Recovered Patches - Whats Going On Here

[jonboyb]

Decided to carry my new flint .62 this deer season so working up a load. I only have .610s and thickest patch I have right now is .018 ticking. Rice round bottom rifled barrel. 80-90 grains 2F Swiss seems like sweet spot punching a ragged hole all morning at 30-35 yards so accuracy not an issue.

However, of the patches I recovered some look great but some look to be physically ripped. Think I just have a sharp edge somewhere on this new barrel? I feel like I need a thicker patch with the .610s too as it loads really easy with a light tap of starter with palm of my hand. If I ever come across .615s or a mold I'm definitely jumping on it. Tried Wonderlube, Dawn/water, and spit patch....gun doesn't care. Super clean burn up to 90 grains....could load all day I think.

Anybody see anything from the few recovered patches to look into? Tall grass made patch hunting difficult, but the 2 ripped patches confuse me. Not burn by....looks like physical tear.

 

[mooman76]

If you are shooting that good, I wouldn't really worry about it. I'm thinking maybe cut on the crown when loading, but that is just an educated guess.

 

[Ben Meyer]

I agree. If youre gun is as accurate as you think it(and you) can be, i wouldnt fret about patch condition. I had a similar post earlier this year, and this was the consensus conclusion.

As for the patch ripping, what you could have is a burr somewhere in the bore. A few passes with a wad of fine steel wool could possibly remedy this.

 

[jonboyb]

Certainly no complaints with the accuracy. Unfortunately I cant shoot any farther than about 35 yards without going to the range. I can however complain about putting a thin brass front blade on this hunting rifle....I greatly overestimated my eyes

 

[rafterob]

Since not all patches show a tear I would concur that this is happening at the muzzle.

 

[jonboyb]

Just realized I had a strip of .020 Teflon in the bottom of my box for my chunk gun. Certainly not shooting Teflon hunting but would have been a great test.

 

[Nutnfancy]

Mike Beliveau Duelist1954) has a video called 'Polishing A Bore' I think, that tell how to smooth the rough rifling in a muzzleloader. My .54 cal. T/C Renegade was a little rough when I first got it and I used his technique, it cured mine. Wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

 

[mooman76]

Feel your crown and see if it has a sharp edge. A RB with some super fine sand paper can smooth it if needed. Or eventually it will probably smooth on it's own. Put a little white (or color of your choice) paint of fingernail polish on that sight to help see it.

 

[Bassdog1]

Im not sure but I would use a slightly larger patch in the pic it appears the patch barely covers the edge of the ball

 

[ADK Bigfoot]

+1 on the patch size. Easier to load, hold a little more lube, and give a better seal.

ADK Bigfoot

 

[Walkingeagle]

Your bore is fine. How old are your patches? Are they pre-lubed? I expect the answer is “yes, prelubed and had them a few years”.
This is your issue, but not really an issue if accuracy is as reported.
Btw, reason bore is fine is that not all patches tear. Be careful of fixing a problem that doesn’t exist.
Walk

 

[appalichian hunter]

Try patching from a strip of .618 pillow ticking as shown in the pictures, pre lube the strip and cut the patch at the muzzle after seating the ball just past the bore, as others have stated looks like too small a patch for the cal. your shooting. A .62 cal. gun takes a fairly large patch.

 

[Okie Hog]

Center left and bottom left patches are OK. Center right patch ripped for some reason. Bottom right patch was off center and blew out.

i had small problems with my .58 caliber with round bottom rifling. Made the patches larger and the problem went away.

 

[Art Caputo]

I also agree with other posts that you need to increase your patch size.

 

[toot]

I think that you should be happy with them, at least the center is still intact with out a hole blown in it. no sign of excessive burning on them. as for a burr, I wouldn't know?

 

[Mark Herman]

IMHO your patch size may be a bit shy but you are not getting blow by and burning your patches, I would lean toward checking the crown.

 

[jonboyb]

Was attempting to minimize accessories in the deer stand so precut patches....not prelubes though. Cutting at the muzzle 30 feet up the tree if a reload is needed, hard pass 1.5" based on research here....1 3/8" and even 1 1/4" both discussed as adequate in previous threads. Maybe this round bottom rifling just needs more patch. Going to buy a yard of 10 oz denim for testing. My .40 round bottom likes heavy lubed patches so I was testing this bottle of Wonderlube 1000 Plus I've had on the shelf for years.

 

[jonboyb]

And again.....accuracy is great already 20-30 shots in so not making any "hard" changes. But the .610/.018 combo on this barrel is the easiest loading ML I own so just feels too easy. For hunting maybe I've hit the jackpot though since I really dont even need to carry a short starter with this combo.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Jonboyb, I expect the opinions already expressed are correct ... your patches are a mite too small and that may be contributing to the tearing you see. Also correct that you've probably got a burr or a rough spot at the barrel crown. That said, if you still want a larger round ball mold, try the "Howdah Hunter Mold" from Dixie Gun Works. It's made for the double-barrel Howdah Pistol but it is a 0.615 RB mold that will work for any 20-gauge (.620") barrel. It's listed at $65 in my 2020 edition of the DGW catalog.

 

[jonboyb]

Thanks for that....havent been able to find a .615 beyond the old Lymans or Tanner ☹ Went ahead and cut a patch from muzzle from old cotton sheet....maybe. 012 thick and netted around 1.65" patch when ball flush at muzzle....not sure how people using 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" successfully. Guess the moral is don't believe everything you read.