Do you feel there are any advantages/disadvantages for using a cotton patch vs. synthetic patch?

I found that cotton patches tend to hold the solvent, or what ever liquid I use to swab with better then the synthetic material. Also synthetic material is more subject to heat. Not that you are going to use them to patch a roundball because they would melt, but barrels just shot can be hot. I do not know if that synthetic material would break down because of the barrel heat and leave residue in the bore...

I tried the Butch's synthetic patches. They were thicker & more difficult to start down the bore. Also... every once-in-a-while, they would stay down in the bore-bottom when I pulled the ramrod out.

Now that ticked me off more than anything! Now I gotta fetch the patch-puller - unscrew the bore brush - screw on the patch puller - pull the patch out - unscrew the patch puller & screw on thebore brush again for the next swab.

I won't buy this brand ever-again. I use thin cotton ... either 2-1/2 or 3".... round or square.

I bought a pack of those synthetic patches by accident last year.. I did not look close at the bag and only discovered them after I got them home and opened them. I hated those things. I would try to put some swab solution on them and the liquid would bead up and try and roll off. You had to almost pinch the liquid into them to get them started. Wal Mart now carries cheap patches. They look like a bag of left over scraps from a T-shirt factory. At least they are all cotton. Also you get 200 of them for under $2.00 and some of the patches are so big you can cut three or four patches out of one, so they are really a good deal.

Your right,the do look like scrapes from a tee shirt factory.I do the same thing ,I just cut them to fit whatever I'm cleaning.