Reading "round ball" patches

[MAN - GA]

I shot my first round balls this weekend on an outing with the kids.  I have read as much as I could find online about reading the patches, but wanted to see what the experts here have to say.  My setup is .490 ball with ticking that I measured at .0165 to .018.  I cut strips 3" wide, lubed them up and was cutting patch at the muzzle.  I seated ball flush with muzzle and then cut patch.  Shot 65 - 70 grains (by volume) of Pyrodex RS and accuracy at 25yds was very good.  Patches showed no burn marks or rifling marks, but the fabric on the bottom of the ball or center of patch was very thin when recovered some actually had a small hole the size of an eraser - is this a problem?
These are a pleasure for the kids to shoot as well  mine range from 7 - 12yrs old and the recoil is not objectionable at all to them - it actually feels just moderately more than a .22LR
Gun is a TC Hawken in .50cal
 

[45-70.gov]

no rifling  marks
patch might  be too thin


but i am far from expert

[flintlock]

As long as you are happy with accuracy then it's not a problem...You  might see a problem when you go to a deer load (75-100grs) of powder..
 
That said, it ain't normal either...
 
Patches normally burn through where they contact the rifling when you have problems and there are several reasons for this...
 
What were you lubing them with??? A cheap lube that I used for 25 years or so is SnoSeal...If the hole bothers you, put some wasp nesting between the patch and powder as an insulater...
 
Also, pillow ticking the last few years, like everything else we are getting from China isn't as good as it use to be...Might try another source...

[MAN - GA]

I guess I should qualify the hole better - the ticking doesn't appear around the edges to have burn marks it just appears as a ragged hole and in some instances very thin fabric just a few strings holding it together like a spider web.
Lube was an old jar of TC Maxi-Lube and some I did with TC bore butter  - I just cut the strips and laid them on a cutting board and used a putty knife to rub in and wipe off excess
Patches seem to fit very tight - I don't have much to guage by since this is my first time, but it was stout to get them started and then took some reasonable force to get down the barrel - they seem to fit tight all the way down
I'll work on getting some photos up for observation

[mcwoodduck]

I just use the pre cut patches.  while not exactly traditional they are convienient.
I used to go to a black powder shoot and they showed me that easy thing to do was to put the patch on your tounge while you measured the powder and poured it down the tube.  Place the wet patch on the muzzle and then the ropund ball.  Use a ball starter.
The spit acts as a lube for quick shots and keeps your hands clean for the shoots.  The patches I have found of mine are not burned with the spit and they usually have the ball centered.   
Hunting I use grease and mess up the patch pretty good as the spit will dry up.  So far no kills with the BP rifle but the patches from the grease look much the same when I shoot the gun at the end of  the day and see the patch the next day when I reload.
If what you are seeing in your patch is off centered ball then you may want to try store bought patches for a while. Especall if you are making large groups.   
If what you are doing has you making small groups at 50, 75 or 100 yards with round ball then keep doing what you are doing and do not ask why the groups are small. 

[SHOOTALL]

I use 490 ball and .015 patches . Some come lubed others I lube with bore butter. I like to soak the patch in BB then get them warm . When I shoot the patch shows marks but no burn thru.

[flintlock]

It sounds like your patches aren't strong enough...Make sure it is pure cotton and has a good thread count...

[necchi]

These Denim patches are cut at the muzzle from a match winning combination of lube, ball size and an 80grn 2F powder charge. As you can see they do take some abuse, but for all the diagnosis out there these look as they should.

 
For those that will say;
"Oh I can see Rifling cut's, your rifling's too sharp."
 This barrel has had an easy 1,000 rounds down the tube before these patches where photographed. Those marks are there because it's a tight combo, .021 fabric and a 535 ball in a GM 54 slow twist.

[MAN - GA]

Here is a couple of the patches recoverred - pictures are of the same patches one photo for each side of patch
Also one of the gun for reference it is standard TC Hawken with 1:48 factory barrel and was not a kit gun
And thanks for the input to all you guys who have offered input - much appreciated

[MAN - GA]

It sounds like your patches aren't strong enough...Make sure it is pure cotton and has a good thread count...

It is the Wally World blue ticking (said 100% cotton on the label) - probably not the only guy to go in trying to measure it - heck what can you say when trying to find fabric to "do it yourself" these days
Still lots of fun shooting - the gun I think will out shoot my ability and I only had one range session with kids barking at me asking who was going to be the next to shoot when I was trying to concentrate and load up - I guess there could be alot worse memories

[flintlock]

Take a closer look at the crown of that rifle, it almost appears to me like that could have been cut at the muzzle when you started the ball...Hard to tell with pictures but I have never seen a hole under the ball...
 
Something else you could try...Take a ball and a strip of ticking and start the ball...Don't cut at the muzzle and then pull the ball out of the barrel...Look at the ticking and see if it's cut...No need for lube here, just checking the crown...

[MAN - GA]

Thanks Flintlock I'll try the recommendation and see - that was one of the first patches shot so maybe it is loader error - the crown appears in very good shape nice and smooth when running finger over it - maybe some more shooting will tell me if there is a problem or not  THANKS