Sq. or Round Cleaning Patches??

F

FLChinook

New member
I need to buy some cleaning patches for my .257 Weatherby. I usually buy Pro-Shot. I see they sell both square (1-1/8") and round patches (1") for .22 - .270 caliber.

Is there any experience to say whether square or round is better?

Thanks
 
It depends on your cleaning equipment & method. Logic says use a round patch on a jag & use square patches on slotted tips & wrap-around jags. I've always been bothered by the extreme range rated for patch sizes like .22 to .270. It's a little more work, but I buy white tight weave cotton fabric at the cloth store & cut my own. A little bit of trial & error will determine the exact size you need with your cleaning equipment/method. BTW: there are some triangular/star shaped patches with a lot of claims, but I've not heard any real feedback on their use.

...bug
 
"Round ones were intended to be used in round holes in the barrel. If your barrel's got a square hole in it, then by all means use square patches." ;)

This was told to me 10 years ago by an old retired US Marine Corps colonel, Walter Walsh, who won many matches back in the '30's, 40's and '50's. He was also a former FBI agent who took many a high profile gangster off the streets. After all the serious look on his face saying that, he ended those words of wisdom with a wink in his eye.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Walsh
 
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I suppose it's going to depend on where a specific caliber fits within the patch size range and the patch thickness. Trial and error... Or make your own as Bug does. The larger 1-1/8" square on a jag fits my .257 "snugly" so geometry tells me the 1" will be too loose.

The 1" round (which I don't have to test) should do better on a jag with .22 guns.

Just thinking...
 
Both are good and square are cheaper !!

Sq. or Round Cleaning Patches??
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I think you will find that "generally" round patches are preferred. However I mostly use square and each one, usually makes multiple passes so no area, is wasted.
Next time you use either, look to see where you are making or not making contact. .... ;)

I recently saw and add for a third shape and I think it was diamond or star shaped, claimed to be better than round or square. Go figure !!! :rolleyes:

Be Safe !!!
 
I was asked if I had any interest in equipment and material that was headed to dumpsters, the answer is/was YES! every time. It was about the time we quit making garments in this country and sent the jobs south and across the seas. Partial rolls of material, some were off white and the same material that was used to make cotton sacks. I lugged some of it home and started cutting patches, my wife took sympathy on me and introduced me to the the green board and the little pizza looking cutter, I stacked the material about 16 layers thick, In a short time I was so far ahead I may never use all of the patches, size? any size, shape? Round was not an option.

Bore snakes? Bore snakes cut down on the use of patches, not the commercial bore snake but with all that material etc., etc..

F. Guffey
 
I don't think it makes one bit of difference what shape the patch starts out as - it's going to get scrunched up once it goes inside the barrel anyway.
 
I don't think it makes one bit of difference what shape the patch starts out as - it's going to get scrunched up once it goes inside the barrel anyway.
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Hmmm... maybe... I just called Bore Tech because I was confused about jag sizes. I have a set of Tipton and several loose Bore Tech jags. The tips of both makes are identical for the .30 caliber but for the .25 cal, the Tipton is .217" and the BT is .205". Bore Tech confirmed their size and the Tiptons are in a box set so no mix-up there. I don't understand how the sizes are so different; this would have a big effect on proper patch size.

Back to round vs. square; BT recommends square. They recommend offsetting the jag for wet patches so the patch is looser in the bore so more solvent will be deposited. Then, end with a dry, centered patch for a final pass.

Just passing on what Bore Tech says...
 
I like the way square patches wrap around sub caliber nylon brushes. They put the greatest amount of patch against the bore per stroke when wet with cleaner, smeared with non-embedding abrasive paste, drying the bore out or applying a thin film of protective oil.
 
Square if for no other reason that I save all the old sheets, t-shirts etc. I can find and then just cut or rip what I need. mostly square some are a little rectangular, some well not sure what shape they come out as but they all work.
 
Neither.

I never buy patches. I use a piece of paper towel; the blue shop towels work really well. If it's too loose a fit, I fold it over once.
 
Jag sizes different

No one picked up on my revelation that Tipton and Bore Tech jag sizes were significantly different. Does anyone think that's unusual?
 
They want you to buy their patches. Different thickness patch, different diameter jag.

A friend gave me a bag of flannel patches cut square on her fabric cutter like Mrs Guffey. And what I have bought have been mostly square. I still have a few round patches in small packages meant for the once a season hunter.
 
My wife sews and makes a lot of flannel blankets so what I do is to cut up the scraps while I watch television and make my own square patches. I also watch for the odd pieces of flannel at the fabric store. I have not purchased patches in years as I find the home made ones work better.
 
I have mostly Tipton jag's, and I use Pro-Shot square patches. Some fit tight some fit loose, depending on just what I am running them through, and which jag is being used.

I don't sweat them being square or round as long as they come out the other end of the barrel. I keep the jag calibers written on the bags so I know which ones to use with what jags for which calibers. As you have noticed some aren't always the same size as the patches would suggest.
 
I use square patches. Everybody knows you can't get a round object into the bottom of a square corner, like where land meets groove. Takes a square patch to get in there tight. If you have an aversion to square patches, just think of them as round patches with corners. You can thank me later.

(Ow! I bit my tongue while it was in my cheek.) :D
 
I have several sizes of square patches, round patches, and an assortment of odd shaped patches cut from cloth scraps. I use whatever works with the jag and barrel in question.

I've used paper towels in a pinch, as well. I don't, however, use regular paper towels. I use Viva - they're 30% cotton and nearly as strong as the blue shop towels, but without the plastic fibers. ;)
 
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