A New Approach to Paper-Patched BulletsBy Ed Wosika © 2013

As a dedicated cast bullet (CB) shooter since the early 1980’s, searching through the mysteries of paper-patched cast bullets (PPCBs), as applied to modern rifles, has proven to be an offshoot of CB shooting that has ended up suggesting all-new rules, limitations, and possibilities. Assuming that you have some interest in this arcane art, and that you can cast a decent CB to act as the core for your PPCB, this article might serve to warn you about PPCB approaches that have worked poorly for me, to steer you toward a very promising previously unpublished PPCB approach, and to enable you to create and to shoot your own PPCBs, while keepingthe amount of your time and money invested to a minimum.

What Works and WhyThe standard modern-rifle approach is to apply a paper patch to a bullet core of as-cast or slightly smaller diameter, to dry and lube the patch, then to size the PPCB to final diameter and work up a load. In my experience, the result of this approach is this poor accuracy. I know some shooters for whom that approach has worked very nicely but it never did for me.

After much frustration, it became clear to me that it would be a good idea to try what had worked so well in the buffalo rifles of the late Nineteenth Century and to modify that approach as little as necessary to address the facts that:

1) The propellant would be slow-and clean-burning “white” powder, rather than comparatively quick-burning and heavy-fouling blackpowder; and,

2) The PPCB’s patch could not extend past the leade cone of the throating.

The standard approach used by serious shooters firing the Sharps, and other, blackpowder cartridge buffalo rifles was to create a bullet core of rather soft alloy that was considerably smaller than bore diameter of the rifle, then patch that core up to slightly larger than bore diameter, lube it lightly, then load it seated well out of the case. With this approach, the patch extended all the way out to the start of the ogive and the marksman seated the bullet so that much of the patched length was resting in a well-centered grip between the land tops in the barrel. When the marksman fired the round pressure rose very quickly, reaching a maximum of about 17- to 25-Kpsi as the rear of the bullet entered the bore.

Typically, the grooves at that location were nearly filled with powder fouling from prior shots; so, the bullet could not obturate completely. Instead, it would move forward a few inches and, upon reaching rifling grooves that were less fouled, it would continue to expand, filling those. Upon leaving the muzzle, centrifugal forceand wind resistance rapidly stripped the patch from the bullet.

What was wrong with this picture, from the perspective of a white-powder rifle, was two-fold:

1) Modern propellants do not produce powder fouling that takes up almost the full depth of the rifling grooves in the first few inches of the barrel; and,

2) The bullet is not subjected to the full chamber pressure until its rear end has traveled around one inch forward of the case mouth.

Therefore, the modern-rifle PPCB needs to have an over-the-patch diameter a bit larger than groove diameter of the barrel, instead of being just larger than bore diameter; and, as such, the patched portion cannot extend far forward into the rifling.

A crucial point, and one that I have not read elsewhere, is that blackpowder-cartridge PPCBs expanded into the grooves with the paper patch full of air, just as plain writing paper is full of air (at least 40% of the total volume is just that, air) asit rests on the table. If that was an important point, then what might have been wrong with my patch-up-and-then-size-down-to-groove-diameter approach was that I was removing all the air from the patch as I sized the patched-up bullet significantly smaller.

After all, the sizing operation is very slow, compared to the few milliseconds involved in the entire firing sequence. So, during the sizing operation air in the paper has plenty of time to escape. By comparison, any air that is left in the paper patch remains trapped there throughout the entire firing sequence — it has nowhere to escape to in the short time allotted, so it remains in place and tries to inflate the patch, much like the air in a pneumatic tire remains in place and supports the vehicle.

This distinction was noted by my friend Mic McPherson’s daughter, Autumn, afterhe explained the matter to her in an effort to elicit a lay person’s opinion as to why the difference in results might exist. Mic said that it took her just seconds to figure it out! Would that I had been that quick.

Was this an important point? I tested this by starting out with a PPCB core sized down to a bit larger than bore diameter and then patched up to just larger than groove diameter. Upon testing these, I found that, for a change, the bullets went where I pointed the rifle. So, at least from my perspective, the trick to obtaining good PPCB accuracy in a modern rifle with white-powder loads is to cast (or size down) the PPCB core small enough that the dried patch will be groove diameter, ora bit larger. A little bit of sizing-down of the finished patch is okay, as detailed later on in this discussion, but enough air must be left in the paper for it to functionas a pneumatic (high-pressure-air-filled) blanket around the PPCB core, else accuracy will be dismal.

