Original paper patched bullet designs?

[Distant Thunder]

Kurt,

I've had so many people ask me about what paper I would recommend to use and the paper I use for my .40 and .45 is no longer made that I wanted to give the 55Y a try. I don't like telling people to use this or that when I have no idea how it actually works, just that others are using it and it seems to work.

I've played a little with several different papers, but until you get to a match you don't really know how it goes. So I designed this .50 caliber bullet to work specifically with the 55Y. I had no problem chambering with it during my limited load development, about 35 rounds, but it was a bit of a problem during the match. Again, I like the paper and will continue to use it I just need to find out how to make it work.

I dry patch both my .45-70 and my .40-65 with my 9 lb. 100% cotton onion skin, but that is .0018-.0020" thick. The .40-65 bullet is a 2-diameter bullet and the forward part of the patch is very loose on the bullet. I've never had a problem chambering those bullet while shooting silhouette with it's limited time element. That paper is much more durable. Often the inner wrap is not cut completely through and my confetti is not fine little pieces like some say you need. That rifle and bullet are probably the most accurate I have ever shot with paper patched. It is quiet capable of 1/2 MOA for 5 shots at 200 yards.

With the 55Y I can't find anything left of the patch when I'm shooting over grass except the long narrow strip that is folded over the base. Now I understand that that yellow paper is hard to see in the grass, but if there were any bigger pieces I'd find one you'd think. The fold overs I did find yesterday were all in a small area about 10-12 feet down range and 6 feet off to my left. There was a pretty good breeze blowing in over my right shoulder while I was shooting.

I'm a believer in sizing my ppb, I size all my .40 and .45 caliber bullets, not much just enough to smooth out the paper and press the fold over flat. It sure works for me with them.

I think it was a successful outing, I got my sight settings and found out what the limitations were of my sight under those conditions. I also discovered what problems I have with my bullet/paper and now I'm learning what I need to do to hopefully correct them. And I had a bunch of fun shooting my little .50 with paper patched bullets!

Of course I got very "helpful" advise from all the greasers at the match! My thanks to those guys! NOT!


DT