They seem to have been picky about patching. Audobon records Boone as buying the best Irish 200 thread count Irish linenVery good observation on eyesight.
I have been saying the same thing for years.
A smooth rifle had a lot going for it in the old days.
Another point to consider is a smoothbore does not require patching material.
There is no reason to believe rifle shooters had access to the variety of patching material that we do now.
What would they do if the bullet diameter out of their only bullet mold and bore dimension required cotton or linen patch material of .010” to .020” and the only cotton material to be found for 50 or 100 miles in any direction was .025” to .035” ?