One possible “why” for this is that, in response to the severe pressure from obturation of the bullet, trapped very-highly-pressurized air within the patch forcesthe patch to conform perfectly to the entire groove surface even if the core does not(or cannot) do so (this pressurization mirrors maximum obturation pressure and that will reach almost maximum chamber pressure and then will eventually fall to exactly bullet strength as the bullet moves toward the muzzle). The result is that, unlike what happens when we fire CBs and jacketed bullets, there exists no potential for gas leakage along the following face of each land because the air-pressurized paper patch expands to fill all available space in each groove.

Likewise, the sudden absence of confining pressure, once the PPCB exits the muzzle, causes the pressurized patch to spring back out very suddenly. As I see it, this blows up the patch, causing it to disintegrate and to leave the bullet core both cleanly and quickly.

Yes, this is just an hypothesis; however, it is clear that the buffalo rifles used this trapped-high-pressure-air approach and provided stellar performance. In my experience, this same approach is necessary for providing good PPCB performancein modern white-powder rifles too.

Mic tells me that, in 1886, a shooter using such loads at one of the big events back East made an 8½-inch 10-shot group at 1000 yards, a record that was not surpasseduntil after World War II. A PPCB in modern white-powder rifle loads cannot be as well aligned with the bore centerline as can a blackpowder cartridge load that startsout with much of the length of the bullet pinched between the land tops. However, the potential for excellent performance still remains. It is up to us to see how far we can proceed along that path.

Components and ConsiderationsHardness versus Pressure — The standard CB alloy of wheelweights enriched with 1% tin achieves a Brinell hardness of around 13 within a few days after being air-cooled from the mould. This hardness will provide a sweet spot, for any given chambering and PPCB bullet weight combination, that is somewhere in the 35-to-50 Kpsi chamber pressure range. In a gun that will safely handle loads generating such pressure, the handloader can use QuickLOAD software to obtain the necessary low and high powder charge (for this pressure range) for a variety of powders. Subsequent range work will soon sort out the best combination for that PPCB in your rifle. Hint: the best result often occurs with a load that hits this sweet-spot pressure for the rifle using a slightly compressed charge.

Using a harder alloy slides this range up to higher pressures, and a softer alloy slides it down the pressure scale. Still, given any combination of PPCB and chambering, this rule of thumb helps narrow the range of possibilities. Typical CB

loads are in the 14-to-30 Kpsi range, so it is often feasible to get more velocity, while retaining decent hunting accuracy with a PPCB than one can obtain with a conventional CB of comparable mass.

Core Diameter Versus Paper and the X-Factor — The first thing to know about your rifle is the entry diameter of the throat. Here, I am assuming that the rifle in question is factory chambered, in which case the typical throat will have an entry diameter around 0.002-inch larger than the nominal groove diameter. If you have any doubt, such as if the chamber was not factory-cut, make a throating cast, measure the entry diameter of the throat and note it. The take-away fact, in this, is that the paper jacket on your PPCB can be no larger in diameter than the entry diameter of the throat. I will continue this discussion assuming a factory-chambered barrel.

Given a goal of having an over-the-dried-patch diameter roughly equal to 0.002-inch larger than the nominal groove diameter of the (factory) rifle, the handloader determines the correct PPCB core diameter simply by adding 0.002-inch to the nominal groove diameter of the gun and subtracting the diameter increase that the patch will add to the core diameter. For a two-times-around (“2X”) patch, that added diameter will be four times the paper thickness; for a “3X” patch, it will be six times the paper thickness; and for a “4X” patch, it will be eight times the paper thickness.

Practical limits force the handloader to choose from a 2X, 3X, or 4X patch, with the 2X patch being standard, except for a tracing-paper patch, which can often be useful at 3X or 4X. A second limitation, that I discuss more fully later in this article, is that the core diameter should not be any smaller than the land-to-land diameter of the barrel, which one can most easily determine by inserting precision-ground gage pins in the muzzle.

Paper Options — Whenever measuring paper thickness, use a standard micrometer that is adjusted to read 0.0000-inch when its two anvil faces meet and the little spinner-clutch starts slipping. The thickness of the paper, as used in this article, is the thickness indicated when the paper is pinched between the anvil facesof the micrometer enough that its spinner-clutch starts slipping.

Starting with the thinnest readily available paper option, the tracing paper I use is 0.0015-inch thick (1.5 thousandths); therefore, it adds 0.003-inch per turn. Tracing paper is available from on-line drafting supply stores in 12-inch wide rolls. Be aware that some tracing papers are a bit thicker and that these, too, will work, but will give a total added thickness (for a given number of turns) that differs from what I suggest in this article, which is based upon the tracing paper that I use. Withsuch thin paper, except for small-caliber PPCBs, one uses either a 3X patch (adds 0.009-inch) or a 4X patch (adds 0.012-inch).

