Quick Start Paper Patching Tutorial?

Howdy guys.

I have read nearly a zillion posts on Paper patching through the last few days. I have read and re-read the sticky posts at least 3 times. The problem I'm having is putting it all together in my mind as a step by step process. Using generally acceptable principals.

My mind is cluttered. This is partly due to so many good suggestions on every aspect of the process. I need all this info organized some how. Is anything like a paper patching quick start tutorial that goes through just the basics of the process of patching? pdawg_shooter's comes close, but there are areas in his post missing I don't want to proceed without those gaps filled.

I guess I'm just looking for clarity for the first timer.

Another missing item is a good picture walk through of rolling patches. There seems to have been a very good write up by Goodsteel in the Patch Templates and Instructions sticky. But all the images have been removed/expired. Does something like this exist?

Based on my searching, I am guessing something like this doesn't exist, or maybe not in a format I can digest as a newb. So I guess I will take a stab at it. My goal here is to try out my first paper patched loads this weekend. I don't care if they have horrible accuracy, but I want to start close to the right direction.

This is the mental dump of all the information I have gathered. Intent is to get usable paper patched loads for the beginner.

Basic generally accepted steps:

1) Really need to start off with a chamber casting so the Paper Patcher can find their Bore diameter and groove diameter
--Without bore and groove sizes, it's just random guessing as to what type of paper and sizing is needed

2) Cast your preferred boolit and size to .001/.0015 over bore diameter
**does one use a lube for this sizing step? Sometimes if I want no lube while sizing, I just use a small amount of dishsoap in a few ounces of water to get through the push through sizer**

3) Pick a paper to use for patching. This paper should have at least the following characteristics to get started:
-- should be a thickness that will allow you to get +.001/.003 over the groove diameter AFTER it has been sized on the boolit
-- not tear or disintegrate when wet
**what are some other paper characteristics for the first time patcher? I ran around the house last night with my calipers, getting my hands on any kind of paper I could. Trying to find something that worked with my bore diameter/groove diameter

4) Patch the boolit
-- Cigarette roller helps do it tight
-- A template is very helpful
**this is where I really need pictorial help as a beginner

5) Finish the bottom of the boolit
**I have seen the twist and clip technique, that seems easy. Does anyone have an explanation of how to do the fold under technique?
**Also, is a gas check on my boolit going to hurt anything? If I have one will it dictate my bottom finishing method?

6) Once dry, size the boolit and patch to +.001/.003 over the groove diameter
**once again, should any lube be used in this step?

7) Lube the boolit and patch
**is this absolutely necessary? How much to use?

8) Brass choice: Start with undersized and fire formed brass. Try to seat the bullet. If it is too loose in the neck, neck size the brass slightly until you have enough neck tension.
**is this correct?

9) Load data
** this is where I have not seen very much info. I believe that geargnasher mentioned that ball powder was a good choice, and somewhere else that almost close to case capacity is the right way to go. But should I be using Cast Boolit load data or Jacketed Bullet load data? Or something else?

10) Seat the boolit so the paper patch is somewhere around .020" above the mouth of the brass.
**should the boolit always be seated so it's engraved in the lands? If so, I imagine that impacts the width of the patch so the .020" patch above mouth can be maintained.


Again, I'm looking for help to get quickly on track, with generally accepted principals. If my first paper patched boolits 1) dont blow me up 2) hit a 6" target at 50 yards I will be very happy. After the first few sessions I will play around with each one of these steps to tweak and find what works for me.

i'm just starting with ppb for .45-70 cartridges, for target only. i would suggest reading randy wright's "paper patch bullets for beginners" as it contains all the answers to yer questions, and lots more answers to questions you haven't thought up yet. however, it surely doesn't hurt to have a knowledgeable mentor on hand for reference. but really, get that book. or the paul mathews ppb book.

