Patching over your powder charge …. then patching your ball

[Loyalist Dave]

I was watching Dennis Pritchard over on YouTube and he runs a dry patch down over his main powder charge then a heavily lubed patch with his round ball. Have you all tried this and have you noticed any difference?

I've not done a patch, but I have used cornmeal to form a barrier between the powder and the patched ball, as due to its fine granulation it completely fills lands and grooves in a rifle barrel. It stopped powder from burning or singing any portion of the patch, and were I using a very thin patch, might be a good idea, but it did not solve my accuracy problem

LD

 

[Howard Pippin]

I checked my patches that I had used and had a nice rifling mark around the ball area. As nice as my patches were and the excellent accuracy I was getting I didn't need an over the powder patch. If I was burning through patches I would definitely use an over the powder patch. Check your patches after you shoot! You may be wasteing time and patches by useing over the powder patches?

Some of us have a lot of time.

 

[CZMark]

Some barrels benefit from an overpowder patch, most don't.

 

[Wirehair]

I'm in the correct ball/patch combination does not require an over powder wad camp. But, I'd like to know if powder contamination is a significant concern. Can anyone offer a method to test whether powder contamination is actually affecting velocity after some period of time?

 

[Siringo]

I was watching Dennis Pritchard over on YouTube and he runs a dry patch down over his main powder charge then a heavily lubed patch with his round ball. Have you all tried this and have you noticed any difference?

I’ve done that on occasion. In a 54 caliber Colarain barrel with round bottom grooves it prevents patch burnout. Even with 20 thousands patches a 90 grain charge of swiss 2F will burn. But not 100 grains of Goex 2F. So whenever I used swiss, I used a backer patch. Anytime I had instances of patch burnout in other barrels, the backer patch solved the problem. The backer patch creates a better gas seal. Same thing can be done with wasps nest.

 

[Rebel bull]

I have a kentucky built from a kit that you have to use cream o wheat over the powder or clean after every shot not just one patch but a half dozen. use the cream o wheat and you car shoot all day at a 20-30 target shoot and never have to clean and it will still clover leaf the last 3 shots if I can still hold it

 

[LME]

Some of us have a lot of time.

Howard, you do know you and I are on the down side of the bell curve? I value what little timeI have lef t! LOL!
I do like your style! There is no need to dismount if you are having a good ride!

 

[Mike in FL]

I've used s felt bore size wad since I started many years ago. Mostly lubed wads.

 

[springfield art]

Seems to be taking something relatively simple and making it even more complicated.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I checked my patches that I had used and had a nice rifling mark around the ball area. As nice as my patches were and the excellent accuracy I was getting I didn't need an over the powder patch. If I was burning through patches I would definitely use an over the powder patch. Check your patches after you shoot! You may be wasteing time and patches by useing over the powder patches?

You are! See Rifleman1776 yesterday 10:40am
Larry