Paper Patching my way

Part 1

Here is some very poor quality pictures and a description of how to wrap a bullet; sorry I am not a pro at writing.
Before I got to this point, I poured probably 200 bullets to get 75 perfect ones. I grade them for looks and weight. Any bullets with visible flaws are melted again and every good bullet that I keep is +or - 1.0 grains of the target weight sometimes I get even pickyer and go for +- .5 This gives me a constant product, AKA bullet, compare that to TC maxiballs or maxihunters. The lead I use is from a company called Rotometal. I get the pure lead, and it measures right at 6 to 7 BHN on my hardness tester. I used to use a bottom pour lee production pot for pouring lead. I quit using the bottom pour because the bullets didn't come out like I wanted. I went to ladle pouring the bullets and the bullets come out a LOT better and the bullets are filled out better and the weight is more consistent.
Some guys wrap their bullets with wet paper. Most of them have undersized bullets, and are getting a bullet that fits perfectly after wrapping and are not sizing after they wrap the paper on the bullet.
I wrap mine dry and size dry.

A lot of guys use a bullet wrapping board. I just use my fingers. In this first picture you can see the size and the shape of the paper, the paper adds about .06? to the diameter of the bullet before sizing with the paper I am now using.



In these picture you can see the way I am starting the bullet into the wrap.



As I roll the bullet on I keep the paper tight as I can. When the paper rolls all the way on the two ends should meet and not overlap.




When I get the ends to meet I start to twist the tail.


With a hollow base bullet you can then push the tail into the base of the bullet. This picture is quite blurry sorry.


When I get to this point I run them through the sizer die and this is what the finished bullet looks like.




This next one is a Lee C-501-440-RF AKA the Lee 500 S&W bullet.



This last one is a RCBS north south skirmish bullet.



I use 9# onion skin paper with 25% cotton. This paper is very difficult to get now. It can still be found but it tough and expensive.

This company used to have it but now they have 9# onion skin but it is wood not cotton. I have tested a little of it and it seems like it shoots the same. It might be more abrasive but I have not determined that yet.

https://www.thepapermillstore.com/paper ... -ream.html

On to Part 2

Part 2

On my 50 cal my gun likes bigger bullets than .504 but I size the Paper patched bullets to .501 this gives me a bullet that goes down with resistance but not real hard. After hunting with these bullets for a couple of years I know they will not come off the charge.
My 45 is .458, and it likes bullets that are .454 naked. I size these to .451 I could probably go to .452 for a finished size but the .451 load well and are very accurate. I don?t use any lube on the paper when I am sizing the paper patched bullet. The reason is the lube can and does cause the paper to rip off the bullet when seating the bullet. I size dry and add some lube when I am target shooting but leave them dry when I am hunting.
Here is a target that shows the benefit of the paper patch.




This is a couple of targets from one of my 50's. The bullet was a 500 S&W bullet made with the Lee bullet mould.



This is the rifle, it is almost the same as the other one. I made this rifle for my son to someday shoot a moose with if he ever draws.
It is a double triggers TC Renegade with a 1-28 twist 50 cal Stainless steel Green Mountain barrel. The rear sight is the same as the other rifle. The front sight is a Lyman 17 AML. This is the rifle I shot the buck with later in the article.


I started to think a couple of years ago that Hornady would someday quit making the 410 gr 50 cal Great plains bullet, turns out I was right. That's what started me to thinking about making my own bullets. I started out not doing the paper patch. I just got discouraged with my lead bullets because I was not getting the groups I wanted out of my rifles. I found an article about paper patching and wanted to try it. Since then I have played with paper type, bullet hardness, you name it I tried it. One thing I have found is paper patch bullets sometimes need a wad between the bullet and the powder, I make my own. I use a 3/8 pipe nipple and sharpen one end for the 45. For my 50 I use a 1/2 ? pipe nipple. I then cut out my wads out of wool felt I get from a fabric store. The 3/8 pipe will cut a wad that measures about, .505
The 1/2" pipe with cut a wad about .507 to .508. I am using a 5/8" cutter now and the wads come out about .625 give or take. I like my wads to be oversized to make a sure seal and not let any gas get around the wad. I lube the wad with Hornady Great Plains lube. On some barrels I use a little Chapstick on the paper that is on the bullet. This is mostly for guns with blued steel barrels. They are not is slick at stainless that I have seen.

