Teflon patches for rifle/pistol

Rookie21 · January 30, 2015, 08:45 AM

I've been told by some that Teflon coated patches are no good and season the bore with a layer that can build up in the rifling and be difficult to remove. Some others say Teflon coated patches are the next best thing compared to bore butter soaked patches. I've seen a lot of competitive rifle shooters use Teflon patches but not so many pistol shooters. Please share your thoughts and experiences, concerns and questions with me here on Teflon coated patches.

kwhi43 · January 30, 2015, 06:43 PM

In my over 40 years shooting Teflon patches and making the Teflon sprayed
patching I will say that nothing I have ever found will beat it. Why do you think
it dominates the Nationals at Friendship? Now when it comes to the single shot
pistols it seems to be a different story. When I got my first real pistol for accuracy the Cimmarron Mark1 match pistol I thought I would use a Teflon patch. Wrong. Very hard to load and it didn't shoot worth a darn. I was trying a
bore size ball with .010 Teflon patch. This with a Green Mt. 45 barrel. I had to
make a lube up with 2oz water souable cutting oil with a quart of water. Some
call this moose milk, panther -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED-, goat snot and so on. But it was the most used
patch lube at the Nationals before Teflon came on. It worked! With a bore size
ball and .017 thick patch the pistol would shoot 1 1/2 five shot groups at 50 yards. In other words , it will keep all shots inside the "X" ring at 50 yard on a
regular NRA 50 yard pistol target. I since use this lube in all our pistols, all calibers. Wet the patch and squeeze out enought to have a wet patch, but not dripping. Pistols just seem to be different than rifles in loading. In over 40 years
of shooting Teflon, I have not had any buildup in any of our rifles. You do want
to dampen the un-coated side with spit or water before loading. Just dampen not
wet. Hope this helps some.
Phil

hartcreek · January 30, 2015, 08:29 PM

Hmm so buy some silk and then some teflon spray and make some real slick patches.......

kwhi43 · January 30, 2015, 09:23 PM

This is the Teflon patching we speak of.

Rookie21 · January 30, 2015, 09:45 PM

Thanks kwhi43. I did notice a lot of rifle shooters at friendship using them but I had talked to some people on the pistol line and it was a no go opinion. The reason why baffled me as I so no real difference between rifle and pistol: still a single shot barrel, a muzzleloader, patched and fired the same way why would some people not go for it? I tried it in a .45 cal Yazel flint. Shot decent. Made the loading way easier. I was using too big of a patch and the barrel on this one is choked I think.

birdshot · January 31, 2015, 12:02 AM

how is a teflon patch made?

B.L.E. · January 31, 2015, 10:47 AM

I personally think that the main value of wetting the patch is not so much lubrication but that wet cotton is actually stronger than dry cotton, and less likely to cut and tear when loading a tightly fitting combination.

kwhi43 · January 31, 2015, 12:24 PM

The reason for the Teflon patch to be damp is so it will conform to the round ball better and seal the square corners in the rifling. In my rifles we shoot 454 in the 45. 408 in the 40 cal. This with .022 thick patching. A tight load indeed. But it
loads very easy and wins lots of matches.

As for as making it. Best advice FORGET IT!. Go buy it. When I was making it
I was buying the Teflon Green Food Grade from DuPont for 32.00 a quart. This
would spray about 14 yards of material. I used a paint sprayer and had to wear
a mask. If you get any of the surry into your lungs you will die. It is not a liquid
but a slurry. Forget about making it and just buy it. I will not make any anymore.

birdshot · January 31, 2015, 01:24 PM

OK thanks, seems ironic that something labeled food grade could kill you.

B.L.E. · January 31, 2015, 02:06 PM

It won't kill you if you eat it. Inhaling it is what's bad.

By the way, only DuPont can call it Teflon because they own the trademark. Everybody else has to call it poly-tetra-flouro-ethylene. (PTFE)

Rookie21 · February 1, 2015, 12:43 PM

I was having to dampen the patches because when they were dry they were burning through. Dampen them and they were staying intact with a good seal. Shot so clean you could almost reuse it. When testing new patches I retrieve them and look em over for burn through or tearing.

Jbar4Ranch · February 1, 2015, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by birdshot

OK thanks, seems ironic that something labeled food grade could kill you.

I worked at a lead smelter for 23 years that also turned out "Food Grade Sulfuric Acid" as a by-product.

January 30, 2015, 08:45 AM	#1
Rookie21 Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2009 Posts: 212	Teflon patches for rifle/pistol I've been told by some that Teflon coated patches are no good and season the bore with a layer that can build up in the rifling and be difficult to remove. Some others say Teflon coated patches are the next best thing compared to bore butter soaked patches. I've seen a lot of competitive rifle shooters use Teflon patches but not so many pistol shooters. Please share your thoughts and experiences, concerns and questions with me here on Teflon coated patches.

