Cutting patches

[Okurok]

I bought a Austin Halleck rifle a few months ago. Due to finding out I lost my powder horn and shooting bag when I moved a year ago I haven't been able to shoot it till yesterday.

I'm shooting a 490 roundball with unknown thickness of patching. I bought the patching (pillow ticking) at walmart. When I recovered the patch the patch is shredded. When I shot with a patching of braintanned buckskin it cut the buckskin. I've read about others lapping there barrels. Is the lands too sharp on this rifle or what can I do to correct the problem? It doesn't load real hard. I don't use a short starter. I start the ball with the blade of my patch knife placed flat on the ball and the hit with my hand.

On a side note I found I really liked patching with buckskin. It was thicker but when it was wet (I use a spit patch for plinking) it loaded a lot easier than ticking. In my Lyman trade rifle I was shooting under 2" groups at 75 yards from seated position.

 

[ss1]

What powder and charge size[gr]? Measured wm tick last week, .013 to .015.

 

[Landngroove]

To check to see if the rifling is cutting the patches, run a patched round ball down the bore, without a charge of powder. (dryballing) Run it down almost all the way but don't force it to bottom out. Next use a threaded ball puller on your ramrod, and pull the patch and ball. Examine the patch. Is it cut or sliced? If it is then the rifling is sharp, and cutting patches. If not, try lubing your pillow ticking patches with Hoppe's # 9 Plus Black Powder Solvent And Patch Lube, or Thompson Center Natural Lube 1000 Bore Butter. I have zero, blown/burned patch problems using either of these patch lubes. I also use Wal-Mart Pillow Ticking for patches,(.018") with exceptional results. Some fraying of the edges is normal for a spent patch.

 

[JeffinNZ]

If you find it is not the rifling cutting the patches then it may be blow by or such from an undersized patch. Try heavier patching and a decent lube. Birddog6 does a couple of fantastic lubes in liquid and grease. He uses this forum.

I have a percussion rifle that will blow patches if I fail to wipe between shots. Wipe it and it will shoot cloverleaves all day. Something screwy obviously goes on in the chamber area.

cheers

J

 

[RiverRat]

How does it shoot when it cuts the patches? My lancaster with a GM barrel shreds .010 patches but the groups are still good! When I use .018 Walmart pillow ticking, the patches look like they can be used again. I know that everyone tries to get the perfect looking shot patch, but I discovered that using a thinner patch, which makes it much easier to load, I still get good down range results even though the patch is toast.

 

:nono: buy a short starter befor you slip and slice you hand or wrist trying to start a ball down that barrel!!!!!!!!!!!!! :shocked2:

 

[BLAHMAN]

You might want to put some 0000 steel wool on your ramrod jag and run it up and down the barrel some, maybe 10 to 20 times. That may help.

The steel wool will dull the very sharp edges of your rifling lands. They could be like a knife edge, cutting your patches.

 

I tried LandnGrooves advice and it saved me alot of time.I had the same problem and I did what he said and now I have good looking patches.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

If you're cutting buckskin patches I'd say you certainly have some sharp edged lands. Don't know how A&H barrels are made but if cut rifled the cutter will sometimes raise a sharp burr along the edge of the lands and that will certainly cut a patch. A great deal of shooting will eventually wear down the sharp edges but lapping the bore is a much better solution.
No patch lube will cure patch cutting, though it can certainly prevent burned patches.

 

[Okurok]

Thanks for the replys. Don't laugh but my powder measure was my hand. I place the ball in my palm and then pour enough powder over it to make it disappear. I have powder scales left over from my reloading days and I tried measuring a few test loads. It varied between 55 grains and 65 grains. Like I said I lost all my shooting supplies and haven't made another powder measure yet. Want to make one either out of a turkey leg bone or a deer bone.

I'm trying to find a Aug issue of Muzzleloader to read the article about lapping the barrel. I read some articles on this forum about it and am really interested in trying. I also want to cone the muzzle so I don't have to use something to start the bullet. I don't really know why but I don't like short starters. I try to cut down on the things I have to pull out of my shooting bag. Since I cut my patches I already have to pull out my knife and it all goes together reall good.

As far as groups I was a little dissapointed with the groups I was getting out of the A&H but was attributing that to the issue with the patches. I need to get some stuff together so I can experiment with different loads, patches ect.

 

[dmills]

You probably do have burrs inside the barrel that can be removed by lapping. To confirm, put a cottonball on your worm and run down the barrel and out. The use a bore light to examine. You will probably see fibers in the barrel confirming the burrs. Proceed to lapping.

 

[Zonie]

Actually lapping the barrel is a rather intensive process which requires that you make a lap (usually lead) by casting a slug in your bore.
There are posts on how to do it on the Builders Bench that you could find using the SEARCH button.

Before doing all of that, I would suggest doing as Blahman suggested except to say the #00 grade will speed things up.
This steel wool will not harm your bore. It won't wear it out. It just dulls the sharp edges of the cut rifleing so it won't cut the patches.
You might also examine the muzzle. Often when forming the Crown, they leave the edges of the rifleing razor sharp here. This is one area that I would suggest taking some 600 grit black wet/dry sandpaper on the end of your finger and dulling up these edges. Use a "round and round" method rotating your finger around the center of the bore.
As this will remove the blueing you might want to use some Cold Blueing touch up or do as I do and just leave it bright and shiny.

 

[rrgr40]

:v I have found that the copper coated Power Belt bullets with a fairly stout charge will help season and remove small burrs from your barrel. Good Luck :v