54 Caliber Muzzle Loader Patch Problem

At our monthly muzzle loader/black powder match yesterday I was asked to solve a problem since many of the black powder shooters have started calling me the "BP expert"?! This issue was the rifle (54 caliber) was shooting the lead round ball through the center of the pillow ticking patch with a nice round hole in the middle. I had never seen this happen, usually the outer edges get torn up and/or burnt badly. I watched the shooter load his powder (80 grains of FFG, same load I use in my 50 cal.) then wet the patch with several different lubes such as spit, Crisco and Bore Butter (I gave him some) and the same thing happened every time? I did not have my bore scope handy so I could not see how rough or smooth the rifling is. Loading the ball and patch did not take a huge amount force and seemed even all the way down. He also tried several other powder loads but that made no difference?

Any ideas what could cause this?
John

The patch is behind the ball so the projectile is not going thru the cloth.

My first thought is rotten pillow ticking; it’s probably tearing when the ball is seated so it looks like it’s blown through after the shot. You could check this by pulling a ball without firing the charge.

I have a pistol that will do this every single time with pillow ticking. I suspect the root of the problem is a slightly looser fit, along with the ticking being too thin and weak to handle the firing. It can be fixed with different patch material. What I do is put two 1/8" felt wads down first, and this seal 100% cures the problem. This is in a barrel that is quite smooth, but being a pistol, I can't load as tight of a ball as I can in a rifle. Try the felt wads. If he doesn't want to do that, go to a stronger patch. There's thicker pillow ticking, as well as denim and canvas.

Make sure there is a nice radius on the crown and it's not sharp.

Easy fix and no question the patch material is the problem ! Go to Joanne's fabric with calipers and get some drill/pillow ticking/denim material/canvas and heavier thickness than what you measured with current material . Do that problem solved!/Ed

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Originally Posted by Edward

Easy fix and no question the patch material is the problem ! Go to Joanne's fabric with calipers and get some drill/pillow ticking/denim material/canvas and heavier thickness than what you measured with current material . Do that problem solved!/Ed

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+1 here

I had the same problem many years ago and fixed it with a trip to the fabric store with micrometers in hand.

Thicker patch will likely require smaller ball - I used both .440 and .445 balls in my 45 ML rifle, depending on patch thickness.

And wash the pillow ticking real good before you cut patches,has some kind of starch sprayed on it.

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Originally Posted by Nobade

Make sure there is a nice radius on the crown and it's not sharp.

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That and lap the bore to eliminate tool marks.

Only had one experience of the ball going through the patch. What was happening was this. The ball and patch combo was what I'd been using without problems for a long time. The change was in the short starter. The nubb was brass. The nub was larger in diameter than what I had always used. So, what was happening is the short starter nub pressed the patch material to the sides of the bore and locked it thee. but the brass nub easily slid on the surface of the patch. So, with the patch holding tight to the bore and the starter pushing the ball down, the ball had nowhere to go but through the patch.

Not saying that is what's happening but it did happen to me.