Paper patch vs gas check?

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Jessegreenwood

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Hey, so I have been reading about paper patch in 30 cal rifles, and it sounds to me to do everything a gas check and powder coat can do, with velocity up to jacket velocity.
So the question is; what is the disadvantage?
Is it just that it takes more practice and care, to get consistent repeatable performance?
If I am missing an obvious downside to it, please enliven me, but it sounds like an ideal way to make up some 185 grain hunting loads for my smle.
I mean, I got into reloading cus I am looking for the cheapest way to shoot it(and have spent more than I want to admit, so no need to point out that flaw.)
Looking for any tips and advice as well. Also what would be top velocity I should push gas checked 213grain in a 303? I have a box of those already.
Thanks all
 
I have played with paper patched bullets in various calibers, i have pushed .30 cal bullets at around 2600fps without any leading.
disadvantages in performance compared to gas checked or powder coated bullets i don't think there's any, the only drawback for me is that it's time consuming compared to powder coating and lubing them.
 
There is one drawback to using paper patched bullets that some swear by and others deny any truth to it.

Some folks claim paper patched slugs prematurely wear a bore out, the dry paper is very abrasive in itself. Personally I am one of the ones that think this holds water, I have inspected many rifles with a bore light from the heavy paper patch era of shooting and can tell you that rifling wear is usually very easy to see if the rifle looks like it has been shot a lot compared to one that shows little use.
The folks that disagree usually use the reasoning that these rifles were also from the BP era and that the bore wear is from repeated cleaning with the "pull-through's" used in those days.

They may very well be right but if it is the paper itself then the damage will be done before you realize it.

I guess you have to make up your own mind & a few paper patched slugs probably wont make any noticeable difference.
 
Fingers you might be right, maybe i haven't shot enough paper patched bullets to see any real difference.
But i also do believe the metallurgy of the era was quiet different, lots of the rifles back then were built with iron barrels which are much softer than todays material.
On my paper patched bullets i rolled them between my fingers with a dab of Alox just enough to put a thin film on to the paper.
In my mind i was making them more slippery which translates to less abrasive.
 
fingers284 said:
There is one drawback to using paper patched bullets that some swear by and others deny any truth to it.

Some folks claim paper patched slugs prematurely wear a bore out, the dry paper is very abrasive in itself. Personally I am one of the ones that think this holds water, I have inspected many rifles with a bore light from the heavy paper patch era of shooting and can tell you that rifling wear is usually very easy to see if the rifle looks like it has been shot a lot compared to one that shows little use.
The folks that disagree usually use the reasoning that these rifles were also from the BP era and that the bore wear is from repeated cleaning with the "pull-through's" used in those days.

They may very well be right but if it is the paper itself then the damage will be done before you realize it.

I guess you have to make up your own mind & a few paper patched slugs probably wont make any noticeable difference.
Click to expand...

I worked on huge printing presses, paper does indeed abrade steel. To what extent I could not tell you
 
So Yo hope you were able to score some Linotype before retiring front those printing presses �� cause you seem to have an unending supply of lead ��
 
lpel said:
So Yo hope you were able to score some Linotype before retiring front those printing presses �� cause you seem to have an unending supply of lead ��
Click to expand...

No lead involved...similar to these

ppm_diamondsprit03.png
 
There's been a bunch of BPCR shooters using paper patch for years now, some have fired thousand of rounds with no discernable wear attributed to paper patch. It's an non issue as far as I'm concerned, at least using black powder.
Consider all of the barrel scrubbing you do to get rid of lead and copper, that alone can cause a lot of wear.
A significant number of barrels are ruined by over enthusiastic use of bore brushes and all those miracle solvents, that is well known.
With paper patched bullets, clean up is real easy. Try it, might change your life.
 
If you can find a copy of THE PAPER JACKET (Paul Matthews?) it has a load of info on paper patching. (Amazing book that I loaned out to never get returned. ). Great historical information as well.
 
big boar said:
If you can find a copy of THE PAPER JACKET (Paul Matthews?) it has a load of info on paper patching. (Amazing book that I loaned out to never get returned. ). Great historical information as well.
Click to expand...

ht tps://www.amazon.ca/Paper-Jacket-Paul-Matthews/dp/1879356023/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Paper+patched+bullet&qid=1624836222&sr=8-3

'taint cheap though
 
The clay make the ink stay put and not blot. Paper of various grades is sometimes used by woodworkers and glass workers for polishing and buffing, brown craft paper being the equivalent of 2500x and crumpled white paper being equivalent of about 5000-6000x
 
I've paperpatched quite a bit in the last few years.
My one 303 is .314 diameter bore, and a 7.62x39 blot action is .316 for the diameter. I haven't gotten around to finding a mold that drops larger than .312.
I also want to find a mold in the 150 grain range, but haven't gotten around to that. Life happens
I have tried paperpatching with a gascheck, but the harder material of the gascheck wears through the paper when I run it through the push through sizer.
Works a bit better for forming a base when there's a little rebate for the paper to work around.
I even built a couple of rolling jigs made from angle iron and a half dozen roller skate bearings to wrap the paper nice and tight to my boolit.
I've even gone so far as to buy a paper cutter from Staples so I can cut out my paralellograms with a bit better precision than freehanding it.
I've laid out tape templates on the cutter so my angles are the same for every piece.
I keep forgetting to check and see which direction the rifling runs and wrap the paper in the opposite direction. So far I've had some decent accuracy. And, some abysmal.
I've only bothered with my 30 cals. 303 and 30+30.
Anything smaller is too much of a hassle, and I don't cast for smaller projectiles. I did try for my 348, but that was a disaster.
 
I did some clumsy attempts years ago. It has always remained an interesting subject to me. I just ordered the book mentioned above and am going to have another go at it. I cast lots of rifle bullets, so I have the easy part looked after. :p
 
There are various types of paper, some better than others for paper patching.
I personally like paper patching at the range but I have to make sure I clean every shot as my chamber tends to leave a paper ring at times. I haven't sorted that issue out yet .
Cat
 
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