Next up is 16-pound lined, 3-hole notebook paper, which is 0.0025-inch thick, so adds 0.005-inch per turn (a 2X patch adds 0.010-inch and a 3X patch adds 0.015-inch). Standard 20-pound printer paper, which is 0.003-inch thick, adds 0.006-inch per turn (a standard 2X patch adds 0.012-inch). Twenty-four-pound paper, which is0.0035-inch thick, adds 0.007-inch per turn (a 2X patch adds 0.014-inch). Twenty-eight pound paper (rarely needed), which is 0.004-inch thick, adds 0.008-inch per turn (a 2x patch adds 0.016-inch).

Apply all paper patches wet. The slight shrinking of the around-the-core patch length, as the paper dries, causes the patch to grip the PPCB core and to “suck down” (shrink) into any lube grooves in the core. A proper paper patch has a strong grip on the core — you cannot turn it or pull it off the core without destroying it.

Example — For a 30-caliber rifle, the target diameter, over the dried patch, is 0.310-inch (two thousandths larger than nominal groove diameter of a typical 30-caliber barrel). If we want to end up using a 3X patch of tracing paper, we will need a core diameter of (0.310-inch – 0.009-inch) = 0.301-inch. The associated table takes these considerationsinto account and provides the paper strip width to use, in accordance withthe goals I have herein described. This eliminates the need for anyone else to do any patch-length calculations or to make and use a patch pattern — just follow the recommendations.

The trick is two-fold:

1) The diameter of the dried patch must be no larger than the entry diameter of the throating in the chamber, so that the patch will not catch and tear there, when you chamber a cartridge; yet,

2) Unless the patch extends all the way into the ogive the core cannot be smaller in diameter than the land-to-land diameter of the bore, so that the exposed point (the parallel-sided un-patched portion aft of the bullet point) can ride the land tops as the fired bullet accelerates and spins up to more than 100,000 rpm as it passes down the bore.

Core Diameter: As-Cast or via Sizing-Down — Given a desired PPCB core diameter, we have two ways to go. Either the PPCB-type mould casts the core at the desired diameter or we process the normal-diameter CB nose-first through a press-mounted sizer die, so that it emerges from the top of the die at the desired diameter. Lee Precision makes such die sets and we can order these as a custom item in any diameter we desire.

However, for reducing bullet diameter more than a few thousandths inch, these dies will not work well unless we modify the die to include a four-degree basic angle entry cone that is at least 3/8-inch long.

To do this, chuck the die in a lathe and use pieces of cloth-backed shop roll 240-grit abrasive held in a split-end dowel. Run the lathe at high speed while moving the abrasive-backed portion of the dowel in-and-out of the die entrance rapidly, with the stick canted outward at ~four degrees from parallel with the die’s centerline. Removing material at such a shallow angle creates a gentle entry-cone. This tasks takes about 10 minutes. Follow this with a light smoothing-in using 400-grit shop roll applied via the same split-end stick.

Until Lee Precision wakes up to the utility of this beneficial design modification, which would be extremely easy for it to include in these dies, the only options are to modify a Lee die or to make your own die.

Given a 2-inch-long piece of 7/8x14-inch all-thread material, suitable twist drills (one slightly undersize and one oversize, relative to the desired final hole diameter), a decimal chucking reamer 0.002-inch smaller than desired PPCB core diameter, a plumber’s hand reamer (four-degree basic angle taper from 17-caliber to larger than 50-caliber), 240 and 400-grit shop roll abrasive, and a split-tip dowel, you can make your own push-through die fairly quickly on a lathe, then usethe soft steel die with the bottom punch from a Lee push-through sizer set for that caliber.

Trick: Before reaming the drilled-through hole, back-drill from the top of the die to within 0.7-inch of its lower end using a drill that is around 0.020-inch larger than the reamed diameter of the die. This will let the sized CB escape the constricting portion of the die before the ram reaches the top of its stroke, thereby eliminating the tendency for a partially-through CB to hinder the movement of the next CB.

To process an air-cooled-wheelweight-alloy CB through such a die, smear the CB lightly with Lee Resizing Lube, place the CB upright on the bottom ram, move your hand well away from the die, and then cycle the CB up through the die using a very fast press-handle motion. Doing this stroke slowly can cause the CB to get stuck, but the way-fast-push-thru approach works great. Using this approach, you can size 30-caliber bullets as much as 0.011-inch smaller. The job is easiest, for wheelweight alloy CBs, if done within a few hours after those have air-cooled.

To remove lube residuals, wash the finished batch of sized-down CBs in boiling water with some liquid detergent added. These PPCB cores, once dry, are ready to wrap.

Gas checks (GC’s) are optional on GC-type CB cores; if desired, you can place oneon each CB’s GC shank just prior to running the bullet through the sizer die — the strong resistance to sizing-down holds the GC on dead-flush until it enters the die and is sized-and-crimped into place. Plain-based CBs work fine too. I have not tried bevel-based CBs as PPCB cores.

