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.54 cal ball sizes
- Thread starter wayne1967
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Billnpatti
Cannon
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Let me give you an idea to try. Go to a fabric shop and ask for a fabric called "pocket drill". It is a very good patch material. It may feel just a bit thick but after washing, it has a wonderful compressability that will fill the rifling in your rifle very nicely. Just buy the minimum to try it. When you see how well it works with your present .530 balls, go back and buy a bunch. Take it home and wash it with no fabric softener. Two washings is best but you can get away with one. You can dry it in your dryer but I find that I get the best results by line drying it. Then run over it with a steam iron to get out the wrinkles. This just makes it easier to cut into patches. You can either use an arch punch to pre-cut your patches or just use scissors to cut square patches. Either works just fine and will make no difference in your accuracy. Or, if you prefer, you can cut your patches at the muzzle. I prefer to use straight Ballistol as my lube of choice but you use whatever lube you prefer.
You will probably still have to use a short starter with this load. If you want to get away from using a short starter, you will have to use either a thinner patch (not my favorite idea) or a smaller ball (again, not my favorite idea). Another idea would be to cone your barrel. You can do a search on The forum for "barrel coning" to find what is said and to find a source for a coning tool. I have coned some of my barrels and it makes no difference in the accuracy. It also did not make enough difference in the ease of loading, in my opinion, but that is its stated purpose. If you want, you can give it a try. It may or may not help you but is also won't do any harm.
You will probably still have to use a short starter with this load. If you want to get away from using a short starter, you will have to use either a thinner patch (not my favorite idea) or a smaller ball (again, not my favorite idea). Another idea would be to cone your barrel. You can do a search on The forum for "barrel coning" to find what is said and to find a source for a coning tool. I have coned some of my barrels and it makes no difference in the accuracy. It also did not make enough difference in the ease of loading, in my opinion, but that is its stated purpose. If you want, you can give it a try. It may or may not help you but is also won't do any harm.
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Wayne pm me your address and I'll send ya a few .527s to try. Thats the best I can do ya. I dont have a 525 mold
nchawkeye
58 Cal.
wayne1967 said:
You do...Order some from Track of the Wolf and if they work then order the mold...
nchawkeye
58 Cal.
wayne1967 said:
Nope, they sell .526s, your gun will never know the difference...
You can have any size mold made that you want...
Just contact this fellow...
http://bagmolds.com/order
Last edited by a moderator:
shootrj2003
36 Cal.
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2011
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I was just working up loads for my LymanGPR .50 ,it has a bore of .519 and I used a .494 PB so ideally it's minimum patch thickness should be .112 and should be some what thicker for compression however I have not been able to get anything to shoot satisfactorily but .494 PB with a patch.008 and with this it's cranking,best at 50 yds is a 5 shot group with 4 touching and a flyer.Since then I crowned the muzzle to make her load easier and also done a slight cone on her, I went out again today with .490 PB and.010 patches trying to get good groups with patches that are not blown to shreds,I have not tried everything in my bag of tricks yet but today I tried .010 lubed flannel .013 ticking and I was all over the map,I thought,man you should not have messed with the muzzle! Then I went back to the .494's with the .008 patch and shot 4 shots 2 were touching ,the third one I spilled some of the powder so I dumped a pinch more in my hand "to make up fer it"and when I shot it was still weak and hit about 1ft. Low and took the patch right into the plywood backer!I must have spilt a lot of the load,however I loaded the last shot same as the others 75 gr.fffg with .494 ball and .008 patch and it hit about 1 1/2" above the 2touching shots about a 2" group at 50 yds nothing ele would come closer than 6" and nothing except the squib load left anything worth reading of the patches.well,at least she shoots!
wayne1967 said:
If you have a true 54 the proper ball is .530-.535 with a patch of .015 or a little more. .526 is OK for a 53 caliber barrel.
Most people who think the ball is too tight need to rethink their ideas of how MLs are loaded.
They are not supposed to start easy.
Then need to be forced into the rifling not slid in. The lands MUST significantly imprint on the ball through the patch for get good accuracy.
Bullet lube can be a factor in how the balls start and fouling is another.
If they load too hard try some PURE Neatsfoot oil, not compound or anything with any additives. This usually loads slick but may need more powder than higher friction loads.
.526 used to be the standard for 54 until moulds in 530-535 became available. But the 526 is a 540 bore will not shoot as well as a .535 so now .530-.535 is the standard.
Also check the crown, if too abrupt it can start hard and even damage the patch.
This is the crown on my 54. It was deepened at one time due being "dinged" on one of the lands.
I can load a .535 with a heavy ticking patch in this barrel without a starter, just a rod. But the rod is a good straight grained one. http://s72.beta.photobucket.com/user/DPhariss/media/Video 1/IMGP0620.mp4.html
click on the link
Dan
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jbwilliams3
45 Cal.
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Yes, with a good strait-grained hickory ramrod I can get a thick patch and a .535 ball down the bore without a starter also”¦
But”¦ IF one can get good accuracy with a .525 ball it is a sensible proposition to continue that practice.
I submit that for offhand shooting, my .525 ball grouping is indistinguishable from the .530s. That’s my experience, for what it’s worth, and perhaps my standards aren’t high enough. There are others who have experienced that as well, so I know I’m not completely crazy. I don’t shoot matches and my main goal is to hunt and shoot at marks in a manner that mirrors - to the best of my ability and understanding ”“ the practice of 18th century Virginians. The smaller ball and thicker patch is something that I have experimented with in various calibers to great satisfaction. If you could test some smaller balls before buying a mold, that would be ideal. No risk at all.
I have a .525 mold from Larry Callahan that is superb (as is the .530 mold).
But”¦ IF one can get good accuracy with a .525 ball it is a sensible proposition to continue that practice.
I submit that for offhand shooting, my .525 ball grouping is indistinguishable from the .530s. That’s my experience, for what it’s worth, and perhaps my standards aren’t high enