Pillow Ticking Patches.

[flinter54]

Hi all.


Up until now I have used the store bought pre-lubed patches for the 3 rifles that I have. I wanted to give some pillow ticking a try, so I went to the local craft shop and purchased some. They had two different thicknesses so I purchased some of both, one was a pretty stiff material and the other, not so much.


The questions I had was, how wide should the strips should be (width of the barrel)?  Also, what is the preferable lubing products that you guys use?


Thanks for your help,


Flinter54

[Ranger99]

you should wash your material first
to get the sizing out.
that is likely the stiffness you speak of.
the material will also absorb lube better
and work better after washing.


i've used a bunch of different lubes.
i now use wonder1000.


be ready for 4 or 5 pages of contradicting
answers on patch lubes.


good luck

[flintlock]

For my .40 I tear them about an inch wide, for my .54 about a inch and a quarter to an inch and a half...I cut my patches at the muzzle so it really doesn't matter much except to conserve material...
 
For 25 years or so I simply used SnoSeal as a lube but about 5 years ago I started using a mix of bees wax, castor oil and Murphy's Oil Soap...I found this on the Traditional Muzzleloading Forum...Both work but by making your own you can control the thickness of the lube...
 
To lube ticking, I rip it about 2-3 feet long, take a putty knife and smear lube on one side...I then rub in with my fingers and microwave about 20 seconds...This heats the lube and helps it penetrate the ticking...I then roll up the strip and put in my patch box...

[Bugflipper]

I usually do close to 3x the bore diameter for patches. It's a little big but gives room for error if I don't get it right in the middle. For lube you can use about anything from spit up to store bought concoctions. Most folks use bore butter. A lot of folks use olive oil or crisco. I don't like getting my fingers greasy so I usually like something a little more solid and less oozey. Been using half and half beeswax to liquid alox for patch and bullet lube for awhile. A fellow on ebay sells it in 1 lb blocks cheaper than I can get beeswax to make my own.

[Ranch13]

As Ranger said, wash the material first to get the commercial sizing out, this will also tighten the weave.
The neat thing about tic patches you can spit patch it , or you can prelube it.
To prelube it just lay out a strip and smear it up with what ever your prefered lube is, then roll the strip back up and store it in a sucrets can. Altoids can works as well.

[Mike in Virginia]

You can buy pillow ticking patches that are pre-lubed with a dry lube.   I like those because I use a loading block, which for me is an authentic and fast way to load.  I hang it around my neck on a piece of rawhide lacing along with my antler powder measure. 

[Mike in Virginia]

Oops.  I see where you've already tried the pre-lubed patches. 

[flinter54]

Thank you everyone for the quick input, I really appreciate it. Looks like a try and then try something else proposition. Sounds great to me, as this will mean plenty of range time. I was surprised how different the two materials were with regards to the stiffness. Also, washing them first would have NEVER crossed my mind....Do I hang dry them or throw them in with the socks? Do you recommend scented dryer sheets.....   Thanks again for all the great experience you guys share.


Flinter54

[coyotejoe]

Tumble in the dryer makes it softer. For lube don't overlook plain ol spit. Pop the end of your patch strip in your mouth, get it good an wet, seat the ball and cut the patch off flush with the muzzle. It's not a hunting lube where the same load may be left in the gun for days or weeks but for range work nothing beats spit patch. This is especially true if you don't enjoy swabbing the bore after every shot. Spit makes that unnecessary, I've loaded and fired 30 rounds in an afternoon and when I clean my gun for the night it might just be cleaned with spit as well. I think much of the fouling which build up in the bore is residue of the patch lube, spit patch shoots very clean. I favor tight loads for accuracy. In my .45 I shoot a .451" ball with .017" pillow ticking and that takes a good lube to load, spit does fine. Spit is free, doesn't leave a greasy mess on your hands, your clothing and in you possibles bag, and you never forget to take it along.

[Ranger99]

f54, hunters specialties makes fresh-earth
scented dryer sheets if that would ease
your mind

[Winter Hawk]

In my .45 I shoot a .451" ball with .017" pillow ticking and that takes a good lube to load, spit does fine.

    You are using a ball which is larger than the bore?  How big of a hammer do you need to get that puppy down?  In my .45 I use a .440 ball with Walmart pillow ticking (.018" IIRC) and it needs a good shove to get it down the barrel!

-WH-

[flinter54]

Ranger,


Sounds good to me. Wonder what the wife would say if I actually got those and a swapped them out with hers...   As for the Spit for lube, that also sounds good, I will give it a try. Not worried about leaving a charge in the barrel for any longer than a day. I always like to start with a fresh load each day I go out.


Will be headed to the range this week, I do look forward to giving this a try. Taking the Cap-lock .32 Crockett, and the Lyman GPR Flinter in .54. Again, I appreciate the help.


Flinter54

[flintlock]

In my .45 I shoot a .451" ball with .017" pillow ticking and that takes a good lube to load, spit does fine.

    You are using a ball which is larger than the bore?  How big of a hammer do you need to get that puppy down?  In my .45 I use a .440 ball with Walmart pillow ticking (.018" IIRC) and it needs a good shove to get it down the barrel!

-WH-

It's quite common for competitive shooters to use a ball larger than the bore...Pure lead is quite soft and will conform to the lands and grooves easily...In addition, barrel manufactures never adopted a standard as far as barrel diameter...Some are over bore and some under...

[Cuts Crooked]

In my .45 I shoot a .451" ball with .017" pillow ticking and that takes a good lube to load, spit does fine.

    You are using a ball which is larger than the bore?  How big of a hammer do you need to get that puppy down?  In my .45 I use a .440 ball with Walmart pillow ticking (.018" IIRC) and it needs a good shove to get it down the barrel!

-WH-

It's quite common for competitive shooters to use a ball larger than the bore...Pure lead is quite soft and will conform to the lands and grooves easily...In addition, barrel manufactures never adopted a standard as far as barrel diameter...Some are over bore and some under...

True! I have  ".45" custom Ohio style rifle that I load with .454 balls wrapped in commercial patches. They slide down easy. But this was built around a Japanese made barrel.