Can those with more experience than me read my patches and give me your opinion? Thank you, Jim
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What does this tell you?
- Thread starter Jim K
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cositrike
40 Cal.
Looks to me like the patch material might be a bit too loose weave
Too thin of a patch, rough barrel or crown. New gun, likely machining burrs. Used gun, could be rough from improper cleaning. Tell us about what you are shooting.
It’s a T/C Cherokee in .32 caliber. These are .015 pillow ticking with 35 gns of 2f goex .310 balls. I do believe I need to smooth the crown as sometimes there is cut patching after I use the short starter.
Do you have to hammer the ball in using .310 and .015 patches? I have two 32 cal rifles. Both use a .310 and a .010 patch. I find that with my 32s a thick tight patch combo isn’t necessary for good accuracy. The same doesn’t seem to work in larger caliber rifles. Anything over an .010 patch in mine is almost impossible to load.
To me it just looks like the fraying is the patch that goes beyond the ball which happens, especially with heavy loads. Are your patches allot bigger than they need to be? How are your groups? How much powder are you using?
I use 12-15 grains of 3F Swiss in my 32s. Accurate and easy on patches. Deadly on squirrels.
My opinion is too much powder. 20 grains, up or down 10 should be plenty. 35 grains seems like a lot. If you're sticking with that charge, more lube....
I’m still learning this stuff. I’ve been playing around with different things. Mostly I like .315 balls with .010 patches and 20 grr of powder. I read where some guys use 30-35 go of powder. I thought I would try it. It actually shot pretty good with that much powder. We got snow this week and I picked up my patches and didn’t like what I saw. That’s why I asked. I am going to crown my barrel though. I need to get the right sand cloth.
It’s pretty hard to get started, but once I get past the short starter it isn’t bad. That’s pretty interesting your thoughts on small bores and bigger bores.
The one on the left doesn't look too bad. The one on the right looks like it might have been cut at the muzzle when it was loaded.
As long as the patch isn't torn or burned thru where the ball meets the bore, the patch did it's job. The frayed material ahead of the contact area is normal. It is what happens to cloth when it is hit by a blast of supersonic air as it leaves the muzzle.
As long as the patch isn't torn or burned thru where the ball meets the bore, the patch did it's job. The frayed material ahead of the contact area is normal. It is what happens to cloth when it is hit by a blast of supersonic air as it leaves the muzzle.
You short starter isn’t so big that is jamming the patch against the crown is it?
Original TC manual calls for a .315 ball .
is that a possibility? It fits in the barrel fine. I never thought of that!
I’d have never thought of that. I learn so much on this forum.
Sure it is. Especially if it has that stupid little flared bell mouth on it. It may fit the barrel without a patch in the way but add a patch and it’s jamming it between the crown and short starter and damaging the patch.
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I think we always automatically blame the crown or barrel for blown patches when half the time it’s probably the starter. Especially if it snaps when you wack it you probably just cut the patch. I just showed my .32 short starter with a .32 ball. It’s a short piece of 5/16 dowel with the end tapered to completely clear a patch. The big end is a 1” piece of dowel. There is a little cup in the end from a 5/16 ball nose end mill to keep it centered.
I have been using 1-1/2 buckshot (Super Buck Lead #1-1/2 (8 lb/jar) .310-ballisticproducts.com), technically 310” diameter, though it seems to run a few thousands oversize, in multiple 32 caliber guns with good success.
To do a quick crowning check . Straighten out a 2 1/2" paper clip. Put about 1/8 " of the wire in a vise and hammer it down at a right angle. To check for a burr at the crown , insert the wire hook and slowly drag the hook back out of the bore over each land and groove. If there is a burr there you might be able to find it easily. Crowning a gun barrel isn't too hard to do. Something like the ball end of a ball/peen hammer and some valve grinding compound , plus a small amount of elbow grease will git 'er done..........oldwood
What does it actually measure? The container says .330 and the ad says .310. Big difference there. I cast my own with a LEE DC mold.
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