when i place my ball in the patch,it never seems to center in the barrel. one side is short compaired to other. useing r/b and prelubed patch, in 50cal renegade.
is this just me or a real problem? if problem how do i correct?

emmie

This renegade of yours does it have the QLA on the barrel.I have heard from guys with the newer barrel to use a pre-cut square patch.
I have 2 t/c barrels,but made without the QLA I do precut my patches (round) 0.15 and have no problems in the ball rolling of center of the patch.
What you can try is to load the ball and with a patch knife cut the patch at the barrel .

The easiest way, is to not use a pre-cut patch. Go find some 100% cotton material at a local fabric store. Denin, cotton drilling, pillow ticking.

If your current pre-cut patches are providing the accuracy, and ease of loading you want (with current round ball diameter being used), use this as the thickness to get. Use a machinist's micrometer and measure the thickness. Whatever you do, measure both the current pre-cut patch and the new potential material with the same amount of compression.

Bring the micrometer to the store with you (no kidding) and buy the material. Buy a half yard of a few different thicknesses to try.


Load your rifle, lube your patching material in the area you are going to seat the ball. Use your short starter to get the ball just below the muzzle, then trim off the patch flush with the muzzle. Use your intermediate rod/seater, then seat the ball fully on the powder with your ramrod.

You will have a perfectly centered patch each shot this way.

I usually cut a strip of patching material about 1.5" wide or so, about 12-18 inches long. I lube the strip with a little bottle with a controlled tip (like an small dishwasher detergent bottle, that you pull up to open, and push down to close.) Just wet the patch area "
"enough" (not dripping wet), prior to short starting the ball.

If you use the solid lubes like "bore butter, you can smear the lube on the patch area with your fingers or patch knife first.

I use my cleaning solution as my patch lube. It is is the ratio of 1:1:1 : rubbing alcohol; murphy's oil soap (or generic equiv); over the counter hydrogen peroxide. You can use full strength auto antifreeze too.

Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidizer. It can rust your barrel. I actually use less than one part of hydrogen peroxide(all liquid parts, and none are critical for making it work).

The hydrogen Peroxide will cut black powder fouling fast (good way to clean your hands too after shooting).

I use this patch lube and cleaning lube for all my black powder shooting. I shoot flinters in the state of maine. Have competed on the Maine state flintlock team. Most of the guys on the team use this type of patching approach, and lube system.

You can also scrub your lock with the lube with an old toothbrush wetted with the lube, then dry and oil.

Patches cut at the muzzle are generally recognized a helping the most accurate shooting. But if you pick up a fired one it is not round, and even if you cut a new one to that exact pattern it is near impossible to load well centered. SO, for offhand field shooting, where speed is not critical, but accuracy is important, as in head shooting squirrels, I use a pre cut strip strip and then cut it at the muzzle. Shooting on the middle of the big brown as in deer close, precuts work great. I need all the things possible in my favor.

quote:

Originally posted by capt.parker:
when i place my ball in the patch,it never seems to center in the barrel. one side is short compaired to other. useing r/b and prelubed patch, in 50cal renegade.
is this just me or a real problem? if problem how do i correct?
emmie

I have the same problem-have had for years. Although "it stands to reason" that shooting can't be accurate when this happens, I have never been able to tell any difference in accuracy I could attribute to this as long as the equator of the ball is completely covered by the patch, so no raw lead is touching the bore.

I used to be real anal about using round patchs and getting the ball right in the center. Now I use a square patch and notice no ill effects.

Catboat stole all my smoke.. I would hate to shoot against him. I buy my ticking (.015) from Jo-Anne Fabrics or Wally world.. roll up strips about 1.5 inch wide and 20 inches long, dip em in microwaved wonderlube (liquified), squeeze out excess, carry rolls in outside compartment in my possibles bag, cut patches at muzzle.. I shoot .40 cal flint long gun, (42" barrel) and a couple of 50 cal also 42" barrels, plenty of whitetail and a few antelope have fallen to this concoction.. HTH.Les

El Degeulo is right. Within reason, the patch doesn't have to be centered exactly as long as the ball is covered when upset in the grooves. I have also found that it doesn't make any difference if the sprue is up or down, in cas I get in a hurry for a second shot. I always try to load with sprue up and centerd on pre-cut patches but I don't lose any sleep over the loss of perfection. Cutting patches at the muzzle is a great idea and the target range or I will use square patching and an undersized ball when hunting and those rifles shoot and kill just fine.

Forget the sprue use swaged balls.

Years ago, Mike Venturino reported that velocities with balls not centered in the patch were slightly lower. He said he had no idea why, nor did anyone else, but he'd proved it to himself.
I can't imagine why, either. I'd suggest cutting your own patch after the ball is seated below flush of the muzzle. That way, you'll know it's centered.
Whether it makes a difference for hunting, I doubt it. Most deer are taken at 100 yards or less, even with modern arms.
With a muzzleloader's limited range, I don't think a tiny variation in accuracy between both methods would amount to anything.
At the target range, where winners are sometimes declared by the use of calipers on paper, it might.