.50 cal smooth rifle ball dia?

[Kansas Kid]

Planning to build a Virginia style .50 Smooth Rifle this winter. What diameter of patched round ball are people using?

 

[cositrike]

Depends if you’re going to bare ball it or patch it. If patching, I would start with 0.49 and try patches from about 10 thou up.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The ball size for a smooth rifle will depend on the actual bore diameter of the barrel and the desired patch thickness. Actual bore diameter minus one patch thickness. The patch will compress on loading allowing for relatively easy loading without need for a short starter. It that is too tight then reduce the size of the ball.

 

[Flintandsteel]

.020” under bore size (.480”) is a good place to start. Remember, no rifling for patch to fill.

 

[Kansas Kid]

.48 is what I was guessing for a “patched” round ball in a half inch bore.

 

[tenngun]

Just an experiment if you want to shoot a military type paper cartridges you might even try a .457.
I have shot .495 in paper cartridges in my .54 smooth rifle. It could serve as a deer gun to fifty yards. But I wouldn’t want to try beyond thirty five. As at thirty five it shoots as well as a .527 PRB in the same gun at fifty yards.

 

[Kansas Kid]

I have visions of hunting small game with shot also.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I have visions of hunting small game with shot also

I'd be using a .490 - .495 ball in a .500 barrel, and would use a very rough file or wood rasp to raise bits of the lead on the ball so that it would be fitted to the barrel when loading. I'd use a wad between the ball and the powder, both for ball and for shot, with tow over the projectile(s) to hold them in place while moving through the woods or fields.

LD

 

[Kansas Kid]

Well I do already have a .490 and .495 mould and no .480 so roughed up balls my be the first try.

 

[Mike Payne]

I built a 50 smooth rifle for my son we have had good results with a .480 ball. Started out with 50 gr. 3f ended up with 70 gr. 3f and a medium thickness patch.

Mike

 

[smoothshooter]

I built a 50 smooth rifle for my son we have had good results with a .480 ball. Started out with 50 gr. 3f ended up with 70 gr. 3f and a medium thickness patch.

Mike

I built a 50 smooth rifle for my son we have had good results with a .480 ball. Started out with 50 gr. 3f ended up with 70 gr. 3f and a medium thickness patch.

Mike

So how does it shoot?

 

[Mike Payne]

So how does it shoot?

Shoots great I think we saved the last target. I will try and post a picture if we did.