Paper Patching?

[Cuts Crooked]

Howdy pards,

I'd like to hear frum sum of ya about yer experiances with paper patched bullets.  I've never tried them in BPR guns, but did do sum fooling around with them in an old 8MM rifle years ago, loaded with smokeless, and was very surprized at the great results back then. I was shooting .30 slugs that I had knurled by rolling them under a bastard file and patched with some high quality bond paper that I had around the office. As I recall, accuracy was excellant..way beyond what the gun did with mil surp ammo, and I discovered a side effect in that it seemed to burnish the bore to a very smooth shiney appearence.

What I'm interested in is what you folks can tell me about shooting PP slugs in our favored subject here...BPR Cartridges! :grin:  I'm curious about all aspects of PP so be as detailed as you can about yer responses please. Fer instance, how about lube? Do you use cookies with Paper patches to provide lube? (I hope not, because my Roller doesn't seem to like them all that well)

Anything ya got to tell me?.......I'm "listening"!  :wink:

[Cuts Crooked]

Huh! Lotta lookers but no answers!?!?!

Well I tried! :wink:

[Ray Newman]

“Making, Loading, and Shooting Paper Patched Bullets”

http://www.iastate.edu/~codi/PPB/PPB.html

“The Corbin Handbook of Bullet Swaging, No. 8”

http://www.swage.com/ebooks/hb-8.htm


Bullet swaging equipmnent & supplies:

http://www.rceco.com/index.htm

http://www.corbins.com/index.htm

http://www.ontargetswaging.com/

[Cuts Crooked]

Thanx Ray! Good stuff there!

From what I've seen here and elsewhere on the web it seems like paper patching is/has become a "lost art" understood by very few and practiced by even fewer.

Anyone else care to chime in with their xperiances or info?

[JBMauser]

There is a seperate forum listing where we few Patchers hold up down the list a bit.  I have patched 8mm myself and I am looking to do 45/70 with BP and that grey powder as well.  I have yet to do the deed but  my plan is to load with a lube waffer or wad for the fouling under the bullet a wax paper or plastic coffee lid wad to keep the base of the Patched bullet dry and a unlubed  paper patch for the bore.  JB

[Cuts Crooked]

Thanx JB! Sumhow Ah nebber noticed that forum! :oops:

Ah'll stop in there 'n have a looksee!

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Hey Cuts!

This has been my latest game.  Albeit I'm doing it with smokeless powder.  That paper patched forum down the list a ways will cover a lot about BPCR loadings too.  PP seems to be most popular with the BPCR folks.

I've been patching for my .357 Rossi.  Best things I've learned so far:
You can use your normal lubed-grooved cast bullets; just cast 'em from soft lead, patch 'em, then size 'em.  This requires absolutely NO special gear or molds.  Just paper and a knife.

Next, I learned that even with smokeless it's best to find a 100% density loading - which is thankfully realistic with a .357mag.

Over the chronograph Lil'Gun powder is able to push a 158 grain pp bullet over 1900 fps from a 24" bbl.  5-shot groups are around 1.75" at 40 meters, best 3 go under an inch.

There's an author who has written a lot about BPCR, Paul Mathews (I think).  He wrote a couple books on paper patching.  First one was The Practical Paper Jacket, the second book is called The Paper Jacket.  I read the latter and it was excellent.

Now I have little doubt of the .357 rifle capability as a deer gun.  If a .50 roundball muzzle loader is adequate, a 158 grain slug going the same velocity certainly will do the job.

I tested a paper patched bullet and a factory soft-point load by shooting 'em into milk jugs.  I backed the milk jugs with a 4-foot long pile of snow to catch the bullets without adding any extra mushrooming.  The copper jacketed bullet penetrated a little deeper and expanded to .6"  The paper jacketed bullet penetrated slightly less and expanded to .8"

Now I can hunt with cast bullets without having to pacify my mind with some theories about meplate diameter, yada yada yada.