seating the patch and ball ?

[City Rat]

How much force are you guys using to start the patch and ball in the muzzle with a short starter ? I had read about some guys using a small mallet to hit the short starter to start the seating, is that an indication that the patch and ball is too tight ? How do you know when a patch and ball is too big for your barrel ? If you need a mallet to start  then how hard is it going to be to get the load down the barrel with a ramrod ?

 

[exMember]

when your man jewels drop down into your boot after loading it once, thats an indicator, your load combo is to tight.

A quick wack with your hand and it should pop it and push down easily after that.

 

[patocazador]

IMO it's not necessary to have the ball and patch that tight unless you're a competition shooter. However, small bores foul a lot quicker and need to be swabbed after every shot or two. I have to swab my .45 cal. long rifle after each shot.

 

[Buck Conner1]

How much force are you guys using to start the patch and ball in the muzzle with a short starter ? I had read about some guys using a small mallet to hit the short starter to start the seating, is that an indication that the patch and ball is too tight ? How do you know when a patch and ball is too big for your barrel ? If you need a mallet to start  then how hard is it going to be to get the load down the barrel with a ramrod ?

About the only time you should see someone using a mallet is:
1). the ball-patch combination is to tight.
2). a dirty barrel may cause this also, and needs to be seated on your powder charge (if not done and fire the gun you may get a swelled barrel).
3). the rifle is a target gun and this is done for the max performance (target shooters at Friendship do this all the time).

You want a patch/ball combination that:
1). with a little pressure you can get the ball started with your short starter.
2). or seating the patch/ball on the muzzle and using the butt end of your knife seat the ball in the muzzle, then taking a short grip on your ramrod shove the ball home with changing your grip each time.

If your combination seems easy to push down it probably needs to be adjusted with the next thicker patch/ball combination.

 

[DakotaElkSlayer]

OR   , you could be a wimp like me . I have a sore palm,and a cool little hammer. 1 quick wack.

 

[Buck Conner1]

There are palm blocks for seating the ball (lately I've been using one when working off my shooting bench). May get the devise that Jon is now using and see how that works?