period rifle loading details

[George]

I’ve collected a fair amount of info about the ways the old boys loaded their rifles, but it’s really tough to find the details, the small stuff. Yeah, they loaded their rifles with patched balls, but exactly how did they go about it? Precut patches? Pre-lubed patches? I believe these four items are the only clue’s I’ve found.

Cleator, 1791 “In Germany they sometimes charge them in the following manner: a piece of thin leather or fustian is cut of a circular shape, and so large as to cover a little more than one half of the ball; this piece is then greased on one side, and being placed over the muzzle, the ball is laid upon it, and both thrust down together;...”

Isaac Weld,1796-97 “The best of powder is chosen for the rifle barrel gun, and after a proper proportion of it is put down the barrel, the ball is enclosed in a small bit of linen rag, well greased at the outside, and then forced down with a thick ramrod. The grease and the bits of rag, which are called patches, are carried in a little box at the butt-end of the gun.”

Scloppeteria, 1808 “By the patch is understood the small piece of greased leather, &c. which is put round the ball before driving it down, ”¦. The grease which is placed on the under side, in contact with the barrel, for the purpose of diminishing the friction,”¦”

Audubon, ~1810 “”¦.below hangs a narrow strip of homespun linen”¦. He introduces the powder into the tube; springs the box of his gun, greases the “patch” over with some melted tallow, or damps it”¦.”

So, they did sometimes use precut patches which they sometimes kept in their patch boxes, and also strips tied to their pouch which they cut at the muzzle. They used grease of some type, probably animal, for lubrication, and said flat out that they put it on only one side of the patch, or described the action in such a way that shows that is what they did. At least in these examples, it was done at the time of loading, so no indication here of pre-lubed patches. Audubon’s comment about damping the patch may indicate the use of spit patch.

Always on the lookout for more bits like these, anyone have any to share, especially from 18th century?

Spence

 

[coloradoclyde]

From a bandolier full of apostles to a box full of paper cartridges....I can't believe that the muzzleloader would de-evolve over time and not use pre-cut patches..... :grin:

People love all sorts of novelties .....like cutting at the muzzle..

 

[George]

People love all sorts of novelties .....like cutting at the muzzle..

Don't blame us, that's what real men do, so we have no choice in the matter. :haha:

Spence

 

[coloradoclyde]

:rotf: I use to cheat during speed shoots and just throw the ball down the barrel, ram it and shoot without a patch..... and could still hit the target. :grin:

 

[LaBonte]

From a bandolier full of apostles to a box full of paper cartridges....I can't believe that the muzzleloader would de-evolve over time and not use pre-cut patches..... :grin:

People love all sorts of novelties .....like cutting at the muzzle..

That's why folks like Spence and myself like to depend more on actual primary resources than using "logic" and our own experiences alone to explore why our ancestors did what they did.


James Audubon described a hunter preparing to head out on a coon hunt in the early 19th Century:
"”¦ He blows through his rifle to ascertain that it is clear, examines his flint, and thrusts a feather into the touch-hole. To a leathern bag swung at his side is attached a powder-horn; his sheath-knife is there also; below hangs a narrow strip of homespun linen. He takes from his bag a bullet, pulls with his teeth the wooden stopper from his powder-horn, lays the ball in one hand, and with the other pours the powder upon it until it is just overtopped. Raising the horn to his mouth, he again closes it with the stopper, and restores it to its place. He introduces the powder into the tube; springs the box of his gun, greases the "patch" over with some melted tallow, or damps it; then places it on the honey-combed muzzle of his piece. The bullet is placed on the patch over the bore, and pressed with the handle of the knife, which now trims the edge of the linen. The elastic hickory rod, held with both hands, smoothly pushes the ball to its bed; once, twice, thrice has it rebounded. The rifle leaps as it were into the hunters arms, the feather is drawn from the touch-hole, the powder fills the pan, which is closed. “Now I’m ready,” cries the woodsman”¦.

 

[smoothshooter]

Wouldn't it make sense that when the fastest reload was not all that critical that they might cut the patches at the muzzle, but when time was more of the essence precut patches would be used; especially if a loading block was available?

 

[coloradoclyde]

Yep !! and I commend and appreciate you both for your efforts.. :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Thankee, y'all for confirming we are still doing it like they did back in 'the day'.

 

[Dewey]

James Audubon described a hunter preparing to head out on a coon hunt in the early 19th Century:
"”¦ The bullet is placed on the patch over the bore, and pressed with the handle of the knife, which now trims the edge of the linen. "

Thanks for that quote, LaBonte!

Shows that all those "patch knives" were really used to cut patches! Who would have thought it, LOL!

Also interesting that the knife handle served as a short starter of sorts.

 

[Rifleman1776]

the feather is drawn from the touch-hole, the powder fills the pan,

That part is interesting.
Musta been one honkin' big touch-hole. :shocked2: Never paid much attention to the hole size in museum guns. Will have to check out next time.

 

[Dewey]

He didn't say what SIZE feather.

I need to find some the right size for my flinters and try that!

 

[LRB]

James Audubon described a hunter preparing to head out on a coon hunt in the early 19th Century:
"”¦ The bullet is placed on the patch over the bore, and pressed with the handle of the knife, which now trims the edge of the linen. "

Thanks for that quote, LaBonte!

Shows that all those "patch knives" were really used to cut patches! Who would have thought it, LOL!

Also interesting that the knife handle served as a short starter of sorts.

