Cutting a Patch at Muzzle's End

[Edward]

I cut at muzzle using linen with mink oil lube after heating with a hairdryer ,seems the deer don"t like it (I"m partial to it)

[Maven]

OverMax, If you want to concoct an unscented patch lube, bees wax + unsalted Crisco/shortening as Soundguy recommended is an easy one. It doesn't work so well in my rifles, so I'll recommend googling Stumpy's Moose Snot. Although the recipe calls for castor oil, you can substitute peanut, vegetable, or olive oil, which works just as well. (This is from a PM to me from Stumpy himself.) The lube is soft enough to rub into the patch material with your fingers followed by ~15secs. in the microwave to better distribute it.

[rfd]

i prefer either patch strips ... or ball boards.



i heat gun in gato feo to all patch strips, no fouling control needed between shots. smells good, feels good, good fer yer skin, too.

[irishtoo]

I have used Dutch's Ballistol/water lube on my pillow-ticking patch strips for many years. No smell, dry, and great accuracy. 7 to 1 ratio seems to give best accuracy for me. Soak, dry laying flat, roll up for storage.

i have to second dutch schultz method. right now im trying 1:4 lube. its dry, no oder and works. to the O.P. send him 20bucks and you will find some answers. best of luck. irishtoo

[45 Dragoon]

Hey guys! I'm wrong! Waksupi is right, it doesn't matter the shape or if the patch is lopsided - as long as there is material around the ball, you are good to go!! I haven't shot a long rifle since 1988-89! (I'm more of a revolver type) It was a cap lock, 54 cal (H&H Barrel Works) built "Tennessee Po boy" style. T/C lock, set trigger and browned furniture. Good looking rifle. Anyway, not much into shooting the rifles so, I sold it about 8yrs ago.
Learned what I know (knew) from watching and talking with some "old timers" at a monthly shoot. As I said, they must have been full of themselves as to what they were "teaching". It seemed to work for me but it must have been just the fact that I had found the right thickness of patch material when I switched because groups were much better than before. Oh well, . . . .

I'll have to defer to the 3 time World Champion and say I hope my post didn't sway anyone into continuing the same info I have been told. From now on, I'll stick to S.A. revolvers, I do know a little about those. (I knew better than to say something about rifles . . . . I just knew it!!)

Mike

[mooman76]

I would say they probably weren't lying. it's just there are allot of things passed down from person to person that aren't exactly factual. Some comes from superstition or they think because it worked best for me that it is the best. Most have learned though, that what works for one, may not work for another or may not work best.

[wonderwolf]

So for the loading boards you pre treat the patches? I just finished making a 35/64ths spoon bit today to make a board for my .54 as I've never used one before and was wondering if any lube is utilized.

[Wayne Smith]

Yes, you lube the patches first. Just like you were loading your rifle.

[OverMax]

The use of any wax patching lube this far North hampers a fellers Side-lock loading. Being only 60 mile due South of MN's border with Canada frozen ball lube is problematic out in the field. Be it in a jar or squeezed into the bore of a bullet board.
First week in November thru the first week of December is this States B/P deer hunting season and that time of year puts a real crimp in anyone wants to scout about for their deer. It's a customary time of year seeing that old thermometer dip to -20 below just before day light and plus -20 Below dips as the sun comes up..

As I recall~~ I do have a bottle of Shenandoah Valley liquid patching lube. Great stuff for warm weather patching's. Never read of anyone using it in the extreme cold. So~~anyone have any experience in using Shenandoah lubricant in cold climate conditions or theory's about its using?

[Soundguy]

The use of any wax patching lube this far North hampers a fellers Side-lock loading. Being only 60 mile due South of MN's border with Canada frozen ball lube is problematic out in the field. Be it in a jar or squeezed into the bore of a bullet board.
First week in November thru the first week of December is this States B/P deer hunting season and that time of year puts a real crimp in anyone wants to scout about for their deer. It's a customary time of year seeing that old thermometer dip to -20 below just before day light and plus -20 Below dips as the sun comes up..

As I recall~~ I do have a bottle of Shenandoah Valley liquid patching lube. Great stuff for warm weather patching's. Never read of anyone using it in the extreme cold. So~~anyone have any experience in using Shenandoah lubricant in cold climate conditions or theory's about its using?

And here in florida, where 'winter' temps can be in the high 80's... or 90's.. a wax containing patch lube is very, very welcome.

I know some guys that lube with straight shortening.. but they can't do it in the sun. some use shortening, wax/beeswax and olive oil. I've tried thinning with many vegi oils.. ( olive, almond, coconut.. etc. ) all seem to work decently in a beeswax/shortening mix.

[OverMax]

A bit curious.
May be a bit dumb to ask. But?
How does one determine the width of such {cutting at muzzle} cloth strips? ~~

Want to cut at muzzle for my 45 cal than do the same to my 54.
Knowing the required width of these two calibers patching strip would be definitely helpful in my not having to go thru the process of: "That's surely is to narrow or that's way to wide exterminations."

[rfd]

the patch must fully engage the ball - size accordingly by testing what works best for you. for my .50 thru .62 i use a 2" wide patch strip.

[pietro]

.


As a general rule, the patch (strip of round) should be at least 1-1/2 times the bore diameter - do, for a .54 cal, the patch width should be about 1-3/4".


.

[oldracer]

The way I was shown how to do the cut at the muzzle by Rogers Johnson and several others was to put the fabric over the muzzle, start the ball with the "Short starter", pull up or bunch the fabric and slice off even with the muzzle. This gives some material on top of the ball which is not really needed but doesn't hurt anything. If you pull the ball out the patch is a rough shaped piece of fabric so it would seem shape does NOT matter as long as Waksupi said there is enough to go around the ball and seal it to the bore.

SPIT

[OverMax]

2",wide._ Now that's handy thing to know. Yup!! Good start to a old~old procedure I'm about to follow.

Now all I need is a evaporating patch lube and a sharp blade for the cutting purpose.

Although~~ I daily carry a big old German made Boker 9215 folder. {good carbon steel that holds its edge} I think I may have the right patch knife already in my pocket.

Oops I didn't see the last two comments before my posting. New comments to digest >Yes indeed.

[OverMax]

So the patching cloth not necessarily be a cut strip. Could be a square shaped piece of cloth even (is that a correct?)

[Soundguy]

I wave a piece of pillow ticking I have in a zip lock bag ( its lubed )

I lay it over the muzzle, start the ball, then use my patch knife hanging around my neck to cut it.

End result after a day of shooting is a piece of ticking with a bunch holes in it.

[mazo kid]

For hunting purposes, the Ballistol or water soluble oil patch lube will work in most any temperature range. Yes, there is a company that touts their uniquely shaped (expensive) patches as contributing to greater accuracy. But as Ric ( Waksupi) and others stated, the patch shape really doesn't matter, nor does the fact the patch may be off-center, as long as it covers the ball. The patch is usually found on the ground a few feet in front of the muzzle and doesn't influence the flight of the ball. IMHO.

[Good Cheer]

Muzzle wear?
One of my favorite patch knives is Thai bronze.

[OverMax]

Muzzle wear.
Steel on steel I suppose it could happen. But not a overwhelming concern for me. Being in my mid seventy's I figure I don't have enough time left to encounter such a disappointing sight. lol