Paper Patch Lite

[Bent Ramrod]

I took my "Dogfight Gun" out a while back to see if it would handle paper patched boolits. It's in .38-55, rebored and rifled by Randall Redman back when he was doing such work. The barrel (IIRC) has a 0.375" groove diameter and the old-style twist, cant remember whether it's 16" or 18". I measured the bore diameter before I ever got any gauge pins and got 0.365". It shot the grease groove Ideal 375248 and 375166 pretty well also, black or smokeless powder, so I thought it was worth trying paper patching in the rifle.

Distance was 100 and 200 meters. Had to clean the barrel between shots, but I think the thing didn't do so badly:



The fifth shot of that four-shot group on the bottom was way out; maybe a bad casting or something. Hopefully not the law of averages.

In ordering the mould from Accurate, I took into account that I had another .38-55, with the old size groove diameter of around 0.381", and might some day want to try the patched slug in this rifle as well. In any case, all my .38 moulds of any use were for 0.375" groove diameters; couldn't cast anything larger than 0.377" or so, so I ordered a dual cavity mould from Accurate that cast a 0.382" diameter copy of the 375248 and a 275-gr (nominal) paper patch slug at 0.364" diameter.



I figured I could use the slug as-is if I wanted to try the Chase patch system in the newer bore, use it with the two wraps of paper in the older, larger bore, or squish it through a die to around 0.358" diameter for the regular wrapping in the newer bore. The targets were shot with this sized-down boolit, and two wraps.

I was encouraged enough to order a bunch of 38 caliber rifle bore brushes and make bore pigs out of them. Ammo is loaded up for another try, once I get a few other guns and loads sorted out.

How small a caliber one can go with and still retain some semblance of accuracy, I wonder? The .22 Maynard centerfire was offered with patched boolits. That must have been a riot to develop a load for.

Something like this would be a good way for somebody with limited range facilities to still experience the challenges, the drama, the soul-stirring triumphs of paper patching without an undue expenditure in powder and lead.

[Gunlaker]

As far as small calibre cartridges, I shoot the .38-55 & .38-50 paper patched and have done some with the .32-40. All of my small cal. PP shooting has been with breech seated bullets. The .38-55 & .38-55 work very well. My results with the .32-40 didn't go as well. Certainly no where near as good as breech seating GG bullets with smokeless.

The tiny .32 cal bullets are a little trickier to patch than .45's

Chris.