Who said they used a "patch" knife? Sheath knife was mentioned, but what defines a sheath knife? I would suspect a common simple knife of a medium size used for general cutting needs rather than a single purpose knife for patch cutting.

 

[Claude Mathis]

Who said they used a "patch" knife? Sheath knife was mentioned, but what defines a sheath knife? I would suspect a common simple knife of a medium size used for general cutting needs rather than a single purpose knife for patch cutting.

I've always felt that way. I doubt that they were as gadget oriented as we are today. Some today seem to want a specialized tool for every little process. Just look at today's kitchen knife selection. They offer you a different knife for everything from bread to grapefruit.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Wouldn't it make sense that when the fastest reload was not all that critical that they might cut the patches at the muzzle, but when time was more of the essence precut patches would be used; especially if a loading block was available?

If the fastest reload was the requirement, then no patch at all would be used. Fouling would hold the ball in place long enough to get off the next shot. There's not much in the record for loading blocks, while bare ball loading is mentioned.

 

[BrownBear]

...a common simple knife of a medium size used for general cutting needs rather than a single purpose knife for patch cutting.

Speaking practically, itty bitty patch knives work fine if they're sharper than sharp. But let them dull even the slightest bit.... You'll be sawing rather than cutting simply due to that short blade.

Longer blades keep on cutting patches when less sharp, simply due to the longer stroke they allow. All of us "say" we keep our knives perfectly sharp, but I at least am not inclined to be sharpening my knives all the time.

My half a dozen or so dedicated "patch" knives are now in a drawer. They're dandies and I really enjoy using them. But as a practical matter they're range queens, with a 5" blade doing all the heavy lifting on hunts.

 

[Artificer]

Who said they used a "patch" knife? Sheath knife was mentioned, but what defines a sheath knife? I would suspect a common simple knife of a medium size used for general cutting needs rather than a single purpose knife for patch cutting.

I've always felt that way. I doubt that they were as gadget oriented as we are today. Some today seem to want a specialized tool for every little process. Just look at today's kitchen knife selection. They offer you a different knife for everything from bread to grapefruit.

“To a leathern bag swung at his side is attached a powder-horn; his sheath-knife is there also; below hangs a narrow strip of homespun linen.”

I agree with Wick and Claude. In his book The Kentucky Rifle Hunting Pouch, Madison Grant shows pictures of some 19th century Hunting Pouches with pretty good sized knives where the sheath was sewn to the back side of the pouch - close to the person's body. On some other pouches, knife sheaths are attached to the strap and they seem to be small to medium size "general purpose" knives.

Another important thing to point out is there is no mention of a Short Starter in any of these quotes, though the ball fit tight enough in the Audubon quote it was necessary to press it into place with the handle of the knife. This suggests the ball/patch fit was rather tight, but perhaps/probably not as tight as some of our modern ball/patch combinations that require short starters.

Gus

 

[George]

Another important thing to point out is there is no mention of a Short Starter in any of these quotes, though the ball fit tight enough in the Audubon quote it was necessary to press it into place with the handle of the knife. This suggests the ball/patch fit was rather tight, but perhaps/probably not as tight as some of our modern ball/patch combinations that require short starters.

The method he describes is exactly the way I load. I put the patch over the muzzle, lay the ball on it sprue up, and then holding my butcher knife by the handle in my left hand, place the side of the blade on it and give the blade a sharp smack with the heel of my right hand. That seats the ball level with the muzzle. I then use the butt of my knife handle to push the ball down about 1/8 inch below the muzzle and cut the patch. Using my ramrod with only about 1 inch sticking out like a short starter, I get the ball going down a bit, then ram using the rod in the normal way, and it goes easily. Doing it this way I can load as tight a combination as if using a short starter, and I'm talking about .600' balls and ticking patches in a 20 gauge, which takes some force.

I like tight loads because they are more accurate in my hands, so I always use them, within reason. I've done it both this way and by using a short starter, a lot, and I see no difference in accuracy.

Spence

 

[Artificer]

Spence,

Though I have never seen period documentation on your method as to how they "did it," I think that is the way they did it and did not need a short starter.

I also strongly suspect in the 18th century, that their ball size to bore size was not as precisely close as what many of us use today.

Gus

 

[smoothshooter]

True, but when in a hurry and a knife is used it is just one more thing to be replaced in it's receptacle after each cutting to prevent loss. I suppose one could hold the knife in their mouth while shooting, but having tried that myself, it would be awkward.
Human nature being what it was and is, people, whether making shingles, building a barn, digging a well, or splitting wood, use different methods at different times, based on materiels available, mood, how much time there was to prepare, time available, or whim. Any one person may use several different methods in a single day to accomplish any one task.
Sometimes I think we get too wound up on some aspects of methodology, assuming a little more uniformity than there would have been.

 

[BrownBear]

True, but when in a hurry and a knife is used it is just one more thing to be replaced in it's receptacle after each cutting to prevent loss. I suppose one could hold the knife in their mouth while shooting, but having tried that myself, it would be awkward.

I've learned to just drop mine into my bag when in a hurry. Snowshoe hare hunting can produce lots of shots, more when you don't connect with the first shot. Or the second! :wink: Sometimes if you're quick enough they'll even sit still for a third. Always time to restore the knife to its sheath after the action slows, but the heat of the moment is the heat of the moment. Especially if the hare moves a little and you have to reposition quickly for the next shot.