Cutting and Wrapping the PatchesThe traditional way of preparing a paper patch is to use a trapezoid-shaped metal pattern of the patch to mark the paper and cut each patch individually. It takes lots of work to determine and then make the just-right-size-and-angles pattern, while also keeping opposing sides parallel, and then the patch-marking-and-cutting procedure is a very slow slog indeed.

I hate it when that happens, so, we will not waste time and effort in that manner. Instead, we will cut our paper to the correct width of strip such that when we then cut that strip at a 30-degree angle (from the perpendicular), it will produce a trapezoid that will go around the core exactly the number of times desired and, instead of twisting a tail on the patch, which would require yet another step to clip that tail off, we will fan-fold the patch over the base edge of the bullet and flatten the resulting pleats. Figure 1 demonstrates the finished product.

The equipment you will need includes:

1) A quality curved-blade-type paper cutter with a finger guard rail running parallel to the cutting edge and having a blade long enough to cut standard 8.2x11-inch paper sheets lengthwise;

2) A large 30/60/90 triangle shorter than the table of your cutter is wide:

3) A 0.5-mm mechanical pencil to mark paper;

4) A wooden pencil with an unused (squared-ended) eraser;

5) An engineer’s scale (you will use the 10 scale on this);

6) Some clear packaging tape;

7) A standard stapler;

8) A plastic (not cloth) topped computer mouse pad; and,

9) A piece of plastic window screen material at least 12-inches on a side, for drying finished but still wet PPCBs.

Using the 10-scale, measure and mark proper-width (see table) strip-edge locationsalong both ends of a sheet of paper, being sure to start measuring from the same side on each end. Stack two more sheets of paper behind the marked one to make astack of three sheets then put two staples for each strip just inside the two side-marks on one end of the stack. Make cuts from one mark to the matching mark (on the other end of the sheet) while holding the sheet down on the paper cutter (see Figure 2). For each such three-strip-stack you cut, the two end-staples will help prevent the sheets in the stack from shifting relative to each other during either the strip-cutting or the subsequent patch-cutting operations. The result will be a set of prepared stacks of just the right width.

Tape the 30/60/90 triangle down onto the paper cutter, as shown in Figure 3, such that the short side is parallel to the left edge of the cutter table and the 30-degree angle tip is within 1/8-inch of the cutting blade. This will result in the longest side of the triangle (the hypotenuse) facing you. A good trick is to fold over the end of each of the two tape pieces used to hold down the triangle, for a short distance, thereby creating a easy-to-grip tab that facilitates removal of the triangle for doing the strip-cutting operations.

With the blade of the cutter fully lifted, put a stapled three-strip-stack edge-on to the hypotenuse of the triangle, with the stapled end to the left. Slide the strip stack to the right and up-against the hypotenuse of the triangle until both of the corners of the stack (on the right end) extend just beyond the blade, as shown in Figure 4.

Cut off both protruding corners.

You are now ready to cut finished trapezoidal strips by the handful. Put a mark on your wooden pencil a distance from the end of the eraser equal to the desired patchlength on the bullet plus 40% of the bullet diameter, as shown in the left image in Figure 4. Thus, for a 0.7-inch long patch in 30-caliber, the mark would be 0.712-inch from the end of the eraser [(0.7+(0.4x0.3) = (0.7+0.012) = 0.712]. The idea is to have the patch extend beyond the base of the PPCB core enough to not quite reach the center of the bullet when you fold the extending skirt over the base of thebullet and apply the pleating.

To measure the width of each stack of three patches, prior to cutting it off, hold thepencil with the eraser end to the left and up against the fixed edge of the paper cutter, right where the just-cut end of the stack-of-three is located. Slide the stack-of-three out until its extending edge meets your reference mark (on the pencil), as shown in the middle image in Figure 4.

Hold the stack against the exposed edge of the triangle with your other hand. Then move your hand that is holding the pencil (while still holding the pencil) to the cutter handle and make the cut. Do this repeatedly until you have used up all your three-strip-stack. Cut all of your strip-stacks in like manner. Starting with untouched sheets of paper, you will have made SCADS of perfectly fitting patches in less than five minutes (see right image in Figure 4).

My friends who are left-handed will likely find that both hands are quite busy, so the fact that paper cutters are designed for “right-handed” use is not an issue .

Align the edge of the mouse pad with the edge of the table. Wet a patch in a saucerof water and place it face down on the pad so that the sharp point of the patch sticks off of the edge of the pad enough so you can grab it and with the long straight edge of the patch on the right side, perpendicular to the edge of the pad.

