Paper patch bullet

hitch.bd

hitch.bd

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Has anyone ever tried to make a paper patch bullet?
I am toying with the idea of taking some .308 dia. cast RN, Lyman mould #311291, and making them paper patch for my .303 British.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
I got the idea from a book I just bought ,
3rd Edition Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook.
Any "pearls of wisdom" or "hard learned lessons" welcome
 
hitch
Paper patching works and works well.
What you are thinking of doing will work fine you are going to need to find a paper that will patch you bullet up from .308 to about .312 with two wraps of paper around the bullet.

Have shot lots of Paper Patch, it is tedious to roll them but a lot of fun to shoot and you will have the shiniest barrel in town after a 100 rounds.

Good Luck Ken.
 
I shoot paper patch bullets quite a lot out of my Sharps rifles, but with bore diameter bullets and black powder. Smokeless and paper patch is an entirely different ball fame though. There are a lot of guys on the Cast Bullets web site that post about shooting smokeless and paper patch. They actually have a sub-forum dedicated to it.

Chris.
 
I hope this doesn't hijack the thread too badly, but I have a paper patching question about the "...shiniest barrel in town...".
Can shooting paper patched bullets be used to improve the condition of an old bore?
I have a British Rook rifle made in 1887 in .300 Rook with a bore that measures 0.299" across the grooves. I use 75 grain lead cast 0.311 pistol bullets that I swage down to 0.2985 (on top of 2.5 grains of IMR700x) with acceptable results: Minute-of-gopher at 50 yards.
There are a couple of light rusted/pitted spots in a slightly dark bore. Would shooting smaller paper-patched bullets (patched to .299" or .300") over time help improve the bore? Could the bore be gently polished by adding a tiny amount of appropriate abrasive or polishing compound to the paper? Or even by using the right kind of slightly abrasive paper (not sandpaper but maybe artist's paper, Japanese long-fibre calligraphy paper, thin parchement, etc.)?
I already go to enough trouble reloading for this gun, so why not add another level of complexity :~)
Cheers,
T
 
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Go to cast boolits website for paper patching info. There is a ton there. Ive found that matching your boolit to the grooves works best ten patching above that. 9lb onionskin...basically tracing paper works great for me

as for polishing a rough bore. No paper patching will not help as a matter of fact it will lead your bore alot. I know cause i have a 303 that i tried this in. What is generally recommended is to fire lap your bore. Basically takw a soft cast boolit and rub it in fine lapping compound then fire over a very weak charge of something like hogdon clays. Fire 5 take it in and use a soft cloth on a jag or smaller bore brush and 20 strokes with lapping compound on the rag clean. Then repeat. Just remember the lapping compound is like sandpaper in your bore so you will remove metal slowly but if you need to clean up a barrel it will work....i have done this up to 5 cycles to clean out a bore for paper to work with out massive leading.

Best of luck. matt
 
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Tharjoe
Look at it this way. Paper as sand paper because it is fiberous. Sanding wood if you take enough of the surounding area away at a slight enough angle it can give the deception of being flat, but it isn't.
The paper cleans up the barrel it doesn't move high metal into holes or divits.
If you shot enough paper patch bullets your barrel would smooth out because it would be wearing out.

I am a poor explainer so I hope you get the jist of where I am trying to go!

Good Luck Ken.
 
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I see what you are saying, Kodiak. Thank you all for responding! I think I will try the method Sisphunter has suggested. I will certainly have a look through the Cast Boolits forum, too.
Cheers,
T
 
My luck with paper patched bullets has been so-so, I was able to raise speeds to 3000fps with some 30-06 loads, without them scattering all over.....but have yet to find where the best paper patch loads in many diff. guns and cals., can equal my best groups with grease groove bullets. If you can get decent accuracy, you'd have the best of all worlds because it would be cost effective and you could use softer alloys for better results on game.
 
With your choice of bullet, you should have no problems. Some points:
- don't use too hard a bullet, so don't quench them. Straight wheelweight should be ok.
- don't use a gas check. the taper created by the gas check step will allow for easy seating.
- use a Lyman M die, or similar, to bell the cases, to ensure seating without tearing the paper.
- wrap the paper so that it is tightened by the rotation through the barrel.
- wipe the paper with some lube.
- how long the patch is will be need some experimenting. You want to avoid seating below the neck line, and should have the forward end of the patch just touching the leade.
I have done it with .25, 30, 35 and .375 bullets. both jacketed and cast lead.
 
Here's an easy to get source of 9lb onion skin paper at Staple's.

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Thanks for all the info guys! I'm looking forward to trying this out. I have some bullets cast now to get the onionskin... Staples here I come!! Well, when I get time!!!
 
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