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- Aug 15, 2010
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I stand by my belief. If your match shooting where every .100" matters then you probably need a very tight patch/ ball combination.Thanks for that Ettery. When I started shooting my new Traditions it was extremely tight with .015 patch/.490 ball. When I joined the forum to learn more and find out if this tightness was normal, even though I never complained about accuracy at all, a whole flock of members advised me to use a thicker patch. ???? I think L Dave advised polishing the bore w the finest steel wool and polishing the crown with some 400 emory cloth. Gamechanger for loading ! I watched Black Powder Maniac shooting and thought it would sure be nice to not need a short starter. Then, recently I took my 13 year old grandson out to get him started. I had purchased some lubed, .010 patches and he used those and hit darn near every can and jug we set up at 40 yards. Last, I had him put a group on paper at the same distance and he shot a 3 shot, inch and a half group. He could start the ball with his thumb and go straight to the ramrod if he wanted to. I will probably save the .015's for hunting but not for plinking. I was having a really hard time imagining being in a war w a short starter added to full hands. I still need one for conicals though. They are not for plinking. Thanks again. SW
I see no need for it in plinking, or hunting, unless you're hunting grasshoppers, and even wood's walks where group size is not important.
I'm far from an expert, but I've been burning black powder since Spring of 1980. I have yet to hear of a possibles bag from the 19th century contain a short starter. In the kit of a Billinghurst, Brockway, Wesson et al, then absolutely.