How tight should the patch and ball be?

Take the diameter of your ball and multiply it by 3.1416 ( pie) . That gives you the circumference. Reduce that by 25% and you got it.

In a perfect world that would work but we, or should I say I, might have a rough time putting the ball directly in the center of the patch. I'd like a little room fro error.

i make my patches so they just drape over the muzzle . i think my patches for the .54's are right at 1 inch. being just the same diameter of my barrel i lay them on the muzzle evenly and the ball goes centered by its self.
but then i can't hit squat so maybe that's why. to small patches?