Big Uncle

I dug out my old T/C .54 recently and want to play around with it for a possible future whitetail hunt. My BP kit has a couple of boxes of .530 round balls that I want to try. Any advice on patches?

Additionally if anyone has advice on a Pyrodex RS load it would be appreciated.

lemoyne

I use a .535 ball and a 22 thousands ticking patch with 110 grains of RS in the 1-48 twist and 120 grains in the 1-66 twist.

bronko22000

Patches is something you can experiment with for optimum accuracy. You can try .015 or .020 Oxyoke patches or go to Wal-mart and pick up some pillow ticking, wash it then cut it up for patches and lube them. You can cut it either in squares or strips to cut off at the muzzle. You can use any lube you want. I like to use olive oil as a patch lube. But you can also use canola oil, crisco or some commercial patch lube.
Tip" don't lube too many as they will deteriorate if setting too long.
As for a load using Pyrodex RS. I'd start with 80 grs and work up to 100 gr. (by volume)

falcon

My patch material is khaki drill cloth from Hobby Lobby.

Big Uncle

Thanks guys. I had been using T/C prelubed patches and a 100 grain (by volume) load but it has been years since this rifle has seen the light of day. In recent years I have been using a Knight 50 caliber in-line with a scope for BP season and just feel that it is time to take a few steps back.

I will get a few different patch materials and play with it a bit.

WV Hunter

What patch lube do you guys feel is best? Something available to purchase, vs making my own.
I've read about some lubes that really keep the fouling down...but I am super green to the patch roundball world.

I have a an old. 54 renegade - I believe 1:48 twist?

arcticap

I use TC Bore Butter in the yellow tube for use with Pyrodex.--->>> Not to be confused with TC T17 Natural Lube that's intended for use with 777 powder and is blue in color.

Another popular lube is Hoppe's Number 9 Black Powder Solvent & Patch Lube which is a liquid that may be better for frigid cold temperatures.--->>>
It's probably a good idea to have some of both on hand.

lemoyne

What patch material is best can change with the bore size, try different thicknesses of drill and ticking and keep track of your group size.

bronko22000

WVHunter: as mentioned above you can get Ox Yoke patches in .010", .015", or .020". You can buy these either pre-lubed or dry and apply your own lube.

nchawkeye

Until I switched to Moose Snot about 10 years ago, I used SnoSeal for patch lube for about 25 years...It worked as good as anything else I have tried...I'm about out of the batch of snot I made so a few weeks ago I bought another tub of SnoSeal, going back to it...