One thing I have found is when you paper patch a bullet you get higher velocity from your normal charge. In the picture above you can see that the point of impact raised when I shot the paper patched bullets.
For me the paper patching has opened up my options in what I can shoot in my rifles. These days it seems like everyone is going to sabots. While I have had good luck with them we can't use them to hunt here in Idaho. So I needed to find another way, and the factory conicals in my opinion are either great or crap. I love the Hornady Great Plains 410 gr 50 cal. Here is a TC bullet I found in one of my packs I bought.



With this kind of bullet out there I had to try to make my own. I hope I can help other guys that are looking for a different way to get good shooting bullets.

And last the final product of the paper patching. Here are a couple of bucks that a friend of mine and I killed with paper patched 460 gr 500 S&W bullets. My buck (the bigger one) was shot at 117 yards. The bullet was a pass through and was not found. The buck of my friends was a quartering shot to him at 120 yards. The bullet hit the shoulder breaking the main bone in the shoulder. The bullet went on to travel through the buck and it exited out the flank on the opposite side. The buck dropped at the shot and the bullet exited and was never found.




His rifle is a TC whit Mountain carbine with a 1-38 twist. He has not done a lot of testing with his gun he just used my load. My load is 80 gr of Pyrodex P, a 460 gr paper patched bullet, and an over powder wad.
I tested this load a bunch in my rifle. I also have an Ohler 35 chronograph so I know what the rifle is REALLY doing .

velocity foot pounds of energy

muzzle 1310 1753

100 yards 1165 1387

150 yards 1108 1255

200 yards 1061 1151

250 yards 1022 1067

300 yards 988 997

This was written several years ago. Since then there are some things that I have changed. First I am hardening my lead a little. I am hardening it to .035 to .038 on my Cabine Tree hardness tester. This is a hardness of about 6 to 7 BHN but the actual BHN doesn't matter really. The most important thing is the dial indicator reading of .035 to .038 for my tester. I am sure that each tester is a little different.



Since I am on the topic of hardness if a person uses my method that I have described you don't want lead much harder than what I have posted. A young man sent me some bullets to patch and size. This is what happened.



These bullets were about 9 BHN I don't recall the actual dial indicator reading on these bullets. After I wrapped them I put them through the sizer. The paper tore right off. After a few tries I tested the lead and found it was hard. If a person makes bullets from lead harder than 7 BHN you need to wrap them and size them fresh. After they age harden you will not get them through the sizer without damage to the paper. In some cases the bullet may even get stuck in the sizer die.
My recommendation is to not use lead that is harder than .038 on the dial indicator.

I also want to make another update. This year Dec, 2017 is my 10th year paper patching the Lee 500 S&W bullet. I have learned some things in the last year that I didn't know before. First After I shot my groups and got my guns sighted in many years ago I switched from shooting paper to shooting steel. I haven't shot a paper group in many years. My Friend Lewis alerted me to the fact that some of his papers were riding all the way to the target.
I confirmed that some of mine were also being found at the target as well. I find paper on the ground in front of my target so I am thinking that at least in my case that some of the paper comes off and some is staying on. Lewis did a lot of testing with a couple different styles of paper and a lot of different bullets. I am using the 25% cotton paper that I was using many years ago. It is my thinking that when the powder goes off the bullet sets back and the grease grooves are pinching the paper in the grooves close to the base. Like I said before I am not sure how much is sticking and how often. But this is something to keep in mind. I know that the paper that I linked to above from the papermill store is a slicker finish than the cotton paper 9# onion skin that I am using.

Does the paper sticking affect the accuracy? I am sure it doesn't help. But from what I have seen over the years my bullets hit where they are supposed to out to 250 yards for my 50's, and 300 yards for my 45.
The paper I am using adds .006 to the diameter of the bullet. A smooth sided bullet in my opinion would probably do better for long range in the accuracy department. The paper would have a harder time sticking. But I have also read where guys shooting BPCR's are also seeing paper stick to their bullets too.

