For you Old, Old guys Paper patched bullets

15AcreWoods · February 19, 2009, 05:22 PM

Years ago when I was young, an old friend of mine paper patched his high powered rifle lead bullets and shot them at jacketed velocities. He shot a 6.5 X 55.

This might be a good alternative for practice using bullets cast from wheel weights.

Anyone with experience with paper patched bullets??? Say for .30 cal. and .25 Cal. how much undersize should the bullet be?

I find lots of loading data on several forums but nothing on making the actual bullet. The suggestion of .002" cotton paper is almost universal but nothing else.

http://www.lrml.org/technical/ammunition/patching.htm

**Mike Irwin** · February 19, 2009, 05:58 PM

Lee, Lyman, and possibly others make highpower bullet molds that are specifically set up for paper patching.

OK, I don't see the paper patch molds listed in their catalogs. They may have gone to special order items.

I worked with a guy at NRA who routinely drove 150-180 gr. lead paper patched bullets out of his .300 Win. Mag. to standard jacketed velocities with absolutely no issues at all.

goodspeed(TPF) · February 19, 2009, 06:20 PM

Geez. Now I feel old.

Scorch · February 20, 2009, 03:40 PM

I have never paper-patched small-caliber bullets (sounds like a lot of trouble for what you get), specifically because there are crimp-on gas checks and I am lazy. But I used to paper-patch bullets for my 11mm Mauser 1871 rifle. I used .430" 300 gr 44 Mag cast bullets, soaked 1.25" strips of 22# linen paper in water for 10 minutes, rolled it two layers thick, folded the ends, dried overnight, then loaded them. I would have had better results with hollow-based bullets intended for paper-patching, but the way I did it worked fine. Be very careful if you are shooting paper-patched bullets in areas that have a lot of dry grass.

bfoosh006 · February 20, 2009, 06:34 PM

http://www.riflemagazine.com/catalog...ProductID=1574

bfoosh006 · February 22, 2009, 10:56 PM

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php?

Try here also...

February 19, 2009, 05:22 PM	#1
15AcreWoods Member Join Date: February 12, 2009 Location: Central Oklahoma Posts: 18	For you Old, Old guys Paper patched bullets Years ago when I was young, an old friend of mine paper patched his high powered rifle lead bullets and shot them at jacketed velocities. He shot a 6.5 X 55. This might be a good alternative for practice using bullets cast from wheel weights. Anyone with experience with paper patched bullets??? Say for .30 cal. and .25 Cal. how much undersize should the bullet be? I find lots of loading data on several forums but nothing on making the actual bullet. The suggestion of .002" cotton paper is almost universal but nothing else. http://www.lrml.org/technical/ammunition/patching.htm

February 20, 2009, 03:40 PM	#4
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,249	I have never paper-patched small-caliber bullets (sounds like a lot of trouble for what you get), specifically because there are crimp-on gas checks and I am lazy. But I used to paper-patch bullets for my 11mm Mauser 1871 rifle. I used .430" 300 gr 44 Mag cast bullets, soaked 1.25" strips of 22# linen paper in water for 10 minutes, rolled it two layers thick, folded the ends, dried overnight, then loaded them. I would have had better results with hollow-based bullets intended for paper-patching, but the way I did it worked fine. Be very careful if you are shooting paper-patched bullets in areas that have a lot of dry grass. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

February 19, 2009, 05:58 PM	#2
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 14, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,642	Lee, Lyman, and possibly others make highpower bullet molds that are specifically set up for paper patching. OK, I don't see the paper patch molds listed in their catalogs. They may have gone to special order items. I worked with a guy at NRA who routinely drove 150-180 gr. lead paper patched bullets out of his .300 Win. Mag. to standard jacketed velocities with absolutely no issues at all.

February 19, 2009, 06:20 PM	#3
goodspeed(TPF) Senior Member Join Date: January 19, 2009 Location: WI Posts: 1,162	Geez. Now I feel old.

February 20, 2009, 06:34 PM	#5
bfoosh006 Senior Member Join Date: February 17, 2009 Posts: 1,100	http://www.riflemagazine.com/catalog...ProductID=1574

February 22, 2009, 10:56 PM	#6
bfoosh006 Senior Member Join Date: February 17, 2009 Posts: 1,100	http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php? Try here also...