Found a good deal on a Lyman .54cal Deerstalker
and now it's here. It is cap and ball and I
plan on shooting round ball. What is a good patch material? I can't measure .0245 of a inch
etc so what do I do?

Thank you in advance.

quote:

Originally posted by invader66:
Found a good deal on a Lyman .54cal Deerstalker
and now it's here. It is cap and ball and I
plan on shooting round ball. What is a good patch material? I can't measure .0245 of a inch
etc so what do I do?

Thank you in advance.

My favorite is heavy pillow/mattress ticking that you can buy at any fabric store. I get it from Walmart. I wash it first and then cut my patches round. Studies show that round patches don't really work any better than square or those cut at the muzzle. Some like to use strips of the material & cut each patch with a patch knife at the muzzle after tapping the ball about flush. There are a lot of good lubes available. I've worked up one I call "mule milk" that uses palm & jojoba oil in an alcohol base. Welcome to the club!

I like to keep it simple if possible. Start with a .530 ball and a store-bought 0.010 Wonderlubed patch. If that don't float try a .535 and 0.005 Wonderlube. Third try is the .530 with the 0.005. There's a good chance one of these will get you started. Try both 2f and 3f. After that you'll be trying everybody else personal recipe...or with the Deerstalker's intermediate twist you can try bore diameter conicals.