Place a PPCB core down along the edge of the pad and on top of the patch with theCB pointing to the right, such that the long right edge of the patch is located at the correct forward-end-of-patch location on the CB and the CB is (by eyeball) perpendicular to the edge of the patch, as shown in the left image in Figure 5. Pull the patch point up-and-over the CB and roll the CB up (away from you) while pressing down on the patch and pad (middle image in Figure 5). This will generate a nearly finished PPCB, similar to the one shown in the right-most image in Figure5.

To fold the tail over, tip the point of the CB upward to the right at a 45-degree angle on the pad, while holding the CB’s point in your right finger-and-thumb combination. Now push down gently on the top of the patch with your left-hand index finger, and roll the assembly away from you while pushing down gently withyour left forefinger (main image in Figure 6), and then, while still rolling the tilted bullet away from you, bring the bullet up to vertical soon after you have creased the “skirt” over the edge of the core, all the way around. Stop rolling when the bullet reaches the vertical, then push down lightly on the PPCB and turn it slightly in the same direction it was going by turning the bare alloy point of the PPCB between your index finger and thumb. Never do this final twist while holding the still-wet paper patch.

Pick the PPCB up and look at the base end. It should exhibit a series of lovely radially-oriented pleats all flattened-out against the bullet base (see Figure 1). Place the finished-but-still-wet PPCB base-down on your piece of window screen, which you should locate on an unused portion of the tabletop (see insert in Figure 6). The screen allows air to reach the base of the PPCB, so that the entire paper patch can dry at a similar rate.

If all is going well, the exposed edge of each patch will spiral up the side of the PPCB core parallel to, but not overlapping, the buried starting edge of the patch. These two edges can be as much as 0.050-inch apart and still function nicely with little, if any, accuracy degradation; conversely, you should avoid any overlap (use a slightly narrower strip-stack).

When the jackets of the PPCBs are dry, give these a very light lube coat of either paste floor wax or Rooster Laboratories’ Rooster Jacket. Once that lube sets, your PPCBs are ready to load and fire.

Typically, I add a half-teaspoon of motor mica to a zip-lock-bagged batch of about 100 PPCBs. This helps make the PPCBs easier to seat in the case mouths and this lubricant sticks to, and stays at, the surface of the paper — it does not displace valuable air within the patch.

The WHY behind being light on the lube coat is that lube that enters the paper displaces nicely compressible air (within the matrix of the paper). Any non-

compressible liquid or solid (lube) so added decreases the spring-back potential of the patch. The result would be eliminating or decreasing the very quality we are depending upon, in the patch, to give a reliable seal in the rifling and to provide a clean breakaway of the patch from the core immediately after the PPCB leaves the muzzle.

Determining the LOAThe correct length-over-all (LOA) for a cartridge using a PPCB, in a modern rifle, is the length whereby the PPCB enters the chamber throating and the forward end of the patch just seats into the leade-cone as we lock the bolt. If you want a shorter LOA — for example, because the cartridge is too long to function through the action — then the forward edge of the patch must be located further forward on thePPCB core. Likewise, for a longer LOA, move the forward end of the patch towardthe bullet’s rear.

It is important to consider this limitation when making a batch of PPCBs. The trickis to make a trial run PPCB, dry the patch quickly using a hair drier, then test it, as I describe next, to see if you need to change the LOA produced when the patch of your test bullet impinges the rifling. Once you have the correct front-of-patch location on your test PPCB, keep that bullet as a reference (while patching the rest of the batch), and record the correct LOA for that batch.

The patch-cutting procedure described above automatically adjusts the patch’s as-cut width (to match the desired front-of-patch location) because that consideration is built into the reference mark location that you put on the wooden pencil. So, the only real trick is to keep putting test patches on your trial PPCB until the forward end of the patch provides the cartridge LOA desired. Then set your reference mark (on the wooden pencil) accordingly. Given that pre-preparation, patch width will be exactly right when the front edge is positioned at the correct point on the PPCB core, and your entire batch of PPCBs will fit just right when you load those to the pre-established optimal cartridge LOA for your gun — how convenient.

Measuring LOA — In order to determine the LOA that results from a particular patch-front-edge location on the PPCB core, you will need a three-inch-long dowel. For 30-caliber, cut one from a 5/16-inch diameter dowel and square up bothends. You will need a cleaning rod with a jag that has the pricker (the sharp tip thatpricks a hole in the patch) cut off — i.e., the jag has a flat end. Be sure the jag is screwed into the end of the cleaning rod tightly.

Drop the trial PPCB into the chamber point-first, follow up with the dowel, and then seat the PPCB home in the throating by moving the bolt forward firmly against the back of the dowel.

Gently insert the flat-faced cleaning rod down the barrel until it touches the bullet point. Use the mechanical pencil to mark the rod flush with the muzzle by spinningthe rod against the pencil point. Use the rod to knock out the push-dowel and trial PPCB, then close the action, rest the rod end against the bolt face, and mark the rodonce more.

