250 grain r.e.a.l. bullet

[rawhide]

Trying some thing new in my dads old monach 50 cal hawken rifle. Shooting 250 grn. real bullets. Seems to like 70 grns of FFg. Tryied 80 but got fliers bad. Think because its a short bullet its tripping the lands. Any thoughts? Barrel I think is 1:48 twist.

 

[BrownBear]

You might want to try putting a lubed felt wad or "bore button" under them. Can't guarantee it, but in all the guns I've tried that not only improves accuracy but lets me wander up the charge ladder quite a bit further than shooting them plain.

 

[Billnpatti]

This may answer your question and get that gun shooting just like you want it to.
www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com

I can't recommend it highly enough. It is a treasure. Buy it, read it and follow it exactly and you will be amazed and what you end up having that rifle doing. Cutting Xs is what it is all about.

 

[longcruise]

Well, I don't think they are stripping the lands at all. Doubt if that ever happens.

Seems unusual that your accuracy would fall off with only a ten grain increase in powder. might warrant more shooting and comparison.

One thing I discovered way back is that when you shoot conicals in an ML, you must wipe carefully between shots. Many consider the wiping to be only for the sake of ease of loading, but, not so! A thick ring of fouling builds where the base of the bullet rests on the powder. As you shoot it grows thicker and longer. If you don't wipe that ring away after each shot, your accuracy will gradually fall away. To see this for yourself, shoot ten shots without wiping and check your ramrod and mark it with the seathing depth after each shot. You will see each shot seating further out the barrel.

I tried those in my .50 many years ago and found them to be absolute tack drivers at 50 yards. When shot at 100 yards they went to ten inch groups! :shocked2:

 

[Idaho Ron]

No need to buy someones opinions. Brown Bear was right on track. Use an over powder wad. I use one that I cut my self. They measure .62" diameter. I lube them lightly with either bore butter or Hornady great plains lube. Make sure your using pure lead. Clean between shots for the best groups. When you get home make sure you get the lead out of that barrel. Lube the bullets with a lube like the BPCR guys use. I have a bunch I got years ago and it works great for muzzleloaders.
Ron

 

[nkbj]

Trying some thing new in my dads old monach 50 cal hawken rifle. Shooting 250 grn. real bullets. Seems to like 70 grns of FFg. Tryied 80 but got fliers bad. Think because its a short bullet its tripping the lands. Any thoughts? Barrel I think is 1:48 twist.

Just guessing, maybe you already got some leading. Depending on the rifling style (geometry) and how much the REAL would have to expand to seal off the rifling, maybe it got some gas cutting and made leading.
Putting a gas dam behind the bullet really can help a whole bunch depending on the situation. REAL's are pretty short and don't have much of an inertia to bore diameter ratio (best way I can think of to describe what I'm trying to convey) which means that something that provides a gasket effect can be beneficial. Same thing can sometimes happen with shooting round ball. Corn meal, cream o wheat, paper off a wasp nest (my bro's favorite), the last cleaning patch you just used, what ever works.

 

[strato50]

I just cast a bunch of .50 320 grain REALs myself and had some similar questions..

a. it's designed to sit right ontop of your powder load (well, so Lee says), hence the whole ease of loading thing. WILL I get bad leading that way? How can we prevent that?

b. I've taken a liking to American Pioneer power, 99% fouling-free... and cleans like a dream. THAT says to 'Use NO lubes'... I see that conflicting with standard REAL practice of at least bore-buttering the bullet.

Apologies for nearly hijacking your thread! I hope our interests align here at least :grin:

 

[mooman76]

You need to use lead to prevent leading. it doesn't really take much. Just wipe a little on. Can't say for pioneer but I don't think a little lube will hurt. I used Pioneer in my 45-70 and I did lube and had no problems.

 

[nkbj]

Once upon a time I used Pioneer powder in a Zouave and a Fremont and got big hunky lube gob pop but no boom problems. Maybe they know what they're talking about.