I got some pillow ticking from Walmart, washed it twice and let it air dry. It measures thicker than i figured it would In a 54 cal with a .530 ball its pretty hard to get the ball down, with a .520 ball i can push it into the barrel its hard but dont need a starter. Accuracy is decent but could be better. How tight should it be? With the .520 patches i picked some of the fired ones and they look like they could be used again. Thats with 80 gr 3f. The barrel was a 50 but sent it to Hoyt and he made it into a 54 60 inch twist. I dont like the .530 balls im afraid of breaking my ram rod. My 50 with .490 balls same thing too tight. Tried bed sheet that was .0010 but burnt patches. Any one else get pillow ticking thats this thick.