need help with 58 minie bullet mold

I wonder if Val Forgett insisted on the right diameter bores.

You want a push fit to a Minie. Not a drop in. A friend had one and could not hit a barn wall if shot inside one. I lapped the mold for a push fit and then he could hit a 200 yard steel swinger. Seems it took a long time for the ball to reach 200, funny as all get out

45man said:

You want a push fit to a Minie. Not a drop in. A friend had one and could not hit a barn wall if shot inside one. I lapped the mold for a push fit and then he could hit a 200 yard steel swinger. Seems it took a long time for the ball to reach 200, funny as all get out

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Speaking from the limited experience I have with my rifle, -.002” loads MUCH easier after a string of 10 shots than even -.001”. My rifle would balk like a mule at an interference fit. It’s neat that muzzle fed loads are just as customizeable as cartridge loads.

Edit—come to think of it, I quit using that lube, and I haven’t shot that rifle with the new recipe, so that could very well have something to do with it.

My first BP rifle was a Zouve. I'm talking 1971–right out of highschool. I bought a couple of different Minié ball moulds and it really didn't like 'em. I finally tried a patched round ball, and it shot well. I killed a few muleys with it before I traded it off for another side-cocker.

the guy I bought it from is sending a supply of round balls, so I will try them and maybe use for hunting? I do want the minies though because of the N-SSA shooting.

Welcome to the N-SSA and the Capron shoot will be a great chance to meet and ask questions. You are getting some great advice here and My $.02 Confederate worth would be to get a mold that casts slightly over your measured bore and then size to .001" to .002" under that measurement. Be sure to ask the guys about lube, I can't stress how important that is.
I've been a member for about 39 years and my wife for about 30 and I can't tell you how much we've enjoyed the experience not to mention all the friends we've made. If you have any questions feel free to ask here and you can PM me with questions if you wish.
There were 15 skirmishes at Ft. Shenandoah this year including the 2 nationals and don't let the travel distance scare you from coming. We had a team member who passed away a couple of years ago who traveled every bit as far as you would have to. He was in his mid 80s, skirmisher since the late 50s and made every skirmish. In fact he was preparing to come to a skirmish when he passed.
If you are interested in joining a Confederate team the 2nd. VA Vol. Inf. is always open to new members and has a great campsite.

Thanks Hawkeye2. Actually my neighbor here in Surry recruited me and he is attached to the Richmond Volunteer Militia so I am gray all the way . I have no issue with travel to Winchester, it is not that far, maybe 3.5-4 hours +/-. I am really excited about this, I told the wife I am probably too excited. For some reason it just struck me as the right thing to get into at this time, and if I go, I go all the way, limitations of work and all that notwithstanding of course.
I got to see those little plastic shotgun shell type "paper cartridges" they use, very cool and reusable too. I have to get leathers, pants, shirts, the whole thing mostly.

My wife is interested too, she wants to go but not in participating at this time, we both love history and all that goes with it. I am looking into tents...in the event that I get into living history down the road. We have a few travel limitations with our dogs and chickens so there are times when it will just be me, but that is what it is. I appreciate being able to PM you with questions, and I likely will do just that.

Shoot, I am already thinking of the pistol and carbine stuff too, no cannons though!

Surrywoodman said:

Thanks Hawkeye2. Actually my neighbor here in Surry recruited me and he is attached to the Richmond Volunteer Militia so I am gray all the way . I have no issue with travel to Winchester, it is not that far, maybe 3.5-4 hours +/-. I am really excited about this, I told the wife I am probably too excited. For some reason it just struck me as the right thing to get into at this time, and if I go, I go all the way, limitations of work and all that notwithstanding of course.
I got to see those little plastic shotgun shell type "paper cartridges" they use, very cool and reusable too. I have to get leathers, pants, shirts, the whole thing mostly.

My wife is interested too, she wants to go but not in participating at this time, we both love history and all that goes with it. I am looking into tents...in the event that I get into living history down the road. We have a few travel limitations with our dogs and chickens so there are times when it will just be me, but that is what it is. I appreciate being able to PM you with questions, and I likely will do just that.

Shoot, I am already thinking of the pistol and carbine stuff too, no cannons though!

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It's a quite addicting type of competition. We're the Palmetto Sharpshooters, in the Central Virginia Region of the N-SSA. Look us up at Nationals sometime.

One other thing, be very very careful around the artillery guys or you might get drafted down a very deep and dark rabbit hole.........

Grenadier1758 said:

@Surrywoodman, I can't tell you. Your Zouave is the source for determining the size of the Minie' ball you need. Bore diameter of the lands varies quite a bit between manufacturers. The bore must be measured. That can be quite the trick with the three groove barrels of many of the reproductions. Using the inside tips of a vernier caliper measure the diameter from the lands to the bottom of the groove on all three flats. Since these are round barrels, measure from the land to the outside of the barrel for all three lands. Do the same for the grooves. Subtract the average of the three groove measurements from the average of the three land measurements. Now you have the groove depth. Subtract the groove depth from the average of the three land to groove measurements to get the land-to-land bore diameter. Buy a mold that is 0.001" to 0.002" smaller than the land-to-land diameter. You may want a larger diameter mold and an exact diameter sizer sleeve to form your Minie' balls.

If you have one of the Zouaves with a 0.580" bore none of the molds you found will work. Maybe @dave951 will chime in.

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being a hobbyist/machinist I always wondered why nobody every uses a pin gauge block they are fairly cheap. or a transfer punch set for determining the bore diameter my set is 1/16" to 1"

@Rebel bull, the plug gauge set is not calibrated fine though to measure the difference between 0.575 diameter and 0.580 bores.

Grenadier1758 said:

@Rebel bull, the plug gauge set is not calibrated fine though to measure the difference between 0.575 diameter and 0.580 bores.

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my brain fart it should have read pin gauge ( old age the kids say I have some timers.......some times I actually say what I'm thinking)

Even within the same brand bore diameter isn’t the same. My Birmingham Parker Hale is smaller than the Italian variant

You have to remember, too, that some of us are talking about competition loads. For maximum accuracy, you want a bullet that is .001" to .002" under bore size, so that when the charge goes off the bullet needs a minimum of deformation to strongly take up the rifling.

But this is not essential for plinking, or probably even hunting inside 100 yards. Remember, during the American Civil War, you were issued ammunition within a tolerance and had muskets with bores within a tolerance and with the service charge of 60-68 grains (depending on the country) the bullet would generally expand for acceptable military accuracy, which at 100 yards was a 6 foot x 2 foot target.

Here is a very good article concerning bullet and bore tolerances of period arms and ammunition:

https://www.libertyrifles.org/research/uniforms-equipment/fouled-muskets-revisited

Remember also that the original Pritchett bullet, supposed to be sized at .568, was actually initially sized at .566 with the idea that when the sizing dies wore out to .568 they would be replaced with new, .566 dies. But when the bullets were sized to that diameter, and the Pattern 1853 muskets were at the maximum allowable bore size, the Pritchett bullet would not expand enough to take up the rifling. This almost caused a disaster for the introduction of the new P1853 Enfield, and resulted in an abandoning of the Pritchett bullet in favor of the Hay bullet.

VERY interesting article, thanks for sharing