.40cal conical?

[Tumblernotch]

I also clean and oil the threads on my nipples and bolsters and it is the key to long nipple life I think.

I don't know how long that nipple had been in the rifle before I got it. Besides lack of cleaning, it had been subjected to very high pressures (for black powder) for Lord knows how long. And, I believe that it's possible that someone used an American NFT nipple in it when they should have used a British Standard Thread. I shot it for a while with no problems until while clearing a blank load (at high elevation) after a battle re-enactment, the blowback threw the hammer back violently, breaking the tumbler at the stirrup pin. That's when I discovered the problem.

I tend to agree with your last theory. The nipple had obviously been in the gun for a long time and the various conditions you mention would have been in play. The rifle is a very low serial numbered Whitworth and probably had the nipple installed in the late 70's to early 80's and had several years for the damage to evolve. It's hard to tell what happened first, but it appears that melting of the nipple began from the inside and worked its way to the thread area. It was a Venturi type design which probably shouldn't have been used in a weapon with a high breech pressure. The one I'm using now has a very small orifice with a thick body.

Methinks we may be drifting away from the original subject. But interesting just the same.

 

[hoot gibson]

i shoot 400 rb out of my 40 cal . would it be possable to shoot a 401 pistol bullet . (10 mm) i think with the same patch? i use a 10.thou. patch
and if you can . why couldnt you shoot a hard cast or jacketed bullet for hunting while using a patched bullet? thanks hoot

 

[Tumblernotch]

i shoot 400 rb out of my 40 cal . would it be possable to shoot a 401 pistol bullet . (10 mm) i think with the same patch? i use a 10.thou. patch
and if you can . why couldnt you shoot a hard cast or jacketed bullet for hunting while using a patched bullet? thanks hoot

I used to have a .45 flintlock with an H&H barrel that shot real good with .456 RB and a .015 patch. The balls were cast in an antique Colt revolver mold. I had to hammer them in to get them started and for that reason were not too good for hunting. Worked great at the range though.

As for hard cast bullets and jacketed bullets, I've never used them so I couldn't advise you on that. With a patch to grab the rifling, it may work, but a soft bullet upsets a bit and helps the patch fill the grooves. I can't see how a jacketed bullet would work unless it was paper or skin patched and the rifling very shallow. But I'm no expert on these types of projectiles and I leave you to someone who has fooled around with them more.
:thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu need to size the bullet down- easier to do with softer lead, than hard lead, and next to impossible with a copper jacketed bullet without a swaging die-- to .001, to -002" below your bore diameter. Than you have to deal with the very deep grooves- .010-.014" deeper groove diameter. Paper patching conicals has been the traditional way to shoot bullets in a RB gunbarrel. But, you have to be conscious of the length of the bullet you choose to shoot, to stabilize it in a barrel made to shoot RBs. The slower ROTs require a shorter- and therefore lighter-- bullet than if you have a faster ROT made for conicals. Phil Quaglino is shooting 305 grain .40 caliber bullets at modest velocity out of a 1:16 ROT barrel, designed to shoot conicals. His .40 Cal. RB guns have a 1:48 ROT. Phil was a barrel maker for about 50 years, and was also a National Champion Target shooter in both rifle and pistol. He also is an archer with many State championships won.

In his 70s, with a bad heart, he just this past weekend shot 3 consecutive shots at 100 yds, off the bench, using open sights, with his .40 caliber in a sub-inch group with all the balls touching.

 

[windwalker_au]

In spite of various opinions of whether or not a concial is worth the lead it's cast from...does anyone specifically know of a commercially available conical that fits / works well in a .40cal?

try this link the .401 size has a good selection
bernie :thumbsup: http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html

 

[roundball]

Thanks Bernie...but I don't think any of these are actually "ready drop-in" conicals...I assume they'd all need some sort of manipulation to fit or work...the 180 GC with two lube grooves looks pretty good

 

[windwalker_au]

Thanks Bernie...but I don't think any of these are actually "ready drop-in" conicals...I assume they'd all need some sort of manipulation to fit or work...the 180 GC with two lube grooves looks pretty good

bill that is the one i would go for the GC part of the bullet would give the bullet a good start,i think it would be a shooter in that 1 in 48 twist barrel.
bernie :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

"...the 180 GC with two lube grooves looks pretty good..."

bill that is the one i would go for the GC part of the bullet would give the bullet a good start,i think it would be a shooter in that 1 in 48 twist barrel.
bernie :thumbsup:

I think in the interest of our world economy, our world trade markets, etc, that you should set up a .40cal conical manufacturing operation :grin:...I can be one of your international testers