Paper patch roundball in a civil war musket?

I have never shot paper patched round balls in a musket, so take my opinion for what it is worth. However, I do have over a half century experience shooting traditional muzzleloaders, including original muskets. Linen or ticking patches can be made to shoot very well in muskets when using round ball. The problem I have experienced is that despite great groups, patched round balls hit very high in every musket I have shot them in. Literally 2 to 3 feet above the point of aim a 50 yards, whereas Minies are about 5" high at that same distance in my rifles. Now, this part of my reply is pure speculation, but I cannot imagine that a way undersized ball would have any accuracy at all with a paper patch. I believe the patch would burn/disintegrate, leaving the undersized ball to rattle down the bore in a random manner. I am aware that some Minie type projectiles use a paper patch, but those projectiles "bump up" to engage the rifling upon ignition, whereas a round ball will not. If I shot repro muskets, I would alter the sights to bring POA to POI if I wanted to shoot round ball, but I would never do that with an original antique. Just my $.02 based on many decades of shooting a wide variety of traditional muzzleloaders.

I agree with the above poster, they will shoot high. In several of my two band guns and an original Mississippi (.58 cal) they all shot high.

Usually 6” or so at 50 yards. On deer that easy, just aim low. I also got the trajectory down by dropping the powder charge to about 50 grains. That’s still more than enough to drive a .570 ball right through any whitetail in North America at 50-75 yards.

For target practice, it’s easy to learn the proper hold based on distance. I also use wadding of some sort under the patches ball to protect the patch.

brazosland said:

I agree with the above poster, they will shoot high. In several of my two band guns and an original Mississippi (.58 cal) they all shot high.

Usually 6” or so at 50 yards. On deer that easy, just aim low. I also got the trajectory down by dropping the powder charge to about 50 grains. That’s still more than enough to drive a .570 ball right through any whitetail in North America at 50-75 yards.

For target practice, it’s easy to learn the proper hold based on distance. I also use wadding of some sort under the patches ball to protect the patch.

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With original style issue sights, they were designed to shoot that way. Troops were trained to shoot center mass so a miss from point of aim that goes high, still results in a casualty on the receiving end.

dave951 said:

With original style issue sights, they were designed to shoot that way. Troops were trained to shoot center mass so a miss from point of aim that goes high, still results in a casualty on the receiving end.

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Yes. In fact, they were trained to aim at the belt buckle. The US rifle round used in ww1 and ww2 had a battle zero of 525 yards, with a max ord of 24 inches.

From zero to 525 yards a shot aimed at the belt buckle would hit the target on the upper body somewhere between the buckle and the collarbone.

“The problem I have experienced is that despite great groups, patched round balls hit very high in every musket I have shot them in. Literally 2 to 3 feet above the point of aim a 50 yards”

Well, if that’s the case with every musket you have ever shot in fifty years time, there is certainly consistency there, so it appears your aim is the issue, not the gun.

jrweis1997 said:

I have an 1861 springfield that I really enjoy shooting but it does get kind of boring shooting alone after a while id say. There are a bunch of shoots by me in western PA that I would like to shoot at that are roundball only which puts me in a bit of a bind with my 1861. Has anyone ever fired roundball paper cartridges out of a civil war musket? I had some .570 balls I tested it with that were basically impossible to get down the bore with paper around them. Reading about the 1842 rifles it looks like they shot .662 balls out of a .69 cal bore so I was thinking maybe I should try a .550 ball. Just curious if anyone here has given this a try I think ill pick up a box of balls and test out and if it goes well ill have to get myself a mold.

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Insert a ball with greased patch inside of the end of a paper cartridge.
To load it, tear open the rear of the cartridge, dump powder down barrel, tear cartridge paper all the way open to free up the patched ball. Toss the paper and ram the patched ball down the barrel. Done.

brazosland said:

Yes. In fact, they were trained to aim at the belt buckle. The US rifle round used in ww1 and ww2 had a battle zero of 525 yards, with a max ord of 24 inches.

From zero to 525 yards a shot aimed at the belt buckle would hit the target on the upper body somewhere between the buckle and the collarbone.

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certainly makes sense my 1861, 1903, and my trapdoor all hit high

jrweis1997 said:

I have an 1861 springfield that I really enjoy shooting but it does get kind of boring shooting alone after a while id say. There are a bunch of shoots by me in western PA that I would like to shoot at that are roundball only which puts me in a bit of a bind with my 1861. Has anyone ever fired roundball paper cartridges out of a civil war musket? I had some .570 balls I tested it with that were basically impossible to get down the bore with paper around them. Reading about the 1842 rifles it looks like they shot .662 balls out of a .69 cal bore so I was thinking maybe I should try a .550 ball. Just curious if anyone here has given this a try I think ill pick up a box of balls and test out and if it goes well ill have to get myself a mold.

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You might try some .562 ball before getting a mold.
As always it'll depend upon what your particular piece likes.
Could be a Lyman #575494 will work even better.
As to putting a paper jacket around a round ball, if you could manage to use paper to only center the round ball between the three lands and loaded that jacketed ball over a card and a column of cornmeal to provide a gas dam then the experienced accuracy could be a pleasant surprise. I found greased cloth to work for centering the round ball which is I suspect is easier than achieving a perfect alignment with paper. With paper I rely upon an expanding bullet to provide alignment. With cloth I can get some compression, some forgiveness if you will, in how the elements interact.

People are vertical, deer are horizontal. Shooting too high needs a taller front sight.

nhmoose said:

People are vertical, deer are horizontal. Shooting too high needs a taller front sight.

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Maybe shoot sideways??