Cutting patch at the muzzle question

[Thlayli]

This morning I watched Black Powder TV's shooting of the .58 caliber Mike Brooks rifle.  I'd like to try cutting patches at the muzzle, but I'm wondering how flush it needs to be.  Let's say you have a length of material tied to your strap, and you seat the ball on top of the last bit at the end. Will the ball get stuck if you don't trim it right to the muzzle?  Thank you, and the videos are great.

[MuskratMike]

The main thing to remember when cutting at the muzzle is to use a razor sharp knife, in fact on my little 32 since it is fairly easy to pull the material and ball out of the barrel before cutting but when gathering I use an old straight razor with a deer tine handle. I cut my material into strips and pre-lube them instead of large pieces of material ( I believe Bob does this to facilitate the filming process). Either way use a very sharp instrument.

[Daryl]

If you have a coned muzzle, then a VERY sharp knife is needed, as Mike has noted, as any pulling on the patch as it is being cut
can also pull the ball out.  With a radius crown and tight combination, that will not happen.

[walks with gun]

   I find it to be a pain if you shoot very much, as others have said you can pull a ball out,  ( I don't use real tight fitting balls in the first place), takes more time, ( I carry 20-30 pre cut, lubed square patches and a half dozen balls in a jappened tin) faster, easy and keeps dust and debris out of patching material.

[Dale Halterman]

To get back to the original question, they do not have to be trimmed that flush. Some people even use square patches without problems. In my experience, if there is enough patch material that the balls gets stuck, then there is enough material for you pull the ball out. I only cut at the muzzle and my loads are tight enough that I don't have trouble with the ball pulling out when I trim the patch material. But I do keep my knife sharp.

Dale H

[Bob McBride]

I don’t focus too much on perfectly slicing the patching tightly to the muzzle even though a sharp knife will naturally skim it off pretty neatly. I often leave a tag similar to what you would have with square patching. I don’t worry about it. Muskrat, I do use the wider patching almost exclusively for the range. It gives me about 40 shots (2 patches wide) which is about what I shoot per day at the range and when the patching’s gone the day is done. My normal strip is a foot long and one patch wide. As far as it getting dusty or dirty, the one thing you never see on the videos, which I need to show I guess, is that the patching is tucked into my bag until I need it and not laying in the dirt while shooting from the sitting for example. I find it twice as fast as using the tin, which is only important to me for my squirrel gun really.

I’ve been testing out also keeping a strip of cleaning patch material hanging as well.  It works very well as a flick of the knife gives me a cleaning patch and the number one thing cluttering my bag is gone.

[OldMtnMan]

I agree a sharp knife will cut it close and make the whole process easier.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I always use a short starter whose antler or wooden knob has a 1/8" long peg that presses the patching and ball down into the muzzle by 1/8".  The knife then cuts away the patch which is a long strip tied to the strap of the bag.  I carry my patching dry so it doesn't collect dirt and such.  When patching in this manner, I normally use saliva, and I just soak the last inch at a time.  My ramrod never becomes stuck using this system.

[heelerau]

I tend to shoot looser fitting ball with thicker patch, I use the but of the knife handle to set the ball just below the level of the muzzle.  As others have said you do need a ver sharp knife to cut them.