HEAD0001

Why do people like to use Pillow Ticking for BP patches when shooting round balls?? How many guys still use bulk patching material and cut their patches with a patch knife after you have started the ball(slightly)?? Tom.

nchawkeye

It works and it's cheap...

Ticking is made of cotton, which you need as polyester or man made materials will melt in the heat...The other option is material made of linen which is probably what they used before the mid 1800s...Many don't realize this but in the 1700s and early 1800s most clothes were made of linen instead of cotton, simply because the cotton gin hadn't been invented...

For years (20+) I used store bought patches...About 10 years ago I started having problems with patches burning through...I used hornets nesting or a felt wad for awhile to "fix" the problem...I finally went out and bought some ticking, made some lube from bees wax, castor oil and Murphy's Oil Soap and my problems went away...Those old, pre lubed patches had been weakened by the oil and were burning through...

I now cut at the muzzle or at the loading block with patches that I've lubed recently...

HEAD0001

I have been looking at a few different Damascus "patch knives". I think I am going to buy one. I like the idea of the "neck patch knives". So that is what I am looking for-just in Damascus steel.

Anybody have one they want to sell??

I am not in any hurry. I would like to find one before my new rifle gets here.

I am not necessarily turning into a traditionalist. I am just looking for some simpler ways of doing things. And I want to get back to the fun of hunting and shooting. I think a FL and simpler tools are a great way to do that. Tom.

lemoyne

I use ticking because we tried every thing we could get our hands on back before they even commercially sold all this stuff and the two things that worked the best were deer hide and ticking since deer hide is costly to have tanned and a mess to do yourself I use ticking.

sabotloader

HEAD0001

For some odd reason I am unable to use Pillow Ticking it shreds terribly on me. I have to use the all cotton patch - they seem to hold better...

I keep going back and try to get the tickingto work but not much luck...

These are my cotton patches, pretty typical



These are a collection of both....

cayugad

I purchase 100% cotton blue or red stripe pillow tick. I wash that material in the washing machine. Then line dry. Do not put it in the dryer or it will frazzle.

You then count off five stripes for a .50 caliber, and 6 stripes for anything bigger. This material will tear very easy into strips. You then apply the lube of your choice as in photo #1.

Lay that strip of cloth over the muzzle and set the ball in the center. You will not have a perfectly centered ball. As in #2. Then in #3 using the short end of the starter, set the ball under the lip of the muzzle.

#4 shows how you pinch the material together. And then using a patch knife, utility knife, pocket knife, scissors, just about anything with a blade, cut the material off at the tip of the muzzle.

With the long nose of the starter drive the ball and patch into the bore. The ramrod will finish it all off. I use pillow tick because it is all cotton. It accepts my moosemilk lube excellent. It never burns of shreds for me. It is cost effective. I can use it wet or dry. And I only have to lube enough for the day or the hunt.

Hope this helps.

Muley Hunter

Pillow ticking is popular, because it's a nice tight weave to keep the feathers from sticking through on pillows.

The size is somewhat limited as most PT is .018. You can find some other sizes by measuring a bunch of different material.

I always cut my patches at the muzzle and use Mink Oil for lube.




Sabot....I see a bottle of T7 next to your patches. Is that what you're using? It's hard on patches. I use nothing but real BP with a PRB.

sabotloader

Yes I am using T7 - I guess I use it for everything. When I first started trying to shoot PRB's at these events I went through several cans of GOEX but it just doesn't work as well for me as T7 does. I know the heat of T7 is tuff on patches that is why I am using wads under them. The last two seasons I was shooting 60 grains T7-2f - This year I switched to 70 grains just for 'kicks and grins' - gee-whiz! what difference in accuracy and performance.

I use to blame the shredded ticking patches on T7, but I am not sure I can... they are not burned up just torn to bits... The cotton patches do not show the amount of shredding and are super accurate.

Muley Hunter

For Goex use 1 1/2 times your caliber. So, a .50 cal would be 75 gr.

Real BP doesn't have the power of T7, but it's usually very consistent and accurate.

I shoot 80gr of of BP in my .54, and it works good to 100yds.

T7 works good, but I won't shoot any subs in sidelocks.

I'll shove anything in an inline.