patch material

[William]

Picked up 1/4 yard of pillow ticking in hopes of someday replacing all the store bought, pre-cut/pre-lubed patches I currently have.  The new stuff is stiff with sizing so I need to know if I should wash it out and then cut into strips or just cut into strips and then wash?

[old salt]

Wash first then cut. You will have less ravelling.

[graybear]

Definately wash first. You can throw it in with the laundry and it'll only unravel on one edge. I threw mine over a rack to dry and then cut to width.

[flintboomer]

Yes, wash then cut into strips, squares, octagon or round. I use strips and muzzle cut unless I am hunting. If I am hunting I cut a few squares and prelube for ease of carrying and loading. A cap tin nicely holds 3-4 .45-.54 caliber balls with prelubed patches, but don't carry caps in the same tin because the oils will kill the caps.
I see a few guys carrying strips that are 4-6 inches wide, but most cut or tear the strips just wide enough to be easy to work with then roll them up to carry and hang a strip from the bag somewhere when they are actively shooting.
It is faster to tear your strips and they will be straighter, but they will ravel on the edges a little more than if you cut them. 

[William]

10-4, into the washer it goes then.

[forrest]

     If out of clouth what did the Mt Men use, remember reeding that some used buckskin, I'd think that you would need an under sized ball, or split the buckskin? 

[flintboomer]

Necessity is the mother of invention. There were a lot of things used to stabilize that ball besides cloth patching.
Blankets were used as "wadding", balls were shot bare when in a hurry, wasp and hornet nests were used as wadding,
This one is out of our time period, but I remember seeing an old hunting movie where Alaskan or Canadian natives hunted geese using cartridge shotguns reloaded with black powder and used GRASS for wadding and to clean them.

Does anyone else remember the days when a person could rent a school gymnasium and show the film they took of their exotic hunting trip and it would sell out?

[kybackwoodsman]

i heard of them days wish id been around to see em.. also heard of when you was in metal shop and could build a muzzleloader from scratch in woodworking and metalworking class as your final exam. 
  as far as patching goes, id say when the cloth clothes the hunters orignaly had wore out, nothing was wasted lots of patching was made from them, and i believe that thinner hides was used to, someone on here said they had used squirl hides as patching.. makes sence, every squirl i ever shot the hide was usually wasted or not used for anything...  except ive sent off a few tails to the mepps lure company. gonna have to start saving squirl hides to try as patch material.  wonder if you can use them as rawhided or go ahead and tan them.  brain tanning wouldnt work for me, i eat the brains..

[shootrj2003]

Don't remember any films but in high school the first day of deer season was a holiday[unofficiall]for staff and students and guns in the parking lot were no problem,We had a lot of guys who trapped before school and work on guns in shop was alright.

[forrest]

Don't remember any films but in high school the first day of deer season was a holiday[unofficiall]for staff and students and guns in the parking lot were no problem,We had a lot of guys who trapped before school and work on guns in shop was alright.

       Try that now and you will find a fast trip to the gray bar motel

[ErikPrice1@msn.com]

 I built a muzzleloader in the 9th grade in woodshop at Gilchrest high school. Actually bought the gun through a catalog the school used to order supplies. Then we had to shoot it on the football field, also had to hit target to get a grade on it. Use to build throwing knives in metal shop. Wish I could remember what I did with that gun. Would love to have it now. When I first used pillow ticking I didn't wash it. Learned that lesson fast.

[shootrj2003]

Please,elucidate

[ErikPrice1@msn.com]

 Gotta lot of ticking for free, in the different colors. A friend miked it and told me which one to use. Spent about a year trying to cram the balls down the barrel. Could never figure out why it was so hard even lubed it was tuff. Then I told my friend, I think I need to use a different size patch or ball.  He said that is the right size, you did washem before you used them didn't ya.  hdslpWe'll lesson learned.

[shootrj2003]

I hear ya', I read on I think TMA,track of the wolf [again i think] said not to wash thier ticking,There's no real tech. reason long as its comfotable for you.I only asked because I never did til this batch of rolls I cooked up las night.this time I wennt technical all the way and discovered some surprises.Such as the patches I;ve used for years have been twice as thich as i' m supposed to use-never measured my bore before-just assumed- a lot of little things.So I'll do everything right this time and see if it makes a ding!

[ErikPrice1@msn.com]

 Let us know how it turns out.