So, I am new to BPCR shooting and have been reading May threads here and elsewhere regarding lubes, bullets, etc.  my question is: how many of you use paper patched bullets in your BPCR?  I recently bought a C. Sharps 45-70 and have been loading various BP and smokeless rounds to get a feel of what may work well in the rifle.  I would like to try some paper patched bullets as well.  In addition, I have Paul Mathews, The Paper Jacket on the way from Amazon.  Any feedback would be appreciated.

Dan

Expect either a fair amount of experimentation, or, if you are lucky, instant gratification. Read up on the subject.  Posts by Brent Danielson, Rick Mulhern, Bruce M, and many others cover a lot of the trials&tribulations of bore-diameter paper patch bullets; Martinibelgian and the late, great  Montana Charlie did their work with groove-diameter paper patched.  Check here, on the Shiloh site, and the Castboolits site for their writeups.

I've only done one stint of groove-diameter paper patch so far, and it was not a howling success, so I will limit my comments to the more successful bore-diameter bullets with black powder.

Your paper should be thin, strong and "brittle" like the old erasable-bond typing paper.  A lot of people order theirs on line, specifying the pounds per ream and the manufacturer.  I go to Walmart and get either Strathmore drawing or Strathmore tracing for thick or thin paper.  The tracing is 0.0015" thick, so if you order a custom mould for your gun, a bore-diameter slug should cast at 0.444 or slightly smaller to wrap to 0.450", while you would need something like a 0.451" casting for two wraps to 0.457", if those are your bore and groove diameters.  If not, adjust accordingly.

I use different thickness papers because I got many of my moulds used, so they are not necessarily a match to my rifle.  Ideally, your windage should be mostly filled with the lead slug, with the thinner paper used.

I've found a BHN of between 8 and 12 is obligatory.  Softer, and the nose slumps, giving a core group with fliers; harder, and the bullet doesn't slug up to the depth of the rifling grooves, giving extreme randomness and leading. If you don't have a hardness tester, a 16:1 lead-to-tin mix is right in there.

So far, for me, Swiss 1F is the powder of choice. For my .45-70s, 80 grains works best, with a thin cork wad on top and the bullet seated 1/8" to 3/16" into the case.  I full-length size my (annealed) cases, slightly bell them without expanding them, seat the bullet (wrapped dry, I don't dampen the paper when I wrap) and reduce the mouth diameter so it barely grips the end of the bullet.

In order of importance: clean and dry bore between shots; alloy hardness; more (Swiss) powder than cartridge specification, heavier bullets (525 gr +); "crackly" thin paper wrapped dry and folded over the base so a circle of lead still shows. You want the patch on the bullet in the bore, and off of it as soon as possible when it clears the muzzle.

Thanks to all for the replies.  I think I have much to learn!  I hope to get out this weekend and shoot my Sharps.  I will let you know how it goes.   

Thanks again!

Dan

Bruce,

That is my understanding, alas.  His Avatar was marked "In Memoriam" last time I saw one of his postings on the Cast Boolits site, and there haven't been any for a couple months.  I think he's written up in the Remembrance section there, too.

Dewphd,

Bruce is right about the deceptiveness of the Matthews book.  Guaranteeing "hunting accuracy" if you buy a book and follow directions is not exactly laying it on the line.  That could be four inches at fifty feet from a tree stand, nowadays.  Even if you are desirous of old-time hunting accuracy, i.e., minute of buffalo at 300 yards or so, it would be a more educational use of your time to optimize the target-shooting accuracy of your loads first, and then see what corners you can cut in pursuit of quick, reasonably accurate following shots after you can see what the possibilities are.

So far, the few matches I've done with paper patch bullets haven't been up to the scores with grease groove, but I think that is due to getting the bore cleaning down to an unhurried, nondistracting routine, shooting off sticks.  At the bench, with plenty of time to clean between shots, paper patch bullets seem to do a little better for me than grease groove ones.

All good advice. BPCR shooting is much more in-depth than buying ammo off the shelf and shooting.  Time to spend some time at the range and experiment with various loads and methods.   

I truly appreciate the advice.

Dan

  Like the made in China on the ruler!

LOL, I was thinking the same about the company on the patch...

Ok, not made in China but close

MartiniBelgian wrote on Feb 6^th, 2017 at 2:42am: