Patch material

[Lalili]

Hello everyone, I was wondering if materials like an old cotton t-shirt or even raw cotton were effective as a patch for flintlock shooting.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Nope, they are too thin. They are good for making pieces of carbon called "char" for a fire starting kit, and good for cleaning patches and oil rags. You need something thicker, say from .010 to .018 thick, such as cotton pillow ticking material.

LD

 

[Whughett]

I use heavy weight old 100% cotton tee shirt for patches in a pair 45 caliber pistols.
Cut strips 1” x 12 long, lube and roll up. Cut with patch knife at muzzle when loading.
Recovered patches show no signs of cutting.

But that’s for target velocity pistol shooting might be a different story for patched round ball in a rifle. Try it and see. Select a “heavy weight” old tee.
Edit: They are also a good fit wit a 440 round ball in TC Patriot Pistol.

 

[dave951]

Generally no. The weave is way too loose, BUT depending on your gun, it might work so try it. It's a cheap and easy experiment.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The thin, loosely woven tee-shirt material is great for wiping between shots, cleaning at the end of the day, wiping the wood down after cleaning, applying wax to the stock, but as a rule not good for use as a patch for the ball for flintlock or percussion lock shooting. I use the 0.018" tightly woven cotton drill cloth from JoAnn's Fabrics.

 

[Okie Hog]

Denim and drill cloth are great patch material.

 

[hanshi]

I like heavy unbleached canvas as well as denim.

 

[deermanok]

Red or Blue striped pillow ticking.
Make sure it's 100 % cotton. You can get it at Walmart.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Hello everyone, I was wondering if materials like an old cotton t-shirt or even raw cotton were effective as a patch for flintlock shooting.


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The weave on T-Shirt material is too loose…it won’t provide a good gas seal. You want material that is made from a natural fiber and has a tight weave to act as a gas seal.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I've always wondered what the mountain men and the earlier long hunters used for patching when they were far away for months at a time. And what did they use in an Indian fight or when a fast second shot was needed in hunting? I'd be willing to bet that there were a lot of bare naked balls shot in those days. I've tried it myself and the accuracy out to 30 yards or so is plenty good to kill man or beast.

 

[user 49399]

In my Traditions Kentucky rifle I’ve used powder, wad of jute tow, .495 round ball and another wad of jute tow. It was surprisingly accurate.

 

[Whughett]

The weave on T-Shirt material is too loose…it won’t provide a good gas seal. You want material that is made from a natural fiber and has a tight weave to act as a gas seal.

Doesn’t come more natural than cotton and weave, well how tight can a weave be actually. Ticking same material, thickness, I’ll give you that, a product of thread thickness and count. Thickness equals a better fit of the ball and material pushed into the grooves of the rifling. Weaving acting as a gas barrier……?? JMO.
OP if your like the average bloke you got a ready supply of stained old clothing around. Experiment. Cast off jeans maybe. 100% cotton for the most part. Wife might even have some fine linen napkins available or an old silk blouse.

 

[rafterob]

I'll bet you could get an extra 100 yards out of that silk blouse