What patches should i uses for my ky long rifle 50cal. I never really shoot anything but powder so I'm looking to sight it in and i am wanting to know what patches i should use? I have heard of people making their own what would be good material for that thanks
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round ball patches
- Thread starter jrbaker90
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You have been a member for a while so I'm puzzled that you haven't seen some of the many-many discussions on this subject. To keep it short, the most popular material seems to be pillow ticking with a favorite lube. The moose milk, moose snot, oil/wax combos and many others will work fine but you have to test and experiment. You may need a thinner or thicker patch and your rifle may shoot better with a certain lube I haven't mentioned. Your ball size is not fixed either, you may want to try a .495. Stick around, read what others ask and answer.
Bugflipper
36 Cal.
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Pillow ticking is what most folks use. Something with a tight weave that is dense. Also the thickness plays into it. You can generally get better accuracy with thicker patches but it gets harder to load the thicker you go. A lot of folks shoot for .015 thick patches with a ball .01 under ie a .490 ball in a .50. I imagine there are literally thousands of concotions of lube that folks use. From the store bought ones like bore butter, beeswax mixed with any number of things to make it more pliable, crisco, olive oil, balistol, rendered fat, just all kinds of mixes. Some folks just use spit for lube.
Back to patch material it can just be old clothes like a shirt or pants, sheets, whatever.
Back to patch material it can just be old clothes like a shirt or pants, sheets, whatever.
steelerfan
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I just went to my local Walmart & bought some pillow ticking, got a foot & a half by 36 inches wide for 20 cents & that'll last a long time for me
Billnpatti
Cannon
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As others have said, your rifle may want something totally different from the next guy's rifle. I have found a good starting point for all rifles to be a ball that is .010 smaller than the bore diameter. For a .50 cal. rifle, I'd start with .490 balls. A great fabric for patches has, for me, been 100% cotton drill. It measures about .018 after being washed. The washing of your patch material is very important so that it will be able to absorb lube. Do not use a fabric softener when you wash it. A great lube for target shooting is plain old spit. Just take your patch and put it in your mouth until it is wet and then wipe it between your lips as you remove it from your mouth, You want it damp not dripping slobbers everywhere. For a starting load, start with the number of grains that are the same as your caliber. 50 grains for a .50 caliber rifle. Work up in 5 grain increments until you find the load that your gun wants.
One of the absolute best bits of advice I can ever give you as far as muzzleloading rifle accuracy is concerned is to slip $20 out of your sock drawer and buy this system. www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com Read it thoroughly until you understand it and then do exactly as Dutch says and you will be cutting Xs with that rifle of yours and any others that you ever buy. You will be absolutely amazed.
If you have any specific questions, just PM me and I will help you all I can.
One of the absolute best bits of advice I can ever give you as far as muzzleloading rifle accuracy is concerned is to slip $20 out of your sock drawer and buy this system. www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com Read it thoroughly until you understand it and then do exactly as Dutch says and you will be cutting Xs with that rifle of yours and any others that you ever buy. You will be absolutely amazed.
If you have any specific questions, just PM me and I will help you all I can.
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:shake: Not reccomended. :nono: Worn clothes are often synthetic blends, worn and have inconsistent thicknesses, etc. Might be ok for cleaning but not for shooting.
Billnpatti
Cannon
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"Back to patch material it can just be old clothes like a shirt or pants, sheets, whatever."
NO, no, no. Like Rifleman said, these sources of fabric give you fabric that has been unevenly worn and will yield patches of uncertain thickness. This will most certainly effect your accuracy. Use only new store bought fabrics of known thickness and keep your thickness consistent. Buy a micrometer, the ones that are shaped like a C clamp, and always measure the thickness of the fabric that you are buying to be sure that it is the same thickness as the last fabric that you bought for patches. Dutch Schoultz explains in his system the correct way to measure the thickness of fabric. In all things having to do with muzzleloading, consistency is one of the most important things in achieving accuracy. Grabbing cast off fabrics for patches for your rifle balls is not the way to go. It may be a good source for cleaning patches but not for ball patches. Remember, when it comes to muzzleloading rifles, three things to remember are consistency, consistency and consistency. :hatsoff:
NO, no, no. Like Rifleman said, these sources of fabric give you fabric that has been unevenly worn and will yield patches of uncertain thickness. This will most certainly effect your accuracy. Use only new store bought fabrics of known thickness and keep your thickness consistent. Buy a micrometer, the ones that are shaped like a C clamp, and always measure the thickness of the fabric that you are buying to be sure that it is the same thickness as the last fabric that you bought for patches. Dutch Schoultz explains in his system the correct way to measure the thickness of fabric. In all things having to do with muzzleloading, consistency is one of the most important things in achieving accuracy. Grabbing cast off fabrics for patches for your rifle balls is not the way to go. It may be a good source for cleaning patches but not for ball patches. Remember, when it comes to muzzleloading rifles, three things to remember are consistency, consistency and consistency. :hatsoff:
longcruise
70 Cal.
Get some .490 and .495 balls, some three or so of various potential all cotton patch materials from whatever source you have available. Try to get various thickness of material.
Wash it and dry it at least once before using. Even before you go to the range, you can apply the "tear test". The easier to tear the weaker the material.
Start with the thinnest and try with both ball sizes. Shoot over about 90 grains of powder. Do the same with the all the prospective patch material. Mark each patch with a laundry marker so you know what each is and what ball it was fired with. Check the fired patches to see which held together the best. Select one that held together and that you felt was reasonably easy to load.
You should arrive at a patch material that will work with any charge from 90 grains on down.
Wash it and dry it at least once before using. Even before you go to the range, you can apply the "tear test". The easier to tear the weaker the material.
Start with the thinnest and try with both ball sizes. Shoot over about 90 grains of powder. Do the same with the all the prospective patch material. Mark each patch with a laundry marker so you know what each is and what ball it was fired with. Check the fired patches to see which held together the best. Select one that held together and that you felt was reasonably easy to load.
You should arrive at a patch material that will work with any charge from 90 grains on down.
For starters you might want to buy a pack of 100 in .010 , .015 and .018 thickness. Trying .490 and .495 balls might pay off as well. Of course you have 2F and 3F powder and standard caps as well as magnum! It will take several trips to the range to sort it all as far as the very best combination goes. Actually the ability to customize your load to your rifle and uses is what sets muzzle loader shooting apart from other firearms in my opinion!
Geo. T.
Geo. T.
