Guys-
Here is what you need to know to patch any size paper patch bullet for smokeless powder.
You notice that most rifles and handguns have a difference between bore and groove of about .008". You need to pick a patch paper that will increase the bullet diameter by that much. This amounts to paper that is about .002" thick up to .0025". That is 9 lb. onionskin. Measure with a micrometer any paper before you buy. Good results depend on this. Onionskin is more difficult to find and I have been told they don't make it anymore, that is false, you need to hunt until you find it. DO NOT buy the erasable kind, it will not wet so you can roll it on the bullet and stay. The bullet can be about any bullet (some do not fit right) you use for the caliber, you will need to size it to bore diameter or up to barrel throat diameter minus .008" (this is 4 times the thickness of the paper). You do not want the patched slug over throat diameter, preferably about .001" less. More and the patch will tear. Bullet alloy is important also. The bigbores should use pure lead up to 30:1 alloy and no harder. I hunt with mine and do not load but about 1500 fps in the bigbores and up to 1800 fps in 25 to 30 caliber. If you want to go faster you will need a stiffer alloy. Size those soft bullets in a made to order size LEE push thru sizer. Soft bullets WILL deform if sized down alot in a Lyman/RCBS die. Lube the bullets with case lube before or they will be lopsided. Clean it off afterwards. Slug your rifle throat and find the distance from the bottom of the case neck to the full rifling depth in the throat, this is your patched part of the bullet, this only applies to bottle necked cases, straight cases use a bullet that is patched over the ogive slightly. Paul Mathews has several books detailing how to find patch length and configuration, read them and follow his advice! I use spit to wet the patch also. Now you have a patched bullet, you need to lube the patch. I use Pauls patch lube also, I think its 55% vaseline and 45% beeswax, a cup of soup bowl will last forever. Just rub it into the patch on the bearing surface only with your fingers well and your bullet is done. To load you need to necksize your brass so that the inside neck diameter is about .002" under the patched diameter of your bullet. Chamfer the brass so it is very smooth so your finger nail does not catch on any part of it. Flare the case mouth so you can seat the patched bullet smoothly without tearing the patch or it seating hard. If you picked the right bullet, you can crimp lightly into the top lube groove. In patching conventional bullets, the patch will shrink into the lube grooves. These patched slugs do not have much of a bullet pull and need a moderate crimp to help powder ignition. When seated this way, the front band should be marked by the throat and leave a black impression where it touches, about 50% to 70% is normal for me. You need for the patched slug to be in the throat so it won't jump to the rifleing. These usually go thru lever actions very well. If you have problems with patch tearing, you will have to debur the offending part on the rifle. I do not size after patching, I have found a few problems in some calibers doing this. Patch it to the right size to begin with. If you patch smooth slugs as most dedicated paper patch molds put out, you will need to role the bullet with a file to put so roughness on it for the patch to hold onto. For most of my patching, I use SR 4759 in standard Lyman book loads. I have tested the pure lead patched bullets from spitting distance to 300 yards. Close will turn a slug inside out and at 300 yards they expand to 2 calibers minmum. Patched this way, the accuracy is more than you would believe if I told you. Enjoy
