Why patch boxes?

[Nemovir]

Why drill a hole in the stock for patches when you still have to a carry a bag for your other equipment?

 

[coloradoclyde]

Works best with greased patches.....

 

[dwr]

Yep,

I think they we're origionally just simple round
holes drilled in the butt to hold lube grease and evolved into patch boxes IMHO

 

[coloradoclyde]

Some were intended for caps, or so the story goes.

Either way it's just a convenient place to keep stuff that would otherwise be a pain to find or keep in your bag.

 

[necchi]

Because they look good. No Bull.

It's really got nothing to do with needed function, it's all about looks and aesthetic appeal.
Yes, folks back then had a taste for finer things.

 

[Cruzatte]

Because they look good. No Bull.

Yup. That's what I always thought. :grin:

 

[Gene L]

I can see where they'd have a practical use to store greased patches so the grease doesn't get on everything else in the bag. And maybe a spare flint.

A lot of them had very simple designs that didn't look fancy at all, although many did. I'm not sure how frequently one saw a Classic Age rifle with the fancy inlays in the woods during the frontier times. Like you don't see heavily engraved and chased modern shotguns in duck blinds. I think that's why we see so many of them in such good shape. Wall hangers, collector items. We see less of the blue collar muzzle loaders of that time period because they got used and abused a lot.

The Southern rifles had a tallow hole to hold tallow, which I think is ultimately helpful and more important, cheap.

I like the wood patch bock covers.

 

[Gene L]

Some were intended for caps, or so the story goes.

Either way it's just a convenient place to keep stuff that would otherwise be a pain to find or keep in your bag.

I think the TC Hawken boxes are for caps because I read it somewhere. Without an in-line capper, caps can get very unhandy to store them.

 

[George]

Back in the day they were actually used for patches, apparently. Isaac Weld, _Travels Through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, During the Years of 1795, 1796 and 1797_.

"The best of powder is chosen for the rifle barrel gun, and after a proper proportion of it is put down the barrel, the ball is enclosed in a small bit of linen rag, well greased at the outside, and then forced down with a thick ramrod. The grease and the bits of rag, which are called patches, are carried in a little box at the butt-end of the gun.

Spence

 

[tenngun]

The first were called butt traps, patch box is an American term for them. It looks like worms or extra flints and swabbing stuff was first put in them.
Tallow holes, I never understood. In warm weather it would melt and run out of the hole. In weather cool enough to keep tallow in the hole it would pick up every bit of dirt and garbage around until it was a nasty mess. Of course style speaks for something.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Back in the day they were actually used for patches, apparently. Isaac Weld, _Travels Through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, During the Years of 1795, 1796 and 1797_.

"The best of powder is chosen for the rifle barrel gun, and after a proper proportion of it is put down the barrel, the ball is enclosed in a small bit of linen rag, well greased at the outside, and then forced down with a thick ramrod. The grease and the bits of rag, which are called patches, are carried in a little box at the butt-end of the gun.

Spence

Great quote Spence.....
That also qualifies as a quote validating the use of pre-cut patches.... :grin:

 

[Many Klatch]

I put a tallow hole in one of my rifles. One winter a hungry mouse enlarged the hole. I reckon that might be a good reason for covering it with brass.

 

[Gene L]

The first were called butt traps, patch box is an American term for them. It looks like worms or extra flints and swabbing stuff was first put in them.
Tallow holes, I never understood. In warm weather it would melt and run out of the hole. In weather cool enough to keep tallow in the hole it would pick up every bit of dirt and garbage around until it was a nasty mess. Of course style speaks for something.

Curious about this, I looked up the melting point of beef tallow. It's 95-104F. That's pretty hot to be out in the woods. Sheep tallow is a bit higher.

But the grit picked up is probably a concern. A wipe with a patch not intended to be shot would remove it.

For all the problems, I guess they lived with them. Back in the day tallow holes were used, before Altoid tins, I can't think of a more convenient way to carry tallow.

 

[dwr]

I guess my Mr. Flintlocks lube would probably run out of the hole :haha:

 

[Billnpatti]

I've owned a few of the Hawken style caplock rifles and once was told that the "patch box" in the stock was intended for caps. I tried it and my experinece was that I spilled more caps than I shot trying to dig them out of the "patch box" on my rifle. I decided that no matter if someone originally thought that would be a good place to carry caps, it wasn't and isn't. There are far better ways to carry caps. But, that is just my experinece. I must add that I have big sausage-like fingers and that, no doubt, contributed to my problem in getting the caps out of the "patch boxes".

 

[Arrowstorm]

I only kind of use mine.

I keep a strip of pillowticking in there so it doesn't get all dirtied up in the bag with the rest of my possibles. I only open it up when I need a new strip after cutting patches off at the muzzle.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

No delete feature.

 

[BrownBear]

Once upon a time I questioned patch boxes too. Then I went on a hunt after loading at home. And leaving my spare patch material right there on the bench top where I laid it.

Made a bum shot on a deer and needed a quick follow up shot. Not a patch to be found as I watched the deer struggle back onto its feet and stagger off into the tangles.

Took me a while to figure out tearing off a chunk of my t-shirt, doubling that and lubing it to get the next load down the pipe. Spent another hour catching up with the deer and dispatching it

Yeah, I always inventory my bag very carefully now before starting a hunt. But I also keep a few spare patches in the patch box, even if there's other stuff in there too.

 

[coloradoclyde]

No delete feature.

Should be!

click edit....
look on the left side of the screen below my home it should say Delete post. click it.
But you only get 15 minutes to do it.

 

[kaintuck]

Because they look good. No Bull.

It's really got nothing to do with needed function, it's all about looks and aesthetic appeal.
Yes, folks back then had a taste for finer things.

I think it's a final test of our patience in building.....metalwork, fit/function/inletting.....
marc n tomtom