knowing yer barrel's land and groove diameters is important. then decide on smokeless or real black powder as the charge, because that will determine to a fair degree whether you want a bore rider or not. for me, i use black only, so my mould drops a .440" flat base slick for bore riding. using papermill 9# onion skin and two dry wraps opens the base up to .4495". a sized case leaves its mouth at .450" wide. the ppb is an easy slip fit. the bullet is cast with 1:20 alloy and should obturate to seal up the rifling. since it's a bore rider, there is no concern over the cartridge OAL, though it needs to be as consistent as all the other parameters, and there are more than a few to consider.

i'm at the part where i can decide on using a grease cookie or just load up the powder and use a dry wad, setting in the ppb to the charged/wadded case, and adding a slight taper crimp to the case mouth using a seating die. this allows loading with more powder for more of, well, everything. oompf!

i'm sure the guru's of ppb will chime in on yer thread. good luck, and most of all have fun. this is all s'posed to be that, right? ;)

http://i.imgur.com/R7eX7gl.jpg

though i'm using black and not white powder, i did build a few mock oversized smokeless rounds by sizing down a .459" BACO 459525M3 cast gg bullet to .452", wrapped it in 9# papermill onion and fit it into a previously fire formed case (or expanded mouth case). the resulting ppb base diameter is .460" and it's an easy slip fit into that case mouth (remember, it's been opened a bunch by fire forming) that yields just a tad of neck tension. since my rolling block replica rifle's barrel has a .450" land and .458" groove, and the ppb is .460", i'd need to find the max OAL for that round, and either sit the bullet into the rifling or just shy of it, but in either case the bullet needs some measure of crimp with white powder.

if, as in yer case, i was to load the brass with smokeless, i'd use a powder and load recipe off any reliable source for a cast gg bullet. which could mean 25 grains of aa5744 or 13 grains of trail boss, as examples for a 525 grain bullet, and no wads or compression of any kind with smokeless, and no gas checks. then set the cartridge OAL either to, or just before, the rifling, with a slight taper crimp to keep it all together.

for either black or white, i'm wrapping dry paper, so once the brass has been charged then immediately the bullet is seated and crimped, and is ready to go. no bullet lubing required (or wanted).

once again, get the randy wright ppb book.

I suggest that you go to the Black Powder paper patching forum on here and read the "Link to Brent Danielson's Paper Patching website" sticky.

Years ago I basically learned on my own with a few written articles about doing this manner of a boolet `jacket`. My advice now days to people wanting to patch is get with a `patcher` that has done it for awhile to see how its done and for you to ask questions about why did a certain step be taken, etc.Robert

Dimner ... only way is to jump in with both feet ... here is a beginning place for smokeless paper patched loadings

- take a fired case from the rifle intended for your paper patching [with smokeless] ... measure the inside of the mouth after putting just the slightest amount of flair on the mouth so as to get a good measurement of the real neck size of your fired and unsized case.
- take this measurement and use it as your "golden measurement"
- now take a boolit of BORE diameter of your barrel {even grease groove boolits sized down will work}
- next take some arithmetic and arrive at what thickness paper will give you a "wrapped" diameter of the GOLDEN MEASUREMENT.
- i wet wrap the paper on {with enough "TAIL" hanging below the boolit base that i can fold/twist it tight against the boolit base} and allow it to dry in a 150 degree oven for about 1/2 hour to snug up nice n tight on the boolit "CORE".
- now look at the loading manual for the lowest velocity load for your caliber/chamber and use this for a beginning load under your new method of loading PAPER PATCHED LEAD BOOLITS
- now i load this powder charge into my case and add corn meal or cream of wheat so the serial is high enough in the case so when finger seating the boolit wrapped to your "GOLDEN DIAMETER" you can compress just about 1/8th or so to ensure your boolit will not drop into the case and the powder stays on the primer where it belongs.
- now with the primer stem removed from your size die i run the loaded cartridges into an adjusted die to just remove the flair you put on the case in the beginning.

these are ready to shoot as your begining loads. sounds way more complicated then it is. you will {or should} have a ball doing these steps and shooting a real paper patched load at or near factory speed without the cost or leading of other types loadings.

i will not be a mentor as that job needs to come from another more qualified person here who has tons of great experience and success in this endeavor ... you asked for a beginning and there it is ... just the beginning of yet another great addiction.