When I started muzzleloading I used lubed round patches because I thought they were the easiest option. Just about everyone else in the club was using strips of patch material (pillow ticking) and cutting them off at the muzzle. I didn’t see a reason to change until about 2 years ago.
I was shooting in a match off the bench and was shooting pretty consistent. Out of the blue a shoot was way off. I asked one of the experienced shooters about it and they asked if by chance I didn’t center the ball on the patch. It then dawned on me that I was loading a little fast and did have the ball off center. They mentioned that the ball is always centered if you use strip material and cut it off at the muzzle. That was enough to convince me to change and I haven’t gone back to precut patches again.
If the ball is not centered on the patch, some of the black powder explosion could push past the ball where the patch material is lacking. This causes the ball to be pushed off center as it travels towards the target.
Precut patches are very common and used by many shooters with no problems. Just be sure to center the ball on the patch every time.
