.54 cal. Ticking thickness?

[Gobbletn]

I have built a new gun with a .54 Colerain barrel and new to the sport. Trying to work up a load and was wondering about ticking thickness. I'm shooting .530 ball as of now and was wondering how thick of ticking I should use. Is it very important? Can it be to thin or to thick? Thanks

 

[VEARL]

I use a lubed .015 pillow ticking. You might want to try .010 or .018 thickness also.
You will know if it's hard to load or not. Also the correct patch thickness will help shrink your shot groups.
Each rifle is a beast in itself. As you shoot, you may want to try a different patch. Try it. Change only one item at a time and see if that helps. If it doesn't, try something else.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

This is so true. I use .530 ball in my Colerain, and I use pillow ticking from the local fabric shop. I never measured it as I was lucky in that it works great. It does matter though. Colerain uses round bottom rifling, which seems to me to be just a tad more forgiving on patching material.

Also when one washes the material in hot water and then machine dries it, it can thicken a bit.

When I tried a .389 ball and the same ticking in my new .40..., Green mountain barrel and squared rifling..., it didn't like the fit so much. Tried the same ticking with a .395 ball; wouldn't load. Tried the .395 with thin cotton cloth; loaded, but again not very good groups. Then I doubled the thin cotton, got a snugger fit, and better groups. So I will be going to the fabric store today with a micrometer, to see if I can find cloth that's the same thickness as two pieces of the thin cotton, so it will work for the .40. I also have a mold for .380 ball, and will in a few weeks try them with some really thick material.

So there are lots of variables, and then if you are used to loading a ball made of a certain type of metal, lead, lead alloy, wheel weight, antimony, the diameter can change just enough if you switch to really change how the rifle shoots.

LD

 

[matt denison]

My .54 Colerain barrel (round bottom rifling) likes a .530 ball, .015" Ox Yoke patches. Snug fit, not too tight, shoots good.

 

[Gobbletn]

Apples to Apples here on your reply! Thanks and I will use that as my starting point...

 

[Gobbletn]

Thanks Dave, What load do you like? I started with FF 60gr. Then FFF 60 grains and it was better... Suggestions since we have same barrel?

 

[Gobbletn]

Thanks Laffindog, What load do you like? I started with FF 60gr. Then FFF 60 grains and it was better... Suggestions since we have same barrel?

 

[rusty]

I aways shoot .520 or .526 balls in my.54,with a thick patch.

 

[Birddog6]

All the .54 Colerain barreled rifles shot a .530 ball, .016 pillow ticking & 65 grains of 2F or 3F quite well. However ALL of them shot same load with a .535 ball Much better. The tighter the combo, the more consistent the group you will have most of the time.

A when working loads, use sand bags & a solid bench. Otherwise, most will never find the most accurate load for that barrel.

Keith Lisle

 

[Many Klatch]

My Getz barreled .54 likes a .526 ball and a .012 patch over either 55 or 75 grains of 3F. It has round bottom rifling and has been coned at the muzzle so I don't need a short starter to load it. I hate beating on a load to get the ball down.

Many Klatch

 

[750k2]

My Getz barreled .54 likes a .526 ball and a .012 patch over either 55 or 75 grains of 3F. It has round bottom rifling and has been coned at the muzzle so I don't need a short starter to load it. I hate beating on a load to get the ball down.

Many Klatch

Close to mine Getz -.526 & .014 on my mic and 90gr 2F with a felt backer - knocks the snot out of deer Loads real easy also:thumbsup:

 

[matt denison]

My barrel is 42" long and is approx. 18 years old so there may be some differences between it and a new one. It is swamped.

It is a bit finnicky. It wants 80 gr. of 3F, won't shoot 2F at all. I use it primarily for off hand shooting therefore I like the ball/patch combo to be something that I can get down the bore without too much work on trail walks. I figure if I can get three balls into 1 inch at 25 yards that's good enough. Sights are set for 50 yards and that works perfect for me.

 

[762subsonic]

My 54 Colerain Likes a .530 ball with .016 pillow ticking and 70gr FF.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Yes, it can be too thick or too thin for optimum performance. Most of your components will have to be experimented with to find the combo best for you and your gun.
As others have said, pillow ticking is a great place to start and it may also be what you end up using forever.