I just need someone to explain to me the need to shoot bare ball? Seems very “off” to me. Patched round balls are what we use in our rifles, they also seem to give the best results in a smoothbore.
It seems it would foul the barrel more, possibly lead the barrel as well.
Maybe I’m missing something,,,,,, please help me understand.
By accident I found a reference to patching a ball in a smoothbore from 1847 Canada. The writer did not claim to have invented this but speaks of it as a known thing. We can infer that patching a round ball in a smoothbore predates 1847
Just a thought experiment
At the battle of New Orleans the ‘Kentucky Rifles’ had in fact lost many of their rifles. These men knew the advantage of patched ball, did any shoot it?
Another thought experiment. By the time of the revolution American gun makers made some smooth rifles or rifle mounted fusils. The makers made guns for patched round ball use. And most of the buyers bought guns used a patched ball. A smoothbore can let you shoot shot or ball, knowing rifles were loaded with patch did any of these smoothbore unrifled shooters run a patch ball down the bore?
Third experiment.
To load a gun with a wad one would often put down the wad, run down a ball and then another wad. Three rammings per shot. During the revolution and beyond did smooth shooter see a patched ball rammed once and think ‘thars a good idea?”
Answer to all is yes maybe
We know frontiersman who had shot rifles sometimes would be forced to use a smoothbore. Having learned to patch a ball it just make sense that they did
However just makes sense ain’t proof. As far as we can document they loaded smoothbores with bare ball until 1847.
Even if they did patch balls before that, maybe before the revolution, and I think they did, to get the best historic experience a bare ball may be your best shot at it. Pun intended
