Patches strip width?

[Hubertus]

Hello All,

I'm new to the forum and have been reading many posts to get up to speed. I'm currently building a .32 Traditions Crockett kit and also preparing my accessories to go shooting.

So, I've made the Moose Milk and purchased blue stripe pillow ticking (two different thicknesses) at the fabric store. I washed the fabric to remove sizeing/take on the patch lube better and now I'm ready to cut or tear into strips.

My questions (finally):
1. How wide are those patch strips supposed to be for the various calibers?

2. Also, do you suggest shooting a larger ball (.315) with a thinner patch or the smaller ball (.310) with a thicker patch...or is this going to be trial and error for which shoots better in my rifle?

3. Do you suggest making wiping/cleaning patches from that same pillow ticking material?...If so, what size do I need to make those and should they be round or square? If round, are those made with wad punches to get an appreciable amount?

Thanks in advance.
Kindly,
Hubertus

 

[BrownBear]

For simplicity I cut my strips 2.5x the diameter of my largest caliber- Right now it's 58 cal. Since I'm cutting at the bore, it's no prob with the smaller stuff other than a little extra waste.

I'll use the clean patch material for a wet wipe now and then during long shoots, but for regular cleaning I have a bunch of all-cotton flannel I bought at the same time as the ticking. I cut that in strips, then crosscut it into one-size-fits-all squares using a roller cutter. A couple of yards goes a long, long ways.

 

[Cutfingers]

I'm using a beeswax formula called Moose Snot and find it to work very well. As for ball size/patch ratio I feel the smaller ball and thicker patch is what I prefer, or what my guns prefer. With my 40 cal I use a .395 round ball and a .018 pillow ticking patch. For cleaning I buy cotton flannel from Wally World and cut/tear it into strips and then cut the strips into 2"x 2" patches.Hope this helps.

(Sure wish this forum had spell check.)

 

[Claude Mathis]

(Sure wish this forum had spell check.)

I believe spell check is built into all the latest browsers.

 

[Many Klatch]

When I am out shooting I like to keep things simple. I always load from the pouch so that limits the things that I carry. I tear a strip of patching about 2 or 3 inches wide and about 12 to 18 inches long to use for shooting. If I have to wipe and that is very rare, then I use some of the patching material.

For cleaning at home I have a cleaning rod with a head sized to handle old sweat shirt material as a cleaning patch. I like the way the sweat shirt fabric gets into all the difficult corners in a rifle barrel.

As to which combination will work best in your gun, that is one of the things you will have to tell us. No two muzzleloaders will like the same patch ball powder combination. The one with the thicker patch and smaller ball will probably be easier to load.

Welcome to the forum.

Many Klatch

 

[musketman]

My questions (finally):
1. How wide are those patch strips supposed to be for the various calibers?

2. Also, do you suggest shooting a larger ball (.315) with a thinner patch or the smaller ball (.310) with a thicker patch...or is this going to be trial and error for which shoots better in my rifle?

3. Do you suggest making wiping/cleaning patches from that same pillow ticking material?...If so, what size do I need to make those and should they be round or square? If round, are those made with wad punches to get an appreciable amount?

Hello, I will answer your questions the best I can, my ways are not always the best ways, but it works for well me.

1. (First, make sure the gun is unloaded) Then what I do is lay a bulk strip of patching material across the muzzle and start a proper size round ball into the barrel with a short starter, (NOTE: Do not cut the material or push the ball down any further than flush with the muzzle), then I lift the exposed patching material, pulling the cloth taunt upwards. Then I simply draw a line around it's circumference at the muzzle's edge with a marjer or ink pen, then I pull the patching material and round ball free of the bore using the exposed material. Now all that remains to do is to unfold the material, flip it over and measure the circle you drew on it. This will give you the width of the patch needed to seal the bore, if you are making strips, simply cut your strips to a bit wider that needed to allow for frayed edges and you are ready to go.

2. Your gun will let you know what it likes, try both.

3. I found that old cotton T-Shirts work well for cleaning patches.