Why the patch??

[Pistolero]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to Muzzeloaders and was wondering what the true purpose of the 'patched ball' is.

I have a 63' Springfield .58 that I wanted to use with minies but want to try round ball also.

Why do you wrap a round ball in a patch and not the minie??

What can I use as patch material? Old linen perhaps??

Best way to lube them??

Thanks!!

[docone31]

A lot of history here.
The patched ball, is how they fired muzzle loaders back then. We do today also. The patch acts as a gas seal, barrel tensioner, and lube carrier. My favourite is pillow ticking. I cut my patches in 1" X 1" squares, dip in my lube on one side, center in the bore, and ram my ball home.
The Minie" was an hollow ball design. It fit in the bore easily, and expanded upon firing. This allowed gripping the rifleing, sealing the bore, and provided for fast reloading.
The Minie" was smaller in diameter than the Round Ball, fit in the bore so the fouling could be compensated for.
I use a R.E.A.L. for target, and general work. It cleans out the fouling on each loading, fits my bore well.
The round ball is probably the most versitile, the Minie" the fastest to load for the second shot. Depending on the twist, there are also lots of options available.
Hopefully, an hardcore muzzle loader will pop in here.
I bet there is a bunch more I have left out.

[725]

Pistolero,
Best place to start all this is with a good owner's manual and/or a good reference book on the subject. Sam Fadala wrote a nice, readable book about black powder with all the ins and outs of it. To answer your questions specifically, the minne ball was designed to be shot without any patching. It drops down the barrel and the force of the propellant gases expand it to seize the rifling and give it it's stability in flight. A round ball, most generally, is a subcaliber projectile that "fits" the bore by the thickness of the patch. It's the patch riding the rifling that imparts spin to the ball and gives it it's stability. The patch holds the ball in place, more or less, until fired. That way you can walk around with the rifle without it moving off the powder charge. Also, the lubed patch softens the fouling from the pervious shot, which allows more than just a shot or two before cleaning. Each reloading "swabs" the bore with lube which cleans it, to a degree, and permits continued firings. Various lubes have different qualities and different patches, too. Get your ball under the actual bore size and try different patching material. Thin flannel, cotton T-shirts, even bluejean material will work. Pillow ticking is probably the most noteable. Apply the lube to the patching material and "work it in". Set the patch over the muzzle and start your ball in until it reaches the level of the crown on the muzzle. With a sharp knife, trim it flat off, and finish by setting the ball against the powder charge, (ie. ram it home into the breach.) Lots of variables that you must work out with your particular rifle/ball/patch/lube. Really tight ball needs a thin patch. A ball way subcaliber needs a thick patch. Generally, balls may be 0.010 smaller than the bore and soft patches go around 0.020, more or less. Like I said, you need to do some experimenting..... Good luck and find a good reference manual for some proper instruction. Hit our new section on lubes to see how many lubes will work for you.

[59sharps]

In the springfield I personaly would stick w/ a minnie. a good target load out to 100 yrds will be between 38 -48 grn of 3fffg minnes sizes .001-.002 under bore dia. the springfield has very shallow rifleing and i am not sure how well a patched ball will shot out of it. I have no experiance with patched ball at all.

[mooman76]

You can use many things for patch. I have used different materials and cotton or something natural(not synthetic) perfered. Pillow ticking can be bought at most stores that handle material but I have used old dress shirts, flannel or even T-shirt material but dress shirts work better even though all have worked. You need a good strong tight nit material for best results usually around the .015 thickness for a good tight or snug fit. It doesn't have to be real tight for regular shooting but tight fit for better accuracy. It also depends on the ball size as they come in different sizes for the snug fit ball/patch combo.

[10 ga]

The patching is well explained above. However never use anything but natural material for patching! 100% or blend of natural materials. Cotton, linen, wool and leather have all been used used for patching. The manmade materials will do all kinds of crazy things when used for patching. I use pillow ticking, 100% cotton, from the local fabric shop. Also check out yard sale and thrift shopl for real linen garments to use for patches, cheaper and linen is very traditional if you are into reenacting. As for the Springfield, tightly patched round ball will probably be more accurate than minies and you can probably develope a much more accurate load for hunting. The minies were military issue for fast fire massed shooting situations. 10 ga

[Hanshi]

The patch's basic and foremost job is to impart spin to the ball. Without the patch the ball would have to be pounded down the bore (larger ball) in order to take the rifling, otherwise it wouldn't spin. The minie has a hollow skirt that expands to engage the rifling so doesn't need a patch. The minie is designed undersized specifically for this function. Most say the patch is suppose to seal gasses behind the ball and this it does to a limited extent. However, the lubed patch is not a good seal. It is a compromise between some sealing and practical ability to load. To create a complete seal the patch would have to be so tight it would be near impossible to ram down the bore under field conditions. After the first shot is fired you can then forget about a second load; it won't be possible. The patch does prevent leading.

Our ancestors used , as we do now, undersized balls that along with a patch equaled or sometimes exceeded bore diameter. Deep grooves allow this. As fouling makes loading very difficult an undersized ball is almost a must. Target guns are a different story; you can take your time and pound away. You can't do this with hostiles closing or with a deer ready to bolt.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

If you seek accuracy with a patched RB in the musket, keep your powder charges moderate because of the shallow grooves. A .562 RB is commonly used in the springfield/enfield. I have a RB patch gun in 58 with deep rifling, it will shoot a heavy charge well. BvT

[bubba.50]

short answer-so your boolit don't fall out.