Hello,
Has anybody seen any period documents or accounts of how 18th. and early 19th c. european hunters or military Feldjagers loaded their rifles?
Kind Thanks,
Will 
By this time the patch and fairly loose fitting ball were the norm. In the 17th century and perhaps after there are valid references to oversized balls, steel loading rods etc etc but this is problematical in proving actual or widespread use and can result in "discussions" here and elsewhere. Driving a oversized ball into a ML rifle is a really dumb way to load it from the practical standpoint.
The British "Baker" (adopted in 1800) used a patched ball for precision shooting that was still somewhat undersize. They used a smaller ball for rapid fire where accuracy was less important.
Bailey's book on British FL military rifles covers the ammo in detail.
Dan
