50 cal. hornady great plains bullets

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Moe1960

36 Cal.
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Hey guys and gals I have a question about the 50cal hornady great plains bullets 385gr. I've tried shooting them in my traditions hawken woodsman 1-48 and they shoot fine,but there very difficult to start down the barrel. I have to use a hammer on the bullet starter and once its down about 1in then I can use my ram rod. How can I make the loading easier. Thanks
 
They are what called a R.E.A.L. Rifling Engraved At Loading,,oversized and you have to start them the hard way,once they are started they go fairly easily.I can't shoot them in my CVA Hawken,I have a tight spot in the barrel and when I push past that point the slug is under sized and won't stay on the powder,travels out to the muzzle,not good.
 
Are you using a lube of some kind? The post didn't mention, so thought I'd ask. It can help.
 
You are forcing the bullet into the rifling....once that is done they go down fairly easy.....

Have you tried a patched round ball?... :grin:
 
Moe,
As already pointed out, they are supposed to be hard to START but they load easy after initial resistance, in a clean bbl. Some folks have reported carrying them all day on a hunting trip only to find they have slid forward a bit in the bore which is NOT a good thing.
In my experience, they are a GREAT choice. Some years back, I pulled the original 1:48 twist bbl. off my 50 cal. T/C "hawken style" rifle and replaced it with a Green Mtn. Drop-in to get better results with patched round balls. I've enjoyed that set-up, killed some deer with it and have nothing but good things to say about the choice I made. That said....
Couple years ago, I dug the old bbl. out, "just because". I had a set of "fire sights" put on it and began testing a variety of conicals. After a lot of bench shooting of 6 different products, using various powder charges with each one...I settled on the Hornady 385 Great Plains over 90 gns. of Goex. Installed on my T/C stock, it is my Go To "Hog Rifle" for hunting in S.E. Georgia. In that area, I'm hunting from a fixed stand so the rifle doesn't get jostled around all day. I've checked...and never had that "issue" with the bullet coming off the powder to be occurring.
Performance on game has been perfect.
 
When hornaday great plains load hard thry shoot ery well. put a felt wad under the bullet
 
You can use a sizing die to reduce the size of the bullet. Lee is a common maker of sizing dies. Sometimes one or two thousands makes a big difference.

Fleener
 
Because Buffalo Bullets {410 gr} are no longer available, been thinking of using the Hornady GPs. The reason I used the BBs was that the TC conicals were way too hard too load, especially w/ a fouled bbl. If the GPs are too hard hard to load also, might go to a .54 w/ a PRB.

Am wondering if the hollow base of the GPs forming the skirt is worthwhile or is a sales gimmick. It's awful thick and don't know if it would expand. The hollow base of the GPs might just be there to lighten the rear of the conical to avoid tumbling if a slow twist is used.

Will give the GPs a tryout and then decide....Fred
 
I carry a home made wooden mallet, just to load round balls in my flintlock. I use a tight patch/ball combination. Once it starts down the barrel, it can be rammed down fairly easy. I carry a thinner, but less accurate, patch/ball combination for follow up shots.

I would not hesitate to do the same with a conical, if that gave me the best accuracy, without leading the barrel. I wouldn't think leading would be an issue, unless the velocity was really high.
 
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