Ball & patch combo question

[James]

Hello, I am starting to work up a load for a 42" .50 GM straight oct. barrel. I have .490 ball and .18 patches that I've been using in a Traditions .50  and they are quite tight in the Traditions, but noticeably easier to push with the rod down the GM barrel. Any suggestions so that I'm not buying a bunch of stuff that may not help? How tight should the combination be? Are the GM barrels consistent enough from one to the next that someone with a similar barrel may know the combo I need? Thank you, James   

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

James, your question is next to impossible to answer.  What I call a nice easily loading combo others say is too tight.  But your GM barrel is going to be easier to load than the Traditions because of quality of internal finish.  You should be able to load .490 PURE LEAD balls and .018" thick cotton patches dripping with spit very very easily with a 5/16" hickory rod.

[Dphariss]

I use a .495 and a .018"-.020" patch in GM 50s these load easy and I have a .500 mold coming to try.
The narrow lands of the GM load easier.
Mine shoots best with 90 gr of FFF Swiss. So far anyway. Significantly better than 75.
Hope this .500 mould is what its supposed to be.

Dan

[Dphariss]

PS GM is a quality barrel. I would not expect any significant variation in bore size. I have used 495 and .018 patch in three, Two are in a Swivel Breech and while they were tapped for different sizes (I cut them 4" at the breech anyway so it was not a factor) the bores are identical and both seem to shoot the same load.

Dan

[Harnic]

I too use a .495" Ø ball with a denim patch (.0187") in my GM 50 cal barrel.  Seems a great fit with fired patches found in good enough condition to re-use.

[James]

This is one of the problems with limited experience. I've only loaded the two guns. Night and day, but then so is the speed of ignition    Chambers Siler is outstanding, even in the hands of an amateur.

[Harnic]

This is one of the problems with limited experience.

Well, there's a solution James, it's called "practice" & it's a lot of fun too, so fly at it!

[Leatherbelly]

  James, go to a fabric store with your vernier caliper. Buy some 20 thou, 23 thou and 25thou denim if you can or cotton drill. Has to be pure cotton.  Experiment with these three thicknesses  and your 490 ball and let us know how it works out. You need a good short starter to get the ball going. No biggy. Didn't notice what lube you used.

[Dphariss]

The heavy weight blue stripe ticking from JoAnne fabrics is good (if you have such a place in your area). They usually have different types. I buy the stuff that is narrower width and is heavily sized (stiff). Wash out the sizing, dry on high heat and then use.
True linen works very well but usually requires a thinner patch for the same fit since it is less compressible than cotton. Its also tougher and has a higher ignition temp. Its also harder to find in thicknesses over .010"

Dan

[Daryl]

The only linen available around here is about .008" to.012" thick. That might work for wiping your butt, but that's about it- about %$30.00 per yard, too.
The suggetons given are good, of course. There are  a lot of good shooters here with their 'stuff' together.

Measuring cloth thickness in thousanths and getting simlar results from different people is almost impossible. Seems no one uses a pair of calipers on cloth in the same manner, with the same pressure.  Different calipers give different measurments.  I have 3 'pair' of calipers and get readings .004 different from my micrometer, with .003" difference between the calipers themselves.  What do to?

Most or many of us up here shoot Denim- some have recently in the last year, switched to heavy ticking.  I shoot both, depending on which rifle I'm using.  Denim in 10 oz weight (10 ounce, not 10 thou) works in virtually everyone's rifle. It measures .0185" to .0225" depending on which method and tool is used to measure it.  It it good material. The 8oz. Denim is too thin for any of my rifles, even the .40 and that one shoots a .3975" ball in it's .398" bore - it is easy loading due to narrow lands, wide grooves and and being a Goodoien barrel, 'factory' lead-lapped inner surface.  I have a GM .45 barrel and it-too responds to exactly the same 'formula' used in most accurate rifles, a ball that is .005" smaller than the bore and a 10oz Denim or Mattress ticking patch, .020" or thicker.

The ticking spoken of is a mattress ticking I believe and is also available here.  I measure it .001" thinner than 10oz. denim and it also shoots well & cleanly in all my rifles.

Here, the boys who inlude Taylor, Canvasback, Crispy and Neil of this site as well as Len, Clarence and Hatchet Jack - all use a descently heavy cloth patch with some form of water-based lube for shooting targets on the trail. Taylor used an oil, Neetsfoot Oil, all this last winter. None of us has to wipe the bore while were're shooting, whether it's a quick 20 to 30 shot day, or 80 shots- the bore never gets 'dirty', doesn't pick up or accumulate fouling.  This is due to using a thick patch, with plenty of lube. Damp doesn't work.

Wet works.

[Roger Fisher]

Suggest .495 and then .500 ball and plenty of schpit

[hanshi]

James, I'd suspect one reason the prb loads more easily in the GM barrel is that the grooves are deeper and probably wider, too.  This gives more room for the patch material to compress.  I don't know what you call "easy" but you can certainly experiment with a .495" ball or a thicker patch or even both.