Paper for Patching

[Distant Thunder]

Kenny,

I have to say I don't pay a lot of attention to my confetti. It looks pretty good to me and it's never very far from the muzzle. I dry patch so there is no reason for the patch to "hang up".

My Hepburn .45-70 shoots very well for me, especially the last 4 years since I quit fussing with my loads. I have spent more time working on me and keeping my head in the game when I'm shooting. That and fouling control are the last pieces of the puzzle I have worked hard at.

My new .44-77 is still unproven beyond 600 yards, but it is shooting very well. With the scope on that rifle I feel more in control of the shot placement than with any other rifle. I've got a ways to go before I can call it a success but is looking damn good from here.

My .40-65 has proven itself to be very accurate out to 600 and a real winner at silhouette.

All three of those rifles use the same 9# onionskin paper which measures about .002". I bought a lifetime supply years ago and I can't afford to waste it.

The .40-65 and .45-70 use bullets I designed and made the molds for and they fit the rifles very well. The .44-77 uses two BACO molds, one is a 2-D elliptical bullet and the other is a bore diameter Metford style bullet that I opened up a bit to better fit my bore. Again there is a lot of work to do on this one but it has actually been the easiest one to get shooting well. The learning curve for a bottleneck was greatly shorten by the help of other who took this cartridge on before me. Don and Kurt most notably. I also paid close attention to what Chip Mate and Nick Naul wrote about the .44-77. It's been a fun ride so far.

I have worked with the 55W and 55Y in other rifles and cartridges and the 55W worked well and I had no trouble wrapping it. The 55Y I personally have had lots of troubles with. My old arthritic fingers can't deal with something I can't feel and I've had trouble chambering with it, the paper will fold back and ruin the patch. Probably my poor wrapping job. Bullets wrap with both have shot well.