At our monthly muzzle loader/black powder match yesterday I was asked to solve a problem since many of the black powder shooters have started calling me the "BP expert"?! This issue was the rifle (54 caliber) was shooting the lead round ball through the center of the pillow ticking patch with a nice round hole in the middle. I had never seen this happen, usually the outer edges get torn up and/or burnt badly. I watched the shooter load his powder (80 grains of FFG, same load I use in my 50 cal.) then wet the patch with several different lubes such as spit, Crisco and Bore Butter (I gave him some) and the same thing happened every time? I did not have my bore scope handy so I could not see how rough or smooth the rifling is. Loading the ball and patch did not take a huge amount force and seemed even all the way down. He also tried several other powder loads but that made no difference?
Any ideas what could cause this?
John