The distance between the two marks you made on the rod is the cartridge LOA thatwill cause the front of the patch on your PPCBs to properly seat against the leade cone of your rifle as you lock the action, which is ideal for best accuracy.

More Handy Rules of ThumbPost-Wrap Size-Down — Sometimes, it is necessary to size-down the wrapped-and-dried patch just a few thousandths inch to allow the PPCB to enter the chamber throat reliably. Unlike with the PPCB core mega-size-down, you can do this minor post-wrap size-down using a standard lubrisizer with lube pressure removed or you can use a modified standard-size Lee push-thru sizer die (e.g., 0.309-inch or 0.310-inch diameter, for a factory 30-caliber rifle) modified to have the gentle entry cone, as I described previously. When considering such a patching option, the question is: How much post-wrap size down is okay and how much sizedown is too much?

It is handy to know that you can only size-down about half the added diameter of the patch before the patch becomes so dense that additional size-down affects only the PPCB core. Thus, for a patch that adds ten- thousandths-inch to core diameter, we will run out of patch air if we size down the finished patch by five thousandths or more.

We want to keep as much air in the patch as possible, so, as a rule of thumb, if post-patching size-down cannot be avoided, design core diameter and patching thickness so that necessary size-down is no more than 30 percent of diameter that the patch added. Thus, a patch that added 0.010-inch to diameter of the PPCB core could tolerate a post-patching size-down of no more than 0.003-inch. If the patching option under consideration would require post-patching size-down of more than this pick another core sizing and patching option.

Patch Thickness Versus Rifling Height — Another good rule of thumb is to reject any option where the added diameter from the patch is not at least 80% of the difference between bore and groove diameter of the barrel. Thus, for 30–caliberbarrel, with 0.008-inch diameter difference between nominal land and groove diameters, we would not consider a 2X tracing paper patch it adds only 0.006-inch to the PPCB core diameter. However, such a thin 2X tracing paper patch should work fine for a 22-caliber rifle because 22-caliber barrels have a nominal difference of only about 0.005-inch between bore and groove diameter.

This limitation comes from the problems one can run into if the patch has to stretchtoo much where each land meets and adjacent groove. We do not have to solve problems that we avoid.

Nose Diameter — Running the PPCB through a press-mounted die sizes down thefull length of the core. Thus, both a two-diameter rifle-type CB (having a cylindrical nose connecting the bands to the point) and a single-diameter CB will both come out as having the same diameter full length. The trick is to ensure that the final sized diameter is no smaller than land-to-land (bore) diameter of the barrelbecause the bullet nose will not be patched and, so, must have a slip-fit across the land tops. Thus, for a 30-caliber rifle, 0.301-inch represents the smallest practicable PPCB core diameter that is apt to result in accurate loads.

Why is this so? In order to avoid having to seat the PPCB entirely too deeply, it is necessary that part of the nose of the PPCB must be left bare (unpatched), so that itcan extend past the front of the leade cone and into the bore. Ideally, diameter of that bare nose portion should just fit across the land tops.

As such, the bullet nose will remain centered in the bore during the entire passage of the bullet through the bore. The base will obturate and will, therefore, be well centered. As such, the entire bullet will remain well centered and balanced.

Because obturation never extends significantly into the bullet nose, if the nose doesnot initially fit the bore, it never will. Therefore, such a bullet can tip in the bore. Experience has taught us that a bullet that can tip it will tip.

Getting good accuracy with such a bullet used in anything other than unusually light loads is quite rare. Recovered bullets show why. With normal loads, such bullets are deformed when leaving the bore. Such bullets are out of balance and inaccurate.

Along that line, consider how nicely a heavy 45-caliber single-diameter revolver CB could function as a PPCB core for a 45-caliber rifle. Most such revolver CBs cast in the range of 0.452-inch to 0.454-inch diameter, so could be sized very easily to, say, 0.451-inch diameter for use in a 45-70 rifle. A 2X patch of 16# notebook paper would give a diameter of 0.461-inch. If that would enter the rear ofthe leade-cone throating easily, then it would be ready to use, as is. Otherwise, a slight size-down of the patch would make it fit nicely. Mmmm! So many succulentoptions; so little time!

A notable exception to this nose-diameter limitation occurs when loading for a riflethat uses a straight-sided (no-shoulder) case design. In that instance, the bullet can be patched with the front end of the patch extending just beyond the start of the ogive (point cone) because such bullets are normally seated deeply, with the front of the driving-band section jammed into the leade cone, which is often located just ahead of the case mouth. Therefore, here we have an instance where the PPCB is

patched full-length, so no exposed portion of the nose needs to match the land-to-land diameter.

