Is it just me?

[MuskratMike]

My favorite "hunting rifle" (aren't they all hunting rifles) in .54 caliber shoots slightly better with .020 greased patches than .018 but is definitely harder to load. I like to load for the days hunt with the .020 greased patch and have 2 or 3 greased .018 patch and balls in my small ball board for reloading if necessary. As time is of the element on reloading does anyone else do this or is the "Muskrat" the only one?

[sqrldog]

I do the same MM just makes sense to me. .590  first shot. .585 second shot. Tim

[smylee grouch]

I cant ever remember being pressed for time after my first shot so I like to load a tight combo on all shots. They just shoot better in my guns. Maybe thats just me.

[rich pierce]

A lot depends on the barrel. I have 2 barrels that are obviously choked: a .45 GRRW and a .45 Bill Large. Both load like a charm once short started no matter how many shots without cleaning. I feel resistance when doing final seating of the ball on the charge but that’s it. My non-choked barrels get harder to load. Sometimes I choke them.

[Bob McBride]

Thankfully the rifles I shoot the most, my small calibers, shoot 20+ shots before taking a wipe. .350/.022

[MuskratMike]

I was referring to patch thickness not ball size or dirtiness of the barrel. The .020 patching works great just a little tight so kind of hard to load in the woods if a wounded elk is "saundering" off. Much easier to ram that 2nd shot down the tube with .015-.018 on a ball board with a greased patch as both loads shoot to "minute of elk".
I shoot out the load, clean and reload every night back at elk camp as the area we hunt is at 6,000 feet and may or not have snow, rain clear skies or a combination of all. Temperatures are generally low 20's to low -20's at night. So in the morning I would still have a fresh load with the tighter patch?
Clear as mud?

[Fyrstyk]

My .58 likes a.018 patch.  shoots best with this, but hard to load.  I use .015 in my ball board for back up shots as they load easier with the wood ram rod.  I guess what Iam saying, is I do what you are doing so if I have to take a follow up shot, I am not struggling to get the patched ball down the bore.

[Bob McBride]

I guess I haven’t run into the harder to load second shot, but then I’ve been accused more than once of ‘more brawn than brains’.... 

[flinchrocket]

Maybe your loading block absorbs some of the lube making it harder to load.

[longcruise]

I load the same for all shots.   Usually three in a ball board and one in the barrel.   It is a tight load and Saturday I'll play around with a slightly thinner patch and might use it this year.   

One reason is because I'm very likely to shoot the first shot (s) at grouse so that makes the first shot at elk a reload.  Otherwise it stays loaded for the season.

My last deer was my first one that I used a reload on.  The first shot seemed good but it was a few minutes after sundown so I did a quick reload just using a flannel wiping patch.   When I got up on her she was on her feet but not going anywhere.  The coup de gras was from about 15'.

[Darkhorse]

.530 ball, .018 patch first shot. I carry .015 patches in case I need a quick second shot. I also carry a strip of .018 for a slower reload especially if my nerves need calming.