have any references as to when the patch started being used on balls and if this was a rifle only thing or of it carried over to smoothbores or started with smoothbores and carried over to rifles after rifling was developed, most references suggest wadding was used with civy smoothbores, just looking to see if there is any evidence patches were used with smoothbores, also this would be early stuff likely 17th cebt and earlier that it all came to be.
Patched ball
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You might check with Stophel, I think it was him who had a thread over on the ALR website on patches. If memory serves he believed it was developed in the states, not Europe.
Hello from Germany,
for Germany I know that PRB were used already in the 15th century when rifled barrels started to get common for hunting and target shooting. The artillery used it much earlier to prevent the bullets from rolling out of the barrel.
Regards
Kirrmeister
for Germany I know that PRB were used already in the 15th century when rifled barrels started to get common for hunting and target shooting. The artillery used it much earlier to prevent the bullets from rolling out of the barrel.
Regards
Kirrmeister
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Kirrmeister said:
That may be Kirrmeister, but I'd bet they didn't get their patch material from WalMart. :hmm: :wink:
I imagine, and I cannot prove this, that even with a matchlock some method of wadding was needed to keep the ball in the bore. Some genius probably discovered that placing the wad of grass over the muzzle and then pressing the ball into it gave better results than just stuffing a wad of grass on top. As mold makers and bore tolerences improved it came down to a cloth patch.
We also have paper cartridges that make a paper patch around the ball - those go back (I think) to the late 1600's. I'll have to dig around and see if I can come up with references.
We also have paper cartridges that make a paper patch around the ball - those go back (I think) to the late 1600's. I'll have to dig around and see if I can come up with references.