Thus, for a 45-70 we could use a 350-grain single-diameter revolver bullet with a 0.452-inch as-cast diameter sized to 0.448-inch (well under bore diameter of the rifle); add a 2X patch of 16-pound notebook paper full length (hanging over the point slightly) and end up with a 0.458-inch diameter PPCB. The jam-into-the-leade-cone LOA of the bullet would result in the patch extending about 0.1-inch beyond the case mouth, and the LOA would be short enough to function through any lever action 45-70. Nice!

Moulds — Of course, given a suitable Lee push-through press-mounted sizing die set (modified to have the gentle four-degree basic entry cone herein described), you could use moulds you might already own to create CBs that, after a size-down,will function well as PPCB cores. However, an even easier method is to obtain moulds that cast cores of the diameter desired.

Lyman used to make these for 30-caliber, but no longer. NEI’s mould offerings include some PPCB moulds for 30-caliber and 303 rifles. Mountain Moulds and LBT can make custom moulds that cast bullet body diameters just larger than bore diameter. These cost only a bit more than standard moulds.

If you will grant yourself $40/hr for your free time, the cost of PPCB core moulds becomes trivial in light of the amount of time you no longer have to spend sizing bullets and the money no longer needed for PPCB core-size-down dies. Every silver lining has a cloud, though. For example, if your neat new PPCB core mould yields 0.303-inch diameter cores, those might work fine as-cast as PPCB cores for an SMLE rifle, but would still need a, slight, full-length size-down for use in most 30 caliber rifles. The good news in that is that the small diameter change would be very easy and fast to accomplish.

Its Not an Ice Cream Cone — “Try it, you’ll lick it!,” applies to ice cream cones, but not paper patches. It is wise to avoid moistening paper patches in one’s mouth because modern paper has some fairly gnarly organic chemicals added to improve its finish and other properties. A safe related trick that makes patch application easier, though, is to lick your finger and apply the saliva to the upper side of the triangular tip of the patch (that extends toward you from the edge of the mouse pad), just prior to beginning the wrap. This helps keep the tip in place, once it touches the PPCB core, thereby avoiding the occasional loose-wrap.

Use the Table or Wing ItThe accompanying table shows the correct paper strip width, total added patch thickness, the finished over-the-patch diameter, and ready-to-wrap PPCB core diameter for a wide variety of paper patching options in various calibers.

For an option not shown in the table, you can find the necessary paper strip width very easily using a calculator. Multiply the PPCB core diameter by the number of times the patch will go around the bullet (i.e., multiply by 2 for a 2X patch), and then multiply the resulting number by 2.721. This latter number (if you care) is equal to Pi (approximately 3.14) multiplied by the cosine of 30-degrees (0.866) to compensate for the 30-degree tilt of the strip on the paper-cutter table.

Enjoy!Making and shooting PPCB’s in a modern white-powder rifle is a lot of fun and, after each shot, the small veritable snowstorm of shredded patch paper falling fromthe area in front of the muzzle reminds you that you are following a different drummer; namely, the one who beat the rhythm out for the buffalo hunters. Paper jackets work great and are worth a try.

Contact InformationLee Precision, Inc., 4275 Highway U, Hartford, Wisconsin 53027 || 262-673-3075 || http://leeprecision.com/lee-custom-services/ (custom-diameter push-thru die order page)

LBT Moulds, 78592 Hwy 2, Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845 || 208-267-3588 || LBTisAccuracy@localnet.com || http://www.lbtmoulds.com/index.shtml

Mountain Moulds, 85 Old Homestead Road, Cottonwood, Idaho 83522 || http://www.mountainmolds.com/

NEI Hand Tools, P.O. Box 370356, El Paso, Texas 79937-0356 || 915-772-0259 || neihandtools@hotmail.com || http://www.neihandtools.com

Rooster Laboratories, P.O. Box 414605, K.C., MO 64141 || 816-474-1622 || duane@roosterlabs.com || http://www.roosterlabs.com/

MSC Industrial Supply Co, 75 Maxess Road, Melville, NY 11747-3151 (for 240- and 400-grit shop-roll abrasive and decimal chucking reamers of any diameter desired) || 800-645-7270 || http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/nnsrhm (hint: for phone order, one needs the catalog)

Brownells Inc., 200 South Front Street, Montezuma, Iowa 50171 (for powdered mica) || 800-741-0015 || http://www.brownells.com/ (hint: for phone order, one needs the catalog)

Dick Blick Art Supplies, P.O. Box 1267, Galesburg, IL 61402-1267 (for 30/60/90 triangles and rolls of tracing paper) || 800-828-4548 || http://www.dickblick.com/

