patching alternative?????

[XWrench3]

i have known about paper patching for more than 20 years. my late uncle used to do it back in the day. but i never really got to know much about it. anyway, one thing that has been crossing my mind is instead of using paper to patch with, would be using teflon tape to patch with. if i had the stuff to try it, i would. but i do not. has anyone tried doing that? about the only thing that i could see that may not work is i do not know if the teflon tape would just melt out before the bullet left the bore or not.

[docone31]

First off, there is nothing simpler and more available than paper to patch with.
That said, there are people who have played with Teflon tape. Some call it plumbers tape.
Some with very low velocity loads had some success. Some with reasonably high pressure loads with Teflon have had miserable success and spent a lot of time Cleaning the bore.
I believe, paper semi-duplicates the copper jacket. Teflon does not do this. The paper protects the casting as it is fired allowing fast loads to hit the target predictably.
I got into paper patching as I wanted to make Sabots useing Nylon, or polyethelene. I never got off the think table as I do not have extrusion capability, let alone any of the skills to make a mold. I have a tough enough time casting silver and gold. That is not rocket science yet tough enough.
I had tossed around casting an half jacket into a mold, or useing wrapped wire to simulate an half jacket. I can draw wire so I could fool around with guage. I still get better performance with paper!
I am still learning things your Uncle probably knew about first hand!
For simplicity and downrange performance, I use paper. I have not fired a jacketed round in two years now. I have fired a bunch of paper jackted rounds though. Quite possibly over several thousand.
We have had several folks try all sorts of techniques. Teflon, Brown Bag paper, X patches.
We all seem to go back to paper, without lube.
Sure makes after range clean up simple.

[303Guy]

I think one can get pure teflon tape but what we buy as teflon tape only has a teflon content. Anyway, how would teflon clean and polish the bore?[smilie=1:

[montana_charlie]

one thing that has been crossing my mind is instead of using paper to patch with, would be using teflon tape to patch with.

if i had the stuff to try it, i would. but i do not. has anyone tried doing that?
Yes, with no real success to claim. Try the 'search' feature...
CM

[bcp477]

I tried it. Had lots of trouble just keeping the tape on the bullet (it does NOT stick to itself very well). Finally had to seal the end with glue. The tape was a major PAIN to work with, too. Finally, the shooting results sucked (NO accuracy). So, I dropped the idea as unworkable.

[RMulhern]

The Sharps Company figured out WHAT WORKS over 130 years ago!

[leadman]

I've used teflon tape in the past with some sucess.
I am planning an trying this with my 40-65 Roller and the Lyman Snover 400gr.
What I found before is it is alot easier to wrap the tape on the boolit if the lube grooves are filled with lube, especially if the grooves are very wide.
I may try it in my 1903A3 sporter also. The bore is a little rough in this rifle so it may not work well.

[303Guy]

What is the objective for using teflon tape? High purity teflon should slip down the bore without leaving deposits provided the bore is smooth. Not sure how it would behave in a rough bore. Perhaps it would work on a smooth sided boolit, where the rifling can shred it effectively. How would one keep the 'stretch' on the tape consistant from boolit to boolit? What about a layer of paper under the teflon to assist with separation?