Your TMA Officers and Board of Directors
Support the TMA! ~ Traditional Muzzleloaders ~ The TMA is here for YOU!
*** JOIN in on the TMA 2024 POSTAL MATCH *** it's FREE for ALL !

For TMA related products, please check out the new TMA Store !

The Flintlock Paper

*** Folk Firearms Collective Videos ***



Author Topic: leather patch for balls  (Read 1646 times)

Offline Sir Michael

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2754
  • TMA: TMA Store
  • TMA Member: Charter Member #132
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #15 on: April 25, 2013, 03:25:21 PM »
Just remembered that in the Practical Instructions for US Military Officers 1811 there was also a reference to the use of leather patches.  The following are the two pages from that book that discuss loading in general and mention the use of leather.

[attachment=1:3knrr1d1][/attachment]Practical_instructions_for_US military_officers 1811 35.pdf[/attachment:3knrr1d1]
[attachment=0:3knrr1d1][/attachment]Practical_instructions_for_US military_officers 1811 36.pdf[/attachment:3knrr1d1]
Sir Michael
Charter Member #132

Online Two Steps

  • TMA Contributing Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 5184
  • TMA Charter Member
  • TMA Member: TMA Charter Member #47 Expires 3/22/23
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #16 on: April 25, 2013, 04:18:59 PM »
Thanks Michael...
Two Steps/Al Bateman
I envy no man that knows more than myself,
and pity them that know less.  (Sir T. Brown)

TMA Charter Member 47

Offline Buzzard

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 208
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #17 on: April 25, 2013, 04:37:07 PM »
If I'm out on the frontier and run out of patching, or char cloth for that matter, i'm certainly not goin to cut up my only shirt for them. But i can make patching out of critter hides purty simple. Gotta be better than leaves! Ya gotta keep all of this in context. Deer, bears and british trespassers are good size targets.
NRA Life
NMLRA Life
TMA Member #258
Ohio State Trappers Life
Longhunter Measurer

Expires 04/09/2016

Offline huntinguy

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 138
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #18 on: April 26, 2013, 01:54:10 PM »
Quote from: "Sir Michael"
Just remembered that in the Practical Instructions for US Military Officers 1811 there was also a reference to the use of leather patches.  The following are the two pages from that book that discuss loading in general and mention the use of leather.

[attachment=1:1i0lvso5][/attachment]Practical_instructions_for_US military_officers 1811 35.pdf[/attachment:1i0lvso5]
[attachment=0:1i0lvso5][/attachment]Practical_instructions_for_US military_officers 1811 36.pdf[/attachment:1i0lvso5]

Where did you find those links. Pretty good stuff.

(I have been listening to Baron Von Stuben's book for the order of troops. I like old stuff... not that it was old when I was young... but they tell me it is old now ) :rotf
Anything worth shooting is worth shooting once.

Offline Hanshi

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 948
    • http://www.martialartsusa.com
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #19 on: April 27, 2013, 01:28:55 PM »
Quote from: "mario"
One perspective:

The Buffalo Trace: did they dye easter eggs with walnuts or indigo? do you care?

Mario
[/color]




I think the Indians (prior to the coming of the Europeans) colored Easter Eggs with the same paint they used for war paint.  Later, after exposure to the European's Easter Eggs, the practice of coloring them with acrylic paint became the norm.  After about 1700, the use of color from berries, nuts and such did begin to catch on.  

I can suggest a book on the subject, "The Easter Bunny and Easter Egg Worship in Paleo Indian Culture and the Early Colonial Period", by Prof. Noble Zand Barnes of the University of Ga. at Bogart.  Interesting reading.
Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.

Offline Sir Michael

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2754
  • TMA: TMA Store
  • TMA Member: Charter Member #132
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #20 on: April 28, 2013, 03:23:47 PM »
Huntinguy, the pages I posted are from a book I downloaded from Google books.  Because they tended to get rather long winded with titling books in the day, here is the cover.

[attachment=0:wg8bzglg][/attachment]Page 4 from Practical instructions.pdf[/attachment:wg8bzglg]
Sir Michael
Charter Member #132

Offline mario

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 975
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #21 on: April 29, 2013, 11:53:35 PM »
Quote from: "huntinguy"
It would seem logical that leather would be easier to get than cloth, say for long hunters, trappers and Indians - yet? So many accounts of those groups wearing cloth articles rather than leather and then char-cloth and patching, but....

Logical, maybe. Factual, not really. The trade was HUGE. Especially that of cloth (cloth took up the largest %). People living in the most remote sections of eastern NA still had fairly good access to trade goods. The myth of the 18th century trans-Appalachian pioneer making everything themselves is just that, a myth.

Not to mention, where rifles were common (PA on south) deerskins were money. 1 untanned deerskin could buy more cloth for patching than the skin itself would provide.

 Kinda like going to the fabric store and buying $5 worth of linen/cotton vs. cutting up a $5 bill for patching.

In an emergency is one thing, but as a regular thing, not so much.

Mario
PS- In the 18th century, "trappers" and "Indians" were the same people. Not many white folks doing it.

Offline greggholmes

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 209
  • TMA Member: 675
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #22 on: April 30, 2013, 12:27:00 AM »
Quote from: "Hanshi"
Quote from: "mario"
One perspective:

The Buffalo Trace: did they dye easter eggs with walnuts or indigo? do you care?

Mario
[/color]




I think the Indians (prior to the coming of the Europeans) colored Easter Eggs with the same paint they used for war paint.  Later, after exposure to the European's Easter Eggs, the practice of coloring them with acrylic paint became the norm.  After about 1700, the use of color from berries, nuts and such did begin to catch on.  

I can suggest a book on the subject, "The Easter Bunny and Easter Egg Worship in Paleo Indian Culture and the Early Colonial Period", by Prof. Noble Zand Barnes of the University of Ga. at Bogart.  Interesting reading.

"prior to the coming of the Europeans" there was no "easter" in the new world. It is a christian idea.

also dye is not needed
Easter Egger Chickens
Member #675
Skagit Muzzle loaders
Expires June16, 2017

Any arm save our mothers', that arm is Brown Bess!


Offline Sir Michael

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2754
  • TMA: TMA Store
  • TMA Member: Charter Member #132
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #23 on: April 30, 2013, 11:53:45 AM »
And this relates to leather patching how????
Sir Michael
Charter Member #132

Offline mario

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 975
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #24 on: April 30, 2013, 02:02:59 PM »
Quote from: "Sir Michael"
And this relates to leather patching how????

Joking about the tongue-in-cheek title of the blog post I posted above.

Mario

Offline Sir Michael

  • TMA Forum Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2754
  • TMA: TMA Store
  • TMA Member: Charter Member #132
Re: leather patch for balls
« Reply #25 on: April 30, 2013, 02:07:01 PM »
Understood. Mario.  I just want to keep this discussion on topic. :toast
Sir Michael
Charter Member #132