When it comes to my loads I am confident in my bullets ability to kill game quickly and efficiently. I am also confident in my, and my son's ability to put those bullets on the intended target out to 200 yards in all my guns. My original intent 10 years ago was to take an off the shelf mould, and sizer, and come up with a combination that would work better than factory made bullets. There are more moulds now than when I originally did this. Also internet commerce has changed a lot in the last 10 years. Getting custom moulds now is easy to do and the makers are easier to find and talk to for information. Getting custom sizer dies are also much, much easier to do now than 10 years ago. And in the last 10 years since I originally wrote this, a lot of guys are now paper patching, and most who started out with my guidelines have went on to change what they are doing and make their loads fit their needs. In the last 10 years I have had good luck with paper patching bullets. I am thankful that Hornady stopped making the 410 gr 50 cal bullets. They pushed me to find something better for me and my son. I am going to add some pictures from the last 10 years. Good luck and good shooting. Also I will add a short video that covers a lot of this.
I hope that this gives a little info on the paper patched hunting bullet. If you have questions feel free to ask. Ron

https://youtu.be/RmARVEFJbr0

That's a very interesting article Ron. I'm new to muzzleloading,and do not know the purpose of paper patching. Could you enlighten us newbies...

Thanks in advance..

The Paper patch was first put on bullets in the mid 1800's. It was used for 1000 yard target shooting. The purpose of the paper patch is to increase accuracy. The paper protects the bullet from the fire and from the metal of the bore. The paper also protects the bore from leading. I use an over powder wad to help further protect the bullet from the hot gas at the shot.
You can think of them as a paper sabot. Ron

Excellent post Ron, lots of great info too! I saved it for future use.

rat trapper said:

Excellent post Ron, lots of great info too! I saved it for future use.

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I agree, thanks for sharing!

Ron,

Those are some absolutely gorgeous Mulies! I love the mass on the bucks you took. Congrads on them all! I have always dreamed of going out west for one.

Very good information there Ron. I used to wrap them in Teflon tape. It was the only way I could get somewhat accuracy out of the minie ball I cast.

Awesome post Ron. So does that mean you can squeeze a little more velocity from a paper patched lead bullet than its naked counterpart?

Paper wrap was also done early in the 1800's because they needed a quick way how to load their muskets. . .

What they would do, is Wrap some paper in a cone dunts hat shape. Put the powder in first, put your ball in last, and fold over the paper edges on the ball.

They would do this for quite a few shots, and store them.

Then, they would tear off the bottom (pointed end of the cone), pour in the powder, and shove the paper AND the ball all down the barrel at the same time.

Not only would the paper act as an "Patch" for the ball, it would also act as a pressure wad between the gun powder and the ball itself.

My Cousin used to use these all the time.

I remember Tom Selleck in Quigley Down Under talked about shooting paper patched bullets in his Sharps.

For centerfire they can push a paper patch over 2000 fps. I can get my 458 gr up to about 1400 but that kind of a load erodes the nipple pretty fast. Ron

Ron,

I haven't paper patched yet. I shoot a Winchester Apex, .50 Cal. 1:28 twist. I've looked at your video on youtube and read your posting here. My question is, what Lee die would I use for my rifle? I reload for all my center fire rifles and handguns, and most of my stuff is Hornady.

Thanks for your help!
john

Hey Ron, looks like you might have to re-work your tutorial due to photobuckets change. That is if you wanted to.

You guys do any good this year so far?

I will try to get that lined out. I have been real sick since october and I haven't been doing much.

idahoron said:

I will try to get that lined out. I have been real sick since october and I haven't been doing much.

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Oh man, prayers for you buddy! Hope you get better soon...

Praying

Sent from my ME301T using Tapatalk

hope you feel better real soon!

I have had two Kidney stone surgery's. They removed 7 or 8 I don't remember. Then the second week of October I found I had a Hernia that had to be fixed. I went in to get it fixed and I came down with a respiratory virus that hung with me until a couple weeks ago. I had the hernia surgery on the 8th of November and came down with IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Then top that off with an infection from the surgery.
I am just now starting to get to a point where I am feeling okay.
I very much appreciate the well wishes and prayers. Thank you so much.

Damn Ron you had your share of medical problems! Wish you let us know as at least we could have sent some prayers your way. We don’t to loose any more guys on this forum.