Teflon Ticking Patches

Anyone tried this patch material?,I have never seen any,how is it?

 

[peter]

can you cook with it too? bulls eye and a steak all at once! O.K. seriously, never heard of it. wonder what kind of chemical reaction, deposits corrosion,etc. Never had chemistry myself so I guess we'll have to wait for the ed-ju-ma-kated ones to weigh in.

 

I have some sent to me by a buddy in S. Ohio. Don't know where he got it, but it's commercially available.
Haven't tried any of it yet.

 

[tg]

I have heard many top notch competion shooters like it, but I have not been inclined to try it...like REAL bullets, pyrodex, modern adjustable sights, and a host of other modern items it seems to take me in the opposite direction than that which I was headed when I started this sport 30+ years ago

 

[Ohio Joe]

tg,
I agree... I think you just said a bunch! :applause:

 

[JOHN L. HINNANT]

Greetings Kaintuckkee,

I have used teflon coated patching for 20 plus years in both hunting and competition. It loads slicker and smoother than anything I have ever used and always stays the same in the bore.

It is available from:

THE MINUTE-MEN
7785 Hoy RD.
Fredricksburg, OH. 44627
Ph. 303 695 2910

Best regards, John L. Hinnant

 

Do they require cleaning beteen shots or do they hold enogh lube to keep fouling soft?

 

[Slowpoke]

You have to clean between each shot or you won't be able to load the next one. I use teflon every once in a while. I honestly don't think the teflon has anything to do with accuracy, it just aids with loading. The biggest thing about the teflon is that it's consistant in size and lube. I honestly can't tell much difference between my Walmart ticking and water based lube and the teflon. Teflon is expensive around $15 + S/H. Water is cheap !
If you want to make your own "teflon type" patching. Get some cutting oil from Napa, mix it 7 parts water 1 part oil, make a strips of you patching material, soak them in the mixture, and lay them on a flat surface to dry. Once they're dry you're ready to go. Just remember that you still have to clean between shot.

Poke

 

Teflon is dry. You need a moist lube, weather a grease, paste, or liquid or you absolutely will need to swab bewteen shots.
I swab, Swab, swab, I'm an unrepentant swabber. So there.
If you take the minute to swab with 91% durg store rubbing alochol, a dry patch you will leave the bore in about the same exact condition from shot to shot.
That way when you clean the stored rfile and load for hunting your 1st shot is most likely going to be presicely where your last one went at the range.
That's an opinion. It's my opinion and worth about as much as any other opinion. I've never stuck a ball or bullet since I started swabbing.
Also I swear clean up is soooooo much faster and easier.
I think swabbing is even more important with in-lines using tight sabots. :m2c:

 

Thanks Maxiball- I figured cleaning would be necessary. It's worth my trying it, in that case.
; I refuse to clean between shots - maybe it's just me - and all the guys I shoot with, as well.

 

[musketman]

What if you wrapped a round ball or a bullet with teflon tape, like the kind that plummers use?

Then load the tape covered bullet the normal way, would it help seal the bore or just be a waste of effort and money?

 

[cayugad]

Musketman I ran into problems with minnie balls sliding back out the barrel. To correct his, I wrapped them in teflon plumbers tape and then lube the outside of them. They no longer slide back out the barrel, are still easy to load, and the accuracy with them increased a great deal out of my 1:48 twist rifles.

I have shot a lot of them and see no problems with fowling the barrel but have never found any of the tape down range, so whether it burns off I have no idea....

 

slowpoke,,
AND ALL OF THE ABOVE!
Mixing napa wso,wetting and drying cotton patch has absolutly nothing to do with "TEFLON TICKING".

Using "teflon plubmers tape" has nothing to do with "teflon ticking" either,,,,,,and alot has been done with paper long before "teflon" was thought of,,just ask Zig-Zag!!

You guys that wanna try teflon ticking,,go ahead,,sure it will shoot good,,but, you'll never shoot your "best" using that stuff

 

[Slowpoke]

I agree, Napa WSO had nothing to do with teflon, but if you want to use a dry based lube I would recomend it. Teflon tape? It's to thin plus the grooves in the mini ball are use for lube, I don't think it would work.

S'Poke

 

Like cayugad I've used teflon tape on conicals of different kinds to take up the windage in the bore and make the bullet fit tighter. Never lubed the outside though. Never had a problem with the teflon taped bullets and found the teflon still on the bullets I found in the dirt at the backstop.
Might be hard to wrap the stuff around the rounball though, never tried it.
I suppose using Teflon is about as period correct as using NAPA water based oil patches.
As we all know, or most of us at least, there are many ways to get decent resluts with conicals or roundballs.

 

Paul Mathews has usd teflon wraped minnies in his .54 cal minnie rifle for years as the mould he uses casts an undersized bullet for that bore. The teflon wrapped minnies are then run though a lube sizer and the beeswax/neetsfoot oil lube is pushed in to the grease grooves on top of the lube. It stays on the bullet to lube the bore and he gets good accuracy with that combinaton. The teflon is used only to enlarge the bullet an easy way.

 

[Keith]

Why not use paper patching?

 

Why not use paper patching?

Why not indeed! There is NO reason why not. Paper, the right kind, used correctly is a wonderful way to adjust bullet diameter and protect the bullet and bore from each other.
I've even tried paper patching a roundball. It works sometime if done just right, but isn't worth the effort :imo: :m2c:.

