WTK - 1 1/8" round patch good for .45 cal Flintlock???

[AZ Longrifle]

I just bought my 1st .45 cal Virginia Flintlock Longrifle and I have a 1 1/8" arch die cutter. Are these big enough for use in this cal? I will be using cleaning patched, which are thinner and Old Govmt. issue patches which are thicker. Bullets, I got Hornady .44 round ball.
I use this die to cut 4 gauge shot wads/cards for my Blunderbuss.
I was hoping to double it's use.
Thank you!

[SCLoyalist]

The acid test, of course, is to try it.   But, if you were cutting a patch with a patchknife at the muzzle, you'd be creating a patch 1.13" in diameter, just a little less more than the 1.125" diameter your die cutter should be making.   And, I just put a ruler on a patch from a bag of Eastern Maine Shooter Supply precuts for 40-49 cal, and it measured 1.125.   I don't see why you wouldn't be okay.

[AZ Longrifle]

Thank you, Sir!
I thought it would be close to the usable size, but never fire this caliber before.

[T*O*F]

Are you talking about cleaning patches or shooting patches?

There are unconsidered variables, one of which is the jag your are using.

[AZ Longrifle]

For both. The thicker patches for shooting and the cleaning patches, thinner, with a .45 Jag tip and fouling scrapper end tip. Am I going about it correctly?

[roundball]

I use T/C's precut / prelubed pillow ticking shooting patches which are 1 & 1/8" diameter.

I've always used 2" square cotton cleaning patches for cleaning .45/.50cals, 2&1/2" for .54/.58cals, and 3" for 62cal.

Unless you use a lube like Hoppes No9 PLUS BP, which allows the next seated PRB to wipe the bore clean after every shot and virtually makes fouling non-existent, I wouldn't think 1 & 1/8" cleaning patches have enough bulk material to wipe/pick up enough fouling out of the grooves and bore walls...maybe if you used multiples of them...dunno.

[SCLoyalist]

AZ, for shooting patches, the best material choice and lube can't be predicted; you pretty much have to try  several samples and see what works best as you work up a load.  For my last rifle, at the local JoAnn fabric store, I bought a selection of a couple of thicknesses of linen, pure cotton twill, etc,. A half yard of each was enough for several dozen shots to see what produced the best groups.    The stuff that didn't work best got cut into larger squares for cleaning patches.   Your punch should be right for shooting patches, but a bit small for cleaning patches.

For cleaning patches, the more material you can get down the bore without jamming up means more fouling you can bring out on each patch.   In my .54, I've started using pieces of shop strength paper towels from Home Depot for the bulk of the cleaning chore.  You've got to be a bit careful not to punch the jag through when starting it down the muzzle, but once started, they work just fine, and are cheaper than cloth.

SCL

[roundball]

For cleaning patches when I first started out, I bought a couple bags of precut cleaning patches from the Southern Bloomer Company in Tennessee...$10-$12 bucks per bag of a 1000 as I recall.

But as I began to focus more on available cotten items in the household I began using old T-shirts, flannel shirts, the wife's PJ's, nightgowns, etc...ie: get a couple hundred patches from a 2XL-tall T-shirt and quite a few hundred from one of my wife's flannel nightgowns.  Still have partial bags of those store-bought patches left from 10 years ago because of so much material that is constantly becoming available here in the house.  

Wife's quilting includes a 'cutting mat' with a rolling razor blade cutter (like a pizza cutter)...lets me go through a half dozen old T-shirts for a good 1000+ cleaning patches ziploc bagged in 20-30 minutes

[Daryl]

For any shooting patch - merely wrap the cloth around the ball and if it comes well up on the sides past the centre line & even to the top of the ball it will do just fine.  For cleaning, I use old sheets, flanel or sheer cotton, or diaper material ripped into strips about 1" to 2" wide, by whatever length needed for single layer or doubling, depending on the barrel I'm cleaning and size of the jag being used. These are all variables.  Any old cloth will do for cleaning as long as it's cotton and long enough or wide enough to fit tightly to the jag inside the bore- and does a good job of it.  No absolutes, so use what works best in your barrel.

[AZ Longrifle]

Thank you to all of you for the replies.
Tomorrow morning, I go shoot it and try out both thickness of patches.
Plus, it will be my 1st BP pistol match. I'm shooting a 2nd Gen. Colt 1851 Navy revolver.

[J.D.]

Thank you to all of you for the replies.
Tomorrow morning, I go shoot it and try out both thickness of patches.
Plus, it will be my 1st BP pistol match. I'm shooting a 2nd Gen. Colt 1851 Navy revolver.

I'm confused? Ok, so that's a natural state for me, but are you cutting cleaning patches only? Patching is not used in loading a revolver.

God bless

[roundball]

".....I just bought my 1st .45 cal Virginia Flintlock Longrifle and I have a 1 1/8" arch die cutter. Are these big enough for use in this cal? I will be using cleaning patched, which are thinner and Old Govmt. issue patches which are thicker. Bullets, I got Hornady .44 round ball....."

[AZ Longrifle]

Thank you to all of you for the replies.
Tomorrow morning, I go shoot it and try out both thickness of patches.
Plus, it will be my 1st BP pistol match. I'm shooting a 2nd Gen. Colt 1851 Navy revolver.

I'm confused? Ok, so that's a natural state for me, but are you cutting cleaning patches only? Patching is not used in loading a revolver.

God bless

No, I know that. I'm just stating that I'll be shooting this rifle and a BP pistol match tomorrow. I'm just getting my bearing on the new rifle and caliber.
Sorry, I was rambling on there...