Paper Patch Question about 458 Lott

[jcadwell]

I'm shooting Barnes solid copper bullets and 500 grain cast lead (~4% tin+WW) from my Ruger #1 in 458 Lott.

Shooting the copper solids is a mess. Always leaves copper fouling (who would have guessed :)) and is a pain to clean out. Lead is a challenge, and lubing is a mess when trying to lube after using a Lee Sizer.

Can I paper patch some undersized bullets and control fouling without messing with grease grooves and lube?

It would be very easy for me to make a mold just for paper patching out of an old Lee single mold on my mill. A bullet with no grease grooves that I could size to 452 then patch?

I have never paper patched before, but if I can keep the bore cleaner, and still shoot lead at higher speeds (500 grains at 2000ish FPS?, 300 at 2700?) I'd be happy.

Any thoughts, am I crazy?

[Uncle Ji]

Not personal experiance but I have read of others wrapping their cast bullets with the teflon plumber's tape (available at any hardware store in 1/2" & 3/4" widths) with great success. It's relatively thin so easy enough to add layers to increase diameter as needed.

[k8bor]

I've read numerous times about paper patch bullets requiring some kind of a taper on the bullet to shoot well. Yours sounds like an interesting project, and I love the thought of a .458 lott in a #1. Dogs, what a gun. Low speed lead for deer, and then anything else you'd ever want to shoot at high speed!