January 31, 2015, 12:02 AM	#6
birdshot Senior Member Join Date: January 17, 2008 Location: north platte nebraska Posts: 344	how is teflon applied? how is a teflon patch made?

January 31, 2015, 10:47 AM	#7
B.L.E. Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2008 Location: Somewhere on the Southern shore of Lake Travis, TX Posts: 2,603	I personally think that the main value of wetting the patch is not so much lubrication but that wet cotton is actually stronger than dry cotton, and less likely to cut and tear when loading a tightly fitting combination. __________________ Hanlon's Razor "Do not invoke conspiracy as explanation when ignorance and incompetence will suffice, as conspiracy implies intelligence and organization."

January 31, 2015, 12:24 PM	#8
kwhi43 Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2008 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,393	The reason for the Teflon patch to be damp is so it will conform to the round ball better and seal the square corners in the rifling. In my rifles we shoot 454 in the 45. 408 in the 40 cal. This with .022 thick patching. A tight load indeed. But it loads very easy and wins lots of matches. As for as making it. Best advice FORGET IT!. Go buy it. When I was making it I was buying the Teflon Green Food Grade from DuPont for 32.00 a quart. This would spray about 14 yards of material. I used a paint sprayer and had to wear a mask. If you get any of the surry into your lungs you will die. It is not a liquid but a slurry. Forget about making it and just buy it. I will not make any anymore. Last edited by kwhi43; January 31, 2015 at 12:38 PM.

January 31, 2015, 02:06 PM	#10
B.L.E. Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2008 Location: Somewhere on the Southern shore of Lake Travis, TX Posts: 2,603	It won't kill you if you eat it. Inhaling it is what's bad. By the way, only DuPont can call it Teflon because they own the trademark. Everybody else has to call it poly-tetra-flouro-ethylene. (PTFE) __________________ Hanlon's Razor "Do not invoke conspiracy as explanation when ignorance and incompetence will suffice, as conspiracy implies intelligence and organization."

January 30, 2015, 06:43 PM	#2
kwhi43 Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2008 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,393	In my over 40 years shooting Teflon patches and making the Teflon sprayed patching I will say that nothing I have ever found will beat it. Why do you think it dominates the Nationals at Friendship? Now when it comes to the single shot pistols it seems to be a different story. When I got my first real pistol for accuracy the Cimmarron Mark1 match pistol I thought I would use a Teflon patch. Wrong. Very hard to load and it didn't shoot worth a darn. I was trying a bore size ball with .010 Teflon patch. This with a Green Mt. 45 barrel. I had to make a lube up with 2oz water souable cutting oil with a quart of water. Some call this moose milk, panther -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED-, goat snot and so on. But it was the most used patch lube at the Nationals before Teflon came on. It worked! With a bore size ball and .017 thick patch the pistol would shoot 1 1/2 five shot groups at 50 yards. In other words , it will keep all shots inside the "X" ring at 50 yard on a regular NRA 50 yard pistol target. I since use this lube in all our pistols, all calibers. Wet the patch and squeeze out enought to have a wet patch, but not dripping. Pistols just seem to be different than rifles in loading. In over 40 years of shooting Teflon, I have not had any buildup in any of our rifles. You do want to dampen the un-coated side with spit or water before loading. Just dampen not wet. Hope this helps some. Phil

January 30, 2015, 08:29 PM	#3
hartcreek Junior member Join Date: April 22, 2014 Location: Washington Posts: 1,549	Hmm so buy some silk and then some teflon spray and make some real slick patches.......

January 30, 2015, 09:23 PM	#4
kwhi43 Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2008 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,393	This is the Teflon patching we speak of.

January 30, 2015, 09:45 PM	#5
Rookie21 Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2009 Posts: 212	Thanks kwhi43. I did notice a lot of rifle shooters at friendship using them but I had talked to some people on the pistol line and it was a no go opinion. The reason why baffled me as I so no real difference between rifle and pistol: still a single shot barrel, a muzzleloader, patched and fired the same way why would some people not go for it? I tried it in a .45 cal Yazel flint. Shot decent. Made the loading way easier. I was using too big of a patch and the barrel on this one is choked I think.

January 31, 2015, 01:24 PM	#9
birdshot Senior Member Join Date: January 17, 2008 Location: north platte nebraska Posts: 344	OK thanks, seems ironic that something labeled food grade could kill you.

February 1, 2015, 12:43 PM	#11
Rookie21 Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2009 Posts: 212	I was having to dampen the patches because when they were dry they were burning through. Dampen them and they were staying intact with a good seal. Shot so clean you could almost reuse it. When testing new patches I retrieve them and look em over for burn through or tearing.