Onion Skin Paper

[Idaholewis]

This probably belongs somewhere else? But since most of my posting is here, i figured I would start a thread on Onion Skin Paper For Patching bullets. The weight is how much 500 sheets is suppose to weigh, As far as thickness to weight it definitely varies

First off i will state i am NO EXPERT at fraction stuff! But i think you will understand what i am saying here, i might have a 0 or . In the wrong place?

I just recently picked up 2 reams (500 sheets a piece) This is the old 25% Cotton stuff, Cockle texture. Both of these measure 0.002 in thickness, 2 wraps of this paper ads .008 to the overall bullet Diameter. The thinnest stuff i have measured is the wood fiber stuff from the Paper mill store online, i measured it at 0.0175, I have heard of 0.0150, But I have not personally seen any that thin, it might have been Ron that told me he has some 0.0150 stuff? From what little I’ve seen personally, and read about, it seems that 0.0175 to 0.002 is more the Norm?

2 wraps of Paper that measures 0.0150 thickness would ad .006 to the overall bullet Diameter, In other words a bullet that is .492 in diameter, with 2 wraps of this paper would end up at .498

2 wraps of Paper that measures 0.0175 thickness would ad .007 to the overall bullet Diameter, a bullet measuring .492 in diameter, with 2 wraps of this paper would end up at .499

And 2 wraps of paper that measures 0.002 thickness would ad .008 to the overall bullet Diameter, a bullet measuring .492 in diameter, with 2 wraps of this paper would end up at .500

These are the 2 Reams of paper I recently picked up, Anyone familiar with these 2 brands? I know there are several old brands out there, Eaton, Southworth, etc. etc.

 

[Jackalope]

Great timing, I just got my .442 sizer for my LRH .45 and was looking into where to get paper and which type.

 

[Idaholewis]

Great timing, I just got my .442 sizer for my LRH .45 and was looking into where to get paper and which type.

Your best bet will be the stuff from the paper mill store, it is readily available, and reasonably priced, it is SUPER SLICK stuff, and in my measuring from the test sheets I’ve had was .007 to the overall bullet Diameter, which will bring your .442 bullet up to .449, this is IDEAL in my .45 LRH, Wrap them, twist the tail, and load. I really liked the wood fiber stuff from the Paper Mill store online, i can tell you now that the papers will turn to confetti upon exiting, i never once witnessed a stuck paper using the Paper Mill store stuff in my testing, even the HARSH sized bullets shucked the paper upon exiting, again this stuff is SUPER SLICK! The stuck papers were coming from the old 25% cotton, Cockle texture paper in the photo above, and HARSH sizing. My Custom PP bullets have shucked every type of Paper I’ve tried, but they also drop from the mold at correct PP diameter.

The old 25% cotton paper that i have in the photo above is kinda tough to come by these days, and usually brings a premium price as ‘Vintage’ Go on Ebay and type in 9# onion skin, will give you a good idea what the old stuff is going for? I got the stuff above REALLY cheap Keep an eye out for the old 25% cotton stuff. It is GREAT paper as long as you are using the correct diameter bullet to begin with, by sizing to .442 before you Wrap, you are there :yeah:

 

[Jackalope]

Thanks, I’ll be getting some from the paper mill hopefully this next week.

 

[Idaholewis]

Thanks, I’ll be getting some from the paper mill hopefully this next week.

The good part about a .442 is the ability to adjust it to your particular rifle if needed? Here’s a Scenario- say you have a LARGE supply of the same thickness onion skin paper (Say 4 reams of the same stuff, that’s 2,000 sheets of paper, i get 30 .45 cal patches per sheet of my paper, that’s 60,000 shots) depending on how much you shoot? That is quite possibly a lifetime supply and then some of Paper Patches for your .45 Cal, Now say with your bullets at .442, and your paper, they wrap up to .449, but the fit is a bit looser than you like? If this is the only .45 Cal rifle you have, are Patching for, and your large stockpile of paper, You can VERY slowly Open your .442 die (Making the bullet larger) until you get the desired fit to your bore, You now have a Custom fit PP bullet for your particular rifle. Again, this is just a Scenario, but gives you a good idea.

If you have several different brands of paper, and thicknesses it gets trickier, for me the solution is a ‘Finisher’ die, My rifle loads, and shoots extremely well with a finished bullet of .449 to .450, Say i have some thicker paper and they load tighter than i like? I run those patched bullets through my .449 ‘Finisher’ die, This ‘Irons’ the patch out and allows for a bit of Paper ‘Bounce Back’ usually ending with a finished bullet of .450, What i am Saying is it isn’t a bad idea to have a .449 ‘Finisher’ Die on hand if you have several different brands of paper (slight variances in thickness) in case the fit is tighter than you like? The numbers above are for reference but will be EXTREMELY close. Perfect Patched bullet fit ultimately comes down to YOUR particular Bore Diameter, Groove doesn’t matter, in true Muzzleloaders we are Patching to Bore.

Hopefully this doesn’t sound confusing, it’s really not. You should be right on with your bullets at .442, I was just throwing out Scenarios above.