Not much to be said for patches. Ten thou is generally
standard, but depending what size ball you have, use a
thicker patch if necessary. When the patched ball has to
be forced into the barrel with a short starter, and it
takes reasonable effort to seat the ball, then it's
right. If you can push the patched ball into the barrel
with your finger, then you need a thicker patch or a
bigger ball. If you need a mallet to load then you'll
certainly get good accuracy, but your loading routine
will be a pain in the neck.
For lubrication, if you're using small charges of Swiss
Powder then all you need is spit. With tiny powder
charges and a tight fitting ball there's no need for
fancy lubes, but then again if you feel so inclined they
won't do any harm. There's actually a very popular lube
called 'spit-ball', which is like a solid wax in a
squidgee bottle with a small opening in the cap for you
to squeeze the wax through. I've never met anyone who's
managed to achieve this, as the lube is far too stiff.
Can anyone enlighten me here: do we Brits get the reject
batches or are we just weaklings? Answers on a postcard
please.
Patches can be made at home out of scraps of old linen
or cotton, and will give excellent shooting. But for
serious competition shooting you can get total
consistency by buying pre-cut patches. Local dealers
will supply at about four pounds a hundred, but if you
search the web for
Jeff Tanner, you'll find excellent patches at a
quarter of the price. As mentioned above, there's so
little fouling with these guns you don't need to buy
pre-lubed patches.