 

I do use paper patching in the muzzlelader, in the form of paper ctgs. as the military issued in the 18th and 19th century. These work very well indeed, in shotgun-bore rifles as well as in smoothbored muskets or shotguns. The ctgs. I make are tapered as I find them easier to load than paralell sided ones, especially for priming from the ctg.(which I stoped doing for safety reasons) A paper ctg. with a slightly wider base would also serve. The reason for the tpaer is ese of shoving it into the barrel's mouth after ripping off the very end with your teeth. As well, witht he smaller end, ther is less spillage when tearing the paper top expose the powder.
: The pine wood 'plug' form is sitting with the ctgs. and their 'box' for the belt.

 

[JOHN L. HINNANT]

Greetings Daryl,

All of the postings after mine about using teflon coated patching have valid points, but in my opinion, do not go far enough, and my own comments should have been qualified.
So let's give this a second try, keeping in mind every result is relative to its own set of standards. In my own personal situation, I am a round ball shooter and use barrels that are designed to give maximum round ball accuracy and use Hawken replicas, under hammers, and in-lines; all with barrels rifled for round ball use. ALL of them are used in competition shooting, but only the Hawkens are used for hunting.

I am paticularly fond of 50 caliber and find the 50 to be good for match shooting and hunting in Texas. Our largest big game animal(available to the general public) is the wild ferrel hog. The average buck deer will weigh 110 pounds. South Texas has bigger bigger deer.

Our TMLRA championships are held on the home range in June at Brady, Texas. Conditions are hot, and a day without wind is rare. I usually lose 1 day of shooting or just shoot 25 yards off-hand matches, because the conditions (usually wind) are too bad to do anything else.

My match winning barrels enclude Green Mountain, Getz, Resley, Bresien, H&H(by Hoppy Hopkins, Green River, and a factory Jonathan Browning. ALL are great shooters and WILL win matches if I do my part. Last year the Resley set a new record in one of the 50 yard matches, 50-xxxx. It is a Hawken(10 lbs.) open sights, off the bench.

With all of those qualification stated, Now we get to the subject of teflon coated patching. My material is 0.018" thick 100% Egyptian cotton, washed in hot soapy water, dried on high heat to shrink and draw the fibers up as tight as possible. It is then ready to teflon coat or use with another lube. Teflon fills into the fibers and makes the patch somewhat tougher.

I too, am a ardent swabber. The bore is wiped between every shot with a patch lightly dampened with BLACK SOLVE; 3 strokes on one side, 3 strokes on the other side. Bore size ball in teflon patching will load smooth and easy, but so will patches lubed with OX-YOKE WONDER LUBE or HOPPE'S NO. 9 PLUS. The HOPPE'S is great for cleaning or patch lubing, but too expensive for me in the quanities I use.

For me the great advantage is the consistency from shot to shot during a match on a hoy day. While watching wind flags, and waiting out conditions, the teflon does not change or dry out like in the bore like a water base lube or a spit patch. Besides, on a typical hot June Texas day, I cannot work up enough spit to spit.

Does it really make that much difference? YES! Probably about 3 points or X's. And with the guys I shoot with, giving up 3 points to them will put you out of the running in a 200 or 250 point agg. Our championship state record is 240(with X,s) out of a possible 250. It takes at least 235 to have a chance to win. We have a saying that if you can win at Brady, you can win anywhere. if it was not so far, more of our Texas guys (and women) would be making the trip to Friendship.

Another variable is type or style of rifling. Teflon will generally allow loading a tighter ball without deforming it.My GREEN MOUNTAIN and H & H barrels have grooves wider than the lands and will easily take a .5035 ball with teflon patching as described above. It is not nearly so easy with any other lube, and the ball gets deformed. The accuracy must be seen to be believed. These barrels are preferred for hunting, because if necessary, I can load a second or third teflon patched shot without stopping to wipe the bore.(In anticipation of the question; I have an old Lyman steel mould, .500 size, that cast a .5035 ball).

In most(not all) other 50 caliber barrels, a .500 ball will easily load wiyh teflon patching and give superior accuracy compared to a .495 ball. My wife struggles to load her 50 caliber Browning with a .500 ball if teflon patching is not used. With teflon patching, it loads like a .490 ball was being used.

My Getz and Green River barrels load tight with a .495 ball and teflon patching. A .500 is just too tight, even with teflon.

Is teflon a magical road to instance accuracy? NO! All other components must be right, and the shooter must be capable of good shooting.

Wind and other conditions are a prime consideration to accurate shooting. It is critical to round ball shooting from 50 yards out. GIVEN 2 shooters of equal ability, the one who uses and read wind flags correctly is going to out shoot the one who does not(barring luck of course). This is particulaly true in bench shooting, but also applies to X-stiks and off-hand.

In closing, I will definately state that teflon is a step forward to improving round ball accuracy when all other factors are equal. A bore size ball can be used to improve accuracy and will easily go down the barrel without deforming. However, as shown above by my barrels, what is a bore size ball for one barrel may or may not be for another barrel. Regardless, teflon coating the proper patching material improves accuracy and contributes to ease of loading a tight ball/patch combination.

Best regards, John L. Hinnant