45-90 Patching Questions

[Littledog]

I've decided to take the leap and and start making paper patch bullets. I've read plenty on subject and still have a couple of questions.

My main question is: what bullet diameter should the finished bullet be? I'll be loading for a 45-90 Shiloh Sharps and be using paper that is .003" thick. I've see that there are various bullet diameters available and I was wondering if the finished bullet should be the diameter of the bore, lands or somewhere in the middle.

My second questions is; what is the best way to lube the bullet and what lube is preferred.

Thanks for your help.

[BrentD]

1. First, dump that paper find a thinner paper. Much thinner. Some of the high quality tracing papers (art supply stores) and cooking parchments (grocers and specialty cooking shops) will have papers that are much thinner.

2. Look for a bullet that is .443-.440". But the bullet needs to be matched to the paper to produce a 0.450" bullet when twice wrapped.

3. Forget about lube. At least to start. Lube free, wipe between shots. When you get decent results with this, and if, and only if, you really need lube for a specialty application (like making deer dead), do you need to worry about lube.

4. Put a lot of powder in the case. 102 grs and a card wad w/o compression should be a good starting point. Seat the bullet gently on top.

If the paper-bullet-bore fit is good. You are likely to be at 2 MOA or better with that as a starting point.

Brent

[mustanggt]

I've just started PP myself and have gotten the book "Loading and Shooting Paper Patch Bullets" by Randolph Wright. Very good place to start. Shiloh Forums has alot of good info too. Some guys patch less than bore or to groove but most seem to do bore which is what I have decided to start at. BPCR.net has some good articles by Dan Theodore. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/PPB/PPB.htm is a good read also.

[Seth Hawkins]

Read Mathews' "The Paper Jacket". It's another great resource.

When you asked about lube for the bullet, were you thinking that the bullet would be lubed, or that a lube wad would be used?

[Littledog]

Regarding lubing the bullet, I've seen references where the paper is lubed and I've also seen where a lube "cookie" is used.

[geargnasher]

Smokeless PP lube is for conditioning the patch and lubing the barrel.

BP "cookies" or grease wads are for softening powder fouling.

Gear

[Don McDowell]

Regarding lubing the bullet, I've seen references where the paper is lubed and I've also seen where a lube "cookie" is used.

You can lube the patched bullet with a small drop of jojoba oil, or Rooster paper jacket lube.
You can use a grease cookie under the bullet.
Either method of "lubing" works fine for hunting etc.
If you're target shooting, shooting without any "lube" and wiping between shots works fine.