Originally Posted by
megasupermagnum
The more I shoot, the more I believe I am having problems tearing patches at the muzzle. The tighter the fit I have, the more I will get a random flier, and a patch to match... or what's left of it. This is not a problem I have in my new Englander. The kicker for me was last week at the range. I was shooting a load I know is too tight, but tight seems to be heralded as accurate around here. The load is a ball that casts .537" and a blue pillow ticking patch and Crisco lube. I've brought up the ridiculous idea of measuring patch thickness in the past due to the fact the reading changes by .005 or more depending how hard you push the roller, but with light thumb pressure, mine reads .015" thick more or less. This is the same thickness many report for pillow ticking. Walmart also has a thick version that is in the .020"-.022" range if anyone cares.
I began the day starting the ball with a rubber mallet, and then it goes down the bore firm, but no trouble. The problem is it shreds the patch more than half the time during firing. Later on, I went back to starting by hand with the short starter. It takes a lot of force, but I did get them to go in. By this point I had also began using an 1/8" felt wad as well. Accuracy was greatly improved, although still was in the 6"-8" range at 100 yards. Patches clearly had tearing around the radius of the ball, but were in one piece.
I've still got a number of those .537" balls, and plan to cast some smaller ones from my .530" mold soon. I decided to hunt around Walmart last night. I came across some 100% cotton "twill". That's all it said. The stuff sure seems strong, and wouldn't you know, the stuff measures .010"-.011" ish, so I bought some to try. I can't find any mention of it online, other than for cleaning patches. This stuff is not soft, it is tough with a high thread count. As tough or better than pillow ticking. I like that it has a smooth side, and a rough side with deep lines. I'm thinking smooth side to the bore for a good seal, and rough side to the ball for grip.
Now onto the actual question. I see a lot of people say they smooth their crown, and never say how. What is the best way to smooth the crown? This gun just finished it's 2nd pound of powder this year, so about 200 shots, I bought it used. I'd say if shooting was going to smooth anything, it would have happened by now. I also have fire lapping compound and a bunch of conicals.