square patch vs round

[recurve]

shooting this week I noticed that I have a rifle that shoots high with round 11/8  inch patches and right on with square 11/4 patches  , same lube same lot of denim same load but high 50yds 4inches 25 3 ...100 also high I've never had this happen before .  I have 3 barrels from this maker this is the only one that shoots high with round.

[MuskratMike]

Do as I do. Have the wife cut square patches, then I nip the corners to make octagon patches just like the barrel, yea I am OCD.

[smylee grouch]

I have shot square patches on many occasions and never " noticed " what you have seen. It might have  shot to a different POI, I just didn't notice one way or another. What I did see when shooting square was using up a lot more lube. 

[hanshi]

I buy my own material and cut square patches.  They have the same poi as shots fired with round and octogon patches.  Ticking is a great place to start until you find what you like best.

[recurve]

just call me square patch

[Mike Brooks]

Do as I do. Have the wife cut square patches, then I nip the corners to make octagon patches just like the barrel, yea I am OCD.

I can't imagine how bad of a beating I would take if I told my wife to cut me some square patches.....

[Marcruger]

Recurve, I cannot imagine why the change in patch shape would cause a change in POI.  Puzzling.  Those patches pop off like parachutes once the ball leaves the barrel.  Unless you are gluing the patch to the ball, it should not make a difference.  Could there have been a change in light off the front sight while you were changing patch styles? 

God Bless,   Marc

[MuskratMike]

The only time I saw a patch make a difference was when I tried a too large of patch and it literally enveloped the ball.

[Mike Brooks]

I could never get any accuracy with square patches. I actually tried, no joke.

[Cap]

Muskratmike,

That may qualify for CDO which is a higher level of OCD because it’s in alphabetical order. But I like it!

[longcruise]

The difference that jumps out for me is 1 1/4"  vs  1 1/8".

[Pete G.]

Could it be that the patches are a slightly bit different in thickness?

[Birddog6]

Could it be that the patches are a slightly bit different in thickness?

Most certainly that will change POI.  Or one compresses easier than the other. Or dif weaves.
Or one more absorbent.

On the thickness, only way to tell is mic it yourself. Mic it loose then tight. I have never in
over 40 yrs bought  patch that was the thickness it was stated to be.

I think if they are Exactly the same material, square or round will not make a dif. 

Unless, your barrel just don't like squares   

Now a dif size could possibly make a dif, because the excess patch may be sealing around
the edges of the ball better/more.  A Crono could tell you that as the better seal will have more
velocity.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

One of the great features of a Chronograph is it tells you if you have consistency shot to shot.  So shoot five in a series and find out how much variation there is shot to shot.  The smaller the spread, the more potential for accuracy.

[recurve]

the patches are from the same bolt of denim I buy 3-4 yrds at a time 

[warren5421]

the squire may not fall off/pull off the ball as quick if your lube is real stickie as the points just might hold tighter/longer

this from 60 years of using lubes in engineering.  I have no experience shooting flintlocks.

[smylee grouch]

Whenever I have used square patches they seemed to be a little on the large size so I'm thinking that the extra material would catch more wind as it exits the bore helping patch/ball separation. 

[recurve]

I use mutton tallow as a lube and wonder if the round had more than the square patches   
I dip the round  patching in a double boiler then squeeze out extra and stack dry and lubed stacked every other then heat in micro wave to even it out .
 the square is dipped in strips extra squeezed out extra then wrapped with a dry tightly then microwaved

[hanshi]

I've used all three shapes, square, round and octagon; no difference that I can see.  Another thing that may sound weird...or not is that I often use the same patch size for more than one caliber.  I am kinda lax about patches.  I'll use the same patches for, say, .36 and .40, or for .32 and .36.  Even the same patch for both .45 and .50 works out fine.

The one thing I do keep the same for all calibers is the patch thickness/strength.  And Taylor is spot on about chronographs.  I got one nearing on 30 years ago and found that it is definitely about only way to know for sure how consistent a load happens to be.  Don't have or use a micro but a caliper tells me if the thickness is consistent.

[Darkhorse]

When I started shooting back in 1976 my mentor was an old man who only used patches cut at the muzzle with a razor. So being a obedient student I too only use patches cut at the muzzle.
In this manner I avoid all the trials and tribulations encountered by youngsters and their modern ways.

[yulzari]

All the trials I have seen show no difference between square or round patches. The Austrian army used triangular patches and the British Brunswick rifle used patches tied off above the ball. I doubt if a lead ball exiting the barrel at speed even notices the patch material once it emerges, or even the thread tying off the patch if the patch is pre prepared with a tied on patch. The energy to shrug off the patch or break a cotton thread is so minute as to be irrelevant (in the words of a certain song: ‘it’s not irrelevant - it’s a Hippopotamus). Equally the sudden air resistance on the light patch blows it clean away as soon as it emerges.

The moral is that the important bit is the patch fit in the bore not the shape of the rest of the patch.

[Jeff Murray]

Like Darkhorse, I cut my patches at the muzzle.  It has worked well for different calibers and powder charges.  It also lets me enjoy using my cool patch knife.  Its cool not to be square.

[Daryl]

Patches cut at the muzzle are larger than the pre-cut patches I use most of the time.
Incidentally, for the October postal match, I used 1 1/2", round, precuts lubed with 10:1 water soluble oil and tap water.
I think what gives this lube the amazing accuracy, is the chlorine % used in P.G.

[Birddog6]

the patches are from the same bolt of denim I buy 3-4 yrds at a time

Check the thickness with a mic on the edges & in the center.  One time I bought some that was
.015 on the edges. In the middle it was .0125 to .013.  From that time on I check it in several places
before I buy it.  And I Never go by what it is claimed to be.  I mic it myself before I buy it.

Find one consistent & buy the entire bolt.  You won't need more for Years.