Paper

Number

of Wraps

Diameter Size-Down

Strip WidthAdded Core Wrapped

inch

25-Caliber: Maximum Patch Diameter = 0.259

Tracing3X 0.009 0.250 0.259 — 2.044X 0.012 0.250 0.262 -0.002 2.75

16# 2X 0.010 0.250 0.260 — 1.3620# 2X 0.012 0.250 0.262 -0.002 1.36

7mm (modern): Maximum Patch Diameter = 0.285Tracing 3X 0.009 0.277 0.286 — 2.26

16# 2X 0.010 0.277 0.287 -0.001 1.517mm (military): Maximum Patch Diameter = 0.290

Tracing 3X 0.009 0.277 0.286 — 2.264X 0.012 0.277 0.289 — 3.02

16# 2X 0.010 0.277 0.287 — 1.5120# 2X 0.012 0.277 0.289 — 1.51

30-Caliber: Maximum Patch Diameter = 0.310Tracing 3X 0.009 0.301 0.310 — 2.46

4X 0.012 0.301 0.313 -0.003 3.2816# 2X 0.010 0.301 0.311 -0.001 1.6420# 2X 0.012 0.301 0.313 -0.003 1.64

303 and 7.65mm: Maximum Patch Diameter = 0.314Tracing 3X 0.009 0.303 0.312 — 2.47

4X 0.012 0.303 0.315 -.001 3.2916# 2X 0.010 0.303 0.313 — 1.6520# 2X 0.012 0.303 0.315 -0.001 1.6524# 2X 0.014 0.303 0.317 -0.004 1.65

35-Caliber: Maximum Patch Diameter = 0.360Tracing 3X 0.009 0.352 0.361 -.001 2.87

16# 2X 0.010 0.352 0.362 -0.002 1.92

38-55: Maximum Patch Diameter = 0.381Tracing 3X 0.009 0.371 0.380 — 3.03

4X 0.012 0.371 0.383 -0.002 4.0416# 2X 0.010 0.371 0.381 — 2.0220# 2X 0.012 0.371 0.383 -0.002 2.0224# 2X 0.014 0.371 0.385 -0.004 2.02

44-Caliber: Maximum Patch Diameter = 0.431Tracing 3X 0.009 0.422 0.431 — 3.44

4X 0.012 0.422 0.434 -0.003 4.59

Paper

Number

of Wraps

Diameter Size-Down

Strip WidthAdded Core Wrapped

inch16# 2X 0.010 0.422 0.432 -0.001 2.3020# 2X 0.012 0.422 0.434 -0.003 2.30

45-Caliber (rifle): Maximum Patch Diameter = 0.460Tracing 3X 0.009 0.451 0.460 — 3.68

4X 0.012 0.451 0.463 -0.003 4.9116# 2X 0.010 0.451 0.461 -0.001 2.4520# 2X 0.012 0.451 0.463 -0.003 2.45

45-Caliber Black Powder Rifle (soft core): Maximum Patch Diameter = 0.452

Tracing 3X 0.009 0.443 0.452 — 3.624X 0.012 0.440 0.452 — 4.79

16# 2X 0.010 0.442 0.452 — 2.4120# 2X 0.012 0.440 0.452 — 2.39

Figure Captions for Wosika’s Paper Patching Article

Figure Numbers and Captions

Banner: [no-caption image for placement at the head of the article, if desired] File = “Banner.jpg”

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Caption = “Figure 1 (L~>R): As-cast Paper Patch Cast Bullet (PPCB) core; sized-down core; finished PPCB, standing and; finished PPCB, showing base fan-fold.” File = Figure_1.jpg

Caption = “Figure 2: Proper-width strip-stack ready to be cut from sheet stack.” Note staples (see Figure 4 caption). File = Figure_2.jpg

Caption = “Figure 3: Strip-stack positioned against hypotenuse of triangle, ready for first cut that creates proper bias angle on stack end. The square-marked locations on the triangle show the two locations where triangle is taped to cutting device.” File = Figure_3.jpg

Caption = “Figure 4: (left) pencil marked for proper overhang of the patch; (middle) pencil in-place against cutting edge of table, with paper strip-stack moveddown (against triangle edge) until right edge of stack matches reference mark on pencil and; (right) perfect paper patches produced by the handful in just minutes!” File = Figure_4.jpg

Caption = “Figure 5: (left) Core positioned on wet patch, ready to roll; (center) rolling and; (right) skirt of patch extends below base of cast bullet, prior to being fan-folded over the base of cast bullet.” File = Figure_5.jpg

Caption = “Figure 6: (main) doing the fan-folded roll-over of the skirt; (inset) finished Paper Patch Cast Bullet (PPCB) standing on plastic window screen material to dry sides and bottom. Bullet weight causes fan-folded patch to dry flat to the bottom of PPCB.” File = Figure_5.jpg