Paper Patching 8mm Mauser

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Macd
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Paper Patching 8mm Mauser

Post by Macd »

I have been researching paper patching for awhile now. I am almost ready to give it a go for my 8mm Mauser. It has a .325 groove and a .312 land diameter barrel. I was considered using a .303 British bullet but wrapped twice with .004 bond it will only be .321. Three times is on the money but just. Does anyone have some guidance and suggestions on which bullet to use as the core and maybe a bit of personal tips on the whole wrapping process?
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Re: Paper Patching 8mm Mauser

Post by RBHarter »

I don't have anything you probably haven't read yet .
Paul Mathews " the paper jacket" maybe ?

Ive shot a .301 patched to .309 in a rifle that needed .311 in the throat with hunting groups and bested by a wide margin factory with a .312 wrapped .319 for a .305×.316 that would take a .323 in a fired case .

Presuming you have the basics .......
Manipulation of paper will be your best bet . For smokeless you want to be .001-3 over land/bore dia and .001-2 over groove but ideally within .001 of throat as a starting point .

There is the wet vs dry wrapped , glued vs pressed , and folded , twisted , pressed , clipped or tailless wrapping .

I have both dry and wet wrapped , in the case of the .305×3165 dry patches worked best with a folded tail . An ideal 308 worked well with tailless dry wrapped sized .309 to "iron on" with 301618 designed for paper patch in 30 cal .
A .278 patched up to .284 worked well wrapped tight dry with either folded or tailless wrapping and ironed on .

The essence of this is for the core to be larger than the bore by at least .001-2 and paper to fill . Green bar dot matrix printer paper has been a working standard for some time . It runs .0017-8 at 15# or something like that with 16# high rag content running a close 2nd . Move up to 20 or even 24# to make up the difference . Powder choices will enter the equation as will alloys and the intended use . Softer slower for game inside 250 yd , harder faster for target and long range work .

If you're wet wrapping straight water is as good as anything else . If you're dry/gluing then the kids school stick glue is the above average means . Patch lube or not , just don't use anything sticky you really want the patch to breakup and not staying with the bullet . I use STP on my lube pad for case lube and I roll the front half across the dry places around the edges where I want something other than naked paper . I sometimes use my Darrs lube bullet lube when it's hot or I want more weather protection in an accidental test the case may as well have been sealed .

Base protection is an area with little information I'm just starting to tinker with a 6.5 papered up for a 6.8 with a soda box paper punch dot tucked inside the folded tail to reduce or eliminate powder peening on softer bullets . A 5/16 punch will do for 8mm if you can find 1 .
Just a Red neck,White boy, Blue blood American.....
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Re: Paper Patching 8mm Mauser

Post by Macd »

Thanks RB good stuff.
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Re: Paper Patching 8mm Mauser

Post by Macd »

So I wrapped two .312 cast and gas checked bullets. First was with bond (.0035) and the next with cash register tape (.002). First I wasn't thinking correctly in my OP as each wrap gives two times the paper thickness (doh). I wet wrapped both and it went well. The bond was cut at 45 degrees on the ends and the tape cut straight. I used a glass pane to hold strips flat and under some tension and wraps were nice and tight. My only problem was the base twists. In both cases the wet paper tore and. I ended up folding the ragged ends over flattening them onto the bottom of the gas check. I think I will try the folded finish next time. I have to reduce the number of wraps with the tape as the patched bullet is 0.331 at its widest. I am more comfortable with just a couple of thousands over the groove diameter. These are just for getting the technique down and I will use clean cast bullets for actual loading as soon as I pick out a suitable mold. I am looking at using aLee case lube to lube the finished bullets.
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Re: Paper Patching 8mm Mauser

Post by RBHarter »

Lots of folks get tripped up on the math . It's actually 4 times the thickness added to bullet diameter.

You probably already figured out the long point should be on the inside of the wrap at the top/nose end . Your finish should be as close as you can get it without any overlapping also .

Cut angels are an interesting subject .......
It ranges from doesn't matter to it should match the rifling pitch .
I didn't see a notable difference when angles changed in my work . I try to get the lap long enough for 2 lands to hit it .
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