patche thickness for my rocky mountain

[canuck4570]

just received my pedersoli rocky mountain with maple stock
in theire instruction boock they recommend a .535 ball and a patch of .010
to me it look a bit thin would I be better getting a NEI .515 ball and get some pillow thicking wich mike at .o20

 

[jtmattison]

Welcome aboard.
Finding the best patch/ball combo for your rifle will take some experimenting. You should be fine with a .535 and .010 patch. .530 and .015 or .020 would work too. It all depends on how easy/hard they are to load and how accurate they are.
I have a couple rifles that shoot better with .530 and .020 patch and a couple that like .535 and .018.
You may have patch blow out with the .010. You can remedy that by using a wad over the powder.
Finding what your rifle likes is half the fun.
Good luck.

HD

 

[MikeChapin]

I would try the .535 and the .010 just to see what it does. Check the patches after you fire to see if they are burning out. If you have a problem with the thin patching, drop down to the .530 with pillow ticking and see how that does. a .515 with .020 ticking patch would probably thumb start.

I use a .515 ball and .024 denim patching in a .53 Santa Fe. I went down from a .520 with pillow ticking because the ticking patches would burn out even with the 50 grain target load I use.

 

[canuck4570]

thanks .... what would be the best material for patches..... all the pillow thicking here seems to be from.... .017 to .025 the clerck thels me that the fine thread in the thinner material his hard to come by.... may be you have a better cotton material name that is around .010....

 

[romeoh]

Welcome aboard! :hatsoff:

I got a rocky mountain. I use .535 roundballs and also maxiballs. Both work really good.
For my roundball-patches I use what I find at home, let´s say I recycle discarded stuff. :grin: I think the patches I use now used to be covers for my bed´s blanket or pillow.
They are about .015 and work very well. :thumbsup:

 

[canuck4570]

up to now I havent shot this gun... but loaded my .535 ball whith .010 patches and I need to tap on the ball starter just a sharp blow not to hard and the ball goes down with ease ..... but puzzleling is the fact that I have tried .020 patches and I will tap once or twice same hardness has with the .010 patche and it still goes down the barrel easely.....when I retreived tha ball with my ball remover the rifling are marked with the fiber weave patern... is that ok....

 

[canuck4570]

what I mean in my previous post is that on the lead bal I see the cotton partern where the rifling touche the ball...

 

[Fullstock58]

Trial and error is the only way to find the correct combo. Correct Combo means ease of loading and accuracy, you can only find that by making smoke. I keep a record of what I am doing so I don't forget and repeat my tests, as my brain don't remember as it once did :cursing:

I have seen it both ways, the rifling engraving the ball through the patch and not. Sometimes with a new barrel you will cut the patchs during loading with too tight of a ball, what you find today will most likely change after several hundred shots.

 

[canuck4570]

I will try has you say many different combination and will see.....thank for the input....

 

[romeoh]

Well, I can see what you mean.
But, as Fullstock58 already mentioned, the only way to find out what your rifle "likes" is the trial-and-error method.
The .535´s bring accuracy but they are nothing for thump-starting.
Maybe I´m a bit germanic in my combinations, thick combos are more common here from what I can see on german boards. :hmm:

You should look at the patches after you fired a few shots. Reading the patches is the best way to go. :thumbsup:

By the way,
a german gun-magazine tested the rocky mountain hawken and they also used the .535.
They said the grooves were a bit sharp on the rifle they had for testing. They polished the barrel a bit to get rid of that sharp edges.
I followed their advice after my first shots with the hawken. Having a look at the patches I could clearly see that one of the grooves of my hawken´s rifling was a bit sharp and cutted the patches. So I made a few strokes with very fine steel wool. That was all that was necessary. :thumbsup:

 

[montanadan]

Mongrain-I think they use the same barrel that is used on the Tryon.I have a Tryon,.535 and .011 patch have shot up to 105 grns of swiss(2fg) without blowing patches.This was using Stumpy's Moose Juice,normally I shoot 60 grns,I would start with what Pedersoli recommends.Respectfully montanadan

 

[romeoh]

...normally I shoot 60 grns...

Ah yes, the load...
I use 65 grains, works great with both maxis and roundballs. :grin:

 

[canuck4570]

you are on the button..... My rifling are sharp.....and the barrel is the same has the tyron whent to a fabric store and saw some pilow thicking that was .022 and the clerk will be receivin some that his thinner will see how thick when he received them ..... if not ok I will order some from the store on this web sit.....

 

[faw3]

I cant go with "read the patchs" as all the answer you dont want burnning but "ease of loading and accuracy, you can only find that by making smoke" is closer to it. AND what do you want to do with it Target shoot or hunt or a bit of both, a easy to load will open up a little not like trying to target shoot at all but great for plinking, a tight is used for getting them all in the same hole if ya can. :wink: Just try this and that till you get what you want out of it. Fred :hatsoff:

 

[canuck4570]

when searching for a ball patck combo should you be able to start the ball only by pushing or a few sharp tap on the ball starter or is bots ok depending on once preference....

 

[jtmattison]

what I mean in my previous post is that on the lead bal I see the cotton partern where the rifling touche the ball...

That's exactly what you want to see. It means the patch is gripping the ball.
I say if the thicker patch/ball combo loads well for you give it a try on the range.
Usually the tighter the patch/ball combo the better the accuracy.

HD

 

[Swampman]

Most .54 caliber rifles shoot the .520 ball the best. You just adjust your patch thickness accordingly. Thicker patches are better. A short starter shouldn't be necessary.

 

[windwalker_au]

Mike2005 i have a very old [27years] pedersoli tryon .54 and it is realy a .53 it has a bore of .530 and from grove to grove it is.552 it shoots .527 balls and .o15 pillow ticking with no probs and the twist is 1 in 47 it shoots minis real good as well i use a .533 lee mini sized to .529.
bernie :thumbsup:

 

[faw3]

As Mark said above. 52 for most. Ive just started just haveing fun not trying to be a sharpshooter any more so I dont load very tight and in most my rifles I can get by without short starting and still get most my shots in 3" or so, out of a barrel that loaded tight and the right load of powder would do 1 1/2 all day long and better if you want to really work at it.. :rotf: Ive gotten old,lazy ect. Try out some different combos of ball and patch and see whats best "for you". Fred :hatsoff:

 

[canuck4570]

I see you mention ball diameter .520.... the only mould maker that I know that makes mould near that seize is NEI wich is .515 and that would be good with a patch of .020 to .025...... and LEE with a mould of .527 wich would be good with .015 to .020.... I myself dont like alluminium mold... and also I prefer just pushing that ball with the starter hamering it down is not my strongpoint.... is you have name of mold maker that makes these diferent seize mold please tell me...