Holes are not good! A sharp crown at the muzzle, or burrs on a new barrel's lands are often the cause of small tears. Polish the crown, and then polish the lands and grooves by wrapping 4-0 steel wool around a bore brush and run it up and down the barrel a 100 strokes. Then clean the barrel thoroughly before shooting. The steel wool should remove all the burrs, and smooth the bare somewhat.
I have also done this with damp tight patches ( usually 2) over my cleaning jag, with toothpaste added to the patches. Run this back and forth in the bore, and it will also polish the lands, and remove burrs. You should expect to check the patches after 20 strokes, renew the toothpaste, or replace the patch and renew the toothpaste before going on with thestrokes. If the jag/patch combination is thick enough it should take a bit of effort to push the rod down the barrel and pull it out. But, when it comes out even that first time, the patching should be blackening. Use a strong range rod for this type of work. And, draft a friend or family member to hold the gun down while you stroke the rod back and forth.
If the tears are due to gas cutting, that is usually an indication that you are using too thin a patch, or a very hot load of powder for that bore diameter, or both.. We see patch burning when guns using FFFg powder begin to exceed 70 grains for the load being used. It seems to be the breaking point in .45-.58 caliber rifles.
Beware the substitute powders, as they burn at a much hotter temperature. We see lots of patch burning problems, when they are used, instead of Black Powder. YOu are looking for burns in the center, and then streaks that run through the friction ring, and on out to the edge of the patch. This usually will occur at the top of the RB, as it sits in the barrel in front of the powder charge. If the ball/patch thickness combination is not thick enough to fill the grooves, gase will try to escape out the top before the ball obturates, or upsets, on firing, and before the patching can close any gap in that top groove. Use a thicker patch to fix this. And, then, use either that filler, or an OP wad of some kind to act as a " firewall". to protect the PRB.
