pillow ticking patches

[ciffer]

today i started making my own shooting patches from pillow ticking. i tried loading my rifle, which is a .50 cal Lyman great plain rifle. i was not able to get the ball (.490) into the barrel. i have been shooting traditions .015 patches with a .490 round ball with very good success.

if i remember correctly, pillow ticking is .018 thickness. is there a slightly smaller ball i need to buy in order to use pillow ticking patches?

[Smokin_Gun]

Yup that's what I get at Wally World, the blue striped tickin'... be sure to throw it in the wash before use in' it... I stick the end of a strip about 3.5 stripes wide on a .50cal...that's tied to my possibles bag & patchknife.

[ciffer]

that is about how wide i have been cutting it; about 1.5 inch squares.

what about ball diameter?

[Smokin_Gun]

I don't precut them, I cut the tickin' when it's in the barrel with a ball in it and flush to the barrel. Usin' my patchknife to cut from the strip... It's alot faster and easier...

A standard .490" R.B. with .018" blue tickin' work for me ...

[ciffer]

just tried a .020 patch, works fine. maybe i'll have to work the lube in better, or try the pillow ticking from walmart.

i have heard of people using strips of cloth for patches but don't like the idea of fumbling with a knife during muzzleloading season. it is often to cold for me to have much in the way of manual dexterity, wouldn't want to cut myself.

[Hawg]

Some folks say there's no difference in ticking but the blue I have is .020 and the red is .015.