Patches out of a new barrel

[roundball]

Originally Posted by MtnMike2

I'll bite. What about reading a patch? Read in Fadala's book about cutting but would like to know more. I'm getting a small hole in the .010" patches I use. What causes it and what can I do about it? Does it affect accuracy? I'm getting good accuracy I think...


Mike

Personally I've never known of a successful application of wispy thin little .005" and .010" patches...to my knowledge they're only made in standard loose weave plain cotton...they're so thin they have no body and don't hold any lube to speak of, very often cut like in your case, and/or don't survive the fire.
A far better patch material is pillow ticking...by its design it has a higher thread count and tighter weave...much stronger, and if using at least a .015" patch they hold a little lube and are stronger...better yet are thicker .018" to .020" pillow ticking patches, and they usually tighten up groups some, result in less fouling, etc.

The stats for my patch photo are:

.580" bore
.570" ball
.018" pillow ticking prelubed with NL1000

At first glance, you'll do the math and think, hey, with the patch on both sides that's .036" of patching and it can't all fit...but of course it does...the material compresses to at least half its normal thickness, etc...and that tight wedge fit is what helps minimize fouling and tighten groups