Getting Started

[DanM]

Greetings....I have never tried paper patching, but would like to 'give it a go'. I just received a long awaited special order mold from MidSouth called the "8mm Maximum". I haven't even tried it yet, but expect it to drop about .325". I am wondering about trying it in my M95 Steyr which likes regular cast boolits at .333-.334". This boolit has lube grooves, and a base intended for a GC. I don't know if that is a problem or not, and if this application is not practical, I hope that someone will let me know. I have been looking at the sticky posts, and the amount of info there is somewhat daunting. I will continue my research, but am wondering if anyone will help me out with some basic advice. I realize that volumes have been written on this subject, and don't expect anyone to give up all his secrets, but some basic pointers or links to such will be greatly appreciated. For now, I am not shooting any BP, just smokeless. Thanks....

[Buckshot]

You can use about any paper that will stand being wetted, then stretched as it's rolled on the boolit.

Final over the patch OD. Most any diameter can be met by:

1) Sizing the slug before patching, and / or
2) Selecting a suitable paper thickness, and / or
3) Sizing the patched slug once dry.

As simple as one, or a combination of the above makes a final OD almost infinate.

The leading edge of the patch must be protected from being damaged, pushed back, crumpled up, as it's being chambered. Ditto the base as the slug is seated into the cartridge case. The leadng edge can be protected by being patched into a groove provided for the purpose, or patched beyond the turn of the ogive.

I've always used a GC when patching normal lube grooved boolits requiring one (patched OVER the GC).

Any lube which will turn the patch translucent will usually have a negative effect on accuracy.
A good PP lube for smokless is Lee LA.
A good short term lube for BP or smokless is beeswax and vegetable oil.
An excellent lube is spray moly. Not sticky and is VERY long term.

The patch should be cut in a parallelogram to wrap twice around the slug with the ends 'just' not touching, and wide enough to turn under the base but not meet in the center. The angle of the parallelogram should be adjusted for the circumfrence of the slug. The larger the OD of the slug, the steeper the angle. IMO the angle should allow the beginning and end of the paper to wrap half around the slug.

There can be more, and there can be differences of opinions, and differences in details.

...............Buckshot

[docone31]

That is a pretty good tutorial. About the way I do it.
I use very little lube, and I do not use gas checks. I use the lube to size the patched boolitts. The paper does the lubing down the bore. What little wax is left on the patch after running through the die helps to weather proof it.

[DanM]

Thanks guys, Buckshot, that IS a good tutorial. From my reading, it seems like I shoud get some onionskin paper for starters. That stuff is not so common anymore. I know of a store called "If It's Paper" that should have it. So, I need to roll it on wet with water. Do I size it while still wet? I have heard that some use LLA on their patches. At what point would that be applied? So many questions....

[docone31]

Walmart has a paper called
Meade Traceing paper. It is in a notebook style binder.
That paper is great for starting out. When it dries, it is hard and shrinks.

[DanM]

WalMart paper, hmmm, I might be able to afford that. Does anyone have a link to a tutorial with pictures of the cutting and rolling process?

[docone31]

Dan, especially with the rifle you want to patch for,
Take a piece of vynl venetian blind, cut it to length.
To find the length, take a casting, and roll it up in a patch. Match the ends so when you cut them, they meet. The paper will stretch when wet. The venetial blind now can be cut as you wrap untill the patch meets while wet.
There you have it.
With my .30s, and .303 British, my patch is 1 3/16" in length. The ends are opposite 45* (about) angles.
Once you find the length, you can cut a bunch, then wrap.
The grain is across the sheet of Meade. You will use the strips cut across the sheet. I use 1" strips and twist the tail.

[45nut]

Something I would love to see here is a pdf or something with templates you can print and then cut from metal on your own, or a vendor sponsor step up and offer a variety.
I would love to have one in 30 and 458 myself.

One quick Q: would a PP for a 303 be the same as for a 30-06?

[docone31]

Use a .30cal mold. Size to .308, wrap, then size to .309. The .303 is too large at the nose. I use a .303 mold, sized to .308, wrapped, then sized to .314. In both cases, the wrap length is 1 3/16". I wrap to 1/2 of the ogive.

[DanM]

Should I be OK using my regular rifle alloy which is about 25bhn when water dropped, or will I be better of with something softer? Plain WW is as soft as I have now. I have vynal strips that are used for rewebbing outdoor furniture, maybe that would work, but it is pretty thick. The only venetian blinds I have seen are thin metal strips. Are you talking about using the vynal instead of a cigarette roller to get a tighter wrap? I can check tobacco shops for a roller machine....

[docone31]

I water drop my wheel weight, with zinc! They are extremely hard. When they hit the berm, they burrow. The paper acts as a buffer between the rifleing and casting.
Were it me, I would water drop them.

[303Guy]

Great tutorial, Buckshot! Brief and to the point. :Fire:
Sums up what I have learned over the months (from you folks and a little experimenting).

We should mention to DanM that paper orientation is important. It expands and shrinks more in one direction.

[scrapcan]

The reference to windo wblind is for making the patch pattern. There is a good older article on paper patching in Handloaders digest somwhere about 1990 to 1994. Maybe someone with the dvd version could get you a copy.

Here is a link to a thread for making a patch pattern.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=11301

[bearcove]

You are on the same track as me. I got a 8mm max mold to paper patch in my 338-06. I plan to ream out the gas check and lube grooves and then lap one of the cavities. should be about the right size. Hopefully close to .330

[longbow]

Here's a link or two:

http://www.lrml.org/technical/ammunition/patching.htm
http://members.shaw.ca/bobschewe/
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/PPB/PPB.htm
http://www.bpcr.net/site_docs-results_schedules/documents/Technical_Information.htm
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nicholas.washington/paperpatch.html

Okay then 5, I tend to ramble a bit.

Longbow

[DanM]

I have been putting off a trip to Wally World for months now. SWMBO wants to go there this weekend. Looks like I will have to give in and take her (she is blind so I drive her wherever she wants). Hope they aren't out of the meade tracing paper.....

Thanks all for the info!

[montana_charlie]

Hope they aren't out of the meade tracing paper.....
When you leave the house to buy patching paper you should have two things with you.
- the known depth of your rifling
- a caliper or micrometer

You are looking for paper that is very close to half the depth of your grooves.
CM