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'After a few wrong directions I got this thing shooting my own cast Lyman .578" 530 grn conical minies into a 3 inch group at 50 yards.' I wish I had this problem - instead I have a 2nd generation Parker Hale 2 band musket shooting a 8-10" group at 25 yards with both Lee .575 and .578 soft lead...

I shimmed one of mine with a slip of paper.

I agree, it's not standard, but its a nipple size Dixie has used for years in their longarms. I think they are the only source for 5/16 x 20 nipples.

I have a 5/16 x 20 Italian Parker Hale I use 8 x 1.25 nipples from Track of the Wolf on. Easier availability and a flush nipple I couldn't get otherwise.

I would suggest ordering a 5/16 x 20 nipple from Dixie (#np1480 steel)- this is a size commonly used on longarms sold by Dixie (and maybe only available from Dixie) and some older Parker Hale muskets. 5/16 x 20 is ALMOST the same as 8mm x 1.25...

'I bought lead on ebay that was "pure".' Me also, the 'soft' lead was closer to 10-12 bhn. Probably wheelweights. I using it for 9mm bullets and roundballs.

Zinc melts at about 780 degrees - use a lead therometer to keep the molten lead in your pot below that temperature (I aim for about 680 to be safe). Any steel or zinc weights will float and can be skimmed off. My most recent batch of wheel weights was about 10% non-lead, but I expect more...

I use the flush nipple on the guns that are trouble to remove the barrel, works ok as far as I can tell. I wrap an old shirt around the muzzle to keep water out of the stock.

The 2006 Dixie catalog shows 1/4 x 28 for the Pedersoli Frontier.

IIRC, most cases where someone suspected lead posioning were actually cases of carbon monoxide posioning from casting using a gas burner in an unventilated room. Avoid ingesting lead dust, no eating near the casting area.

I've used wheel weight and range lead for roundballs, they work fine but do cast larger than pure lead. My soft lead I save for conicals or minies.

Muzzleloader makers seem to have varied nipple sizes over the years, probably depending on what the retailer requested. Sometimes a little detective work and a good thread gauge is needed. My Tryon is apparently 1/4 x 28.

Three shots touching at 50 yards from my previous Pedersoli Tryon rifle on a regular basis from a rest.

'My original post was to show that i had 4 muzzleloaders with the following barrel twists, 1:66, 1:20, 1:24, 1:28. I feel that I have basically everything covered,' Then stop at four. You in fact have most twist combinations covered. And stopping at four simplifies things.

My wife complained just today that my muzzleloaders were too heavy for her - I pointed out I had picked up a nice TC cherokee just for her. And a Pedersoli Tryon for me. And a cap & ball .36 for me. And a etc. for me. Seems fair to me.

Jeramiah Johnson for me also. I bought a TC Hawken circa 1978, later shot military surplus, and now back to muzzleloaders. Plus I promised my wife I wouldn't drag any more old cars home. The muzzleloaders look cheap in comparison.

If it's the english sporting style then its likely a Garret arms from Zoli.

If that's the one, I think it has a case hardened patch box, fast twist barrel (around 1-28)with shallow grooves, no half cock notch, and muzzle turned round as if for a guide bullet starter. Probably made 20 years ago and imported by Garrett Arms.

Are you looking at the one for sale on Armslist?

While I wouldn't want to buy a gun with a bulged barrel, that's a different question from whether a bulge near the muzzle is safe to shoot. My only experience was with an 8mm mauser with a bulge about a foot from the muzzle - accurate enough at 50 yds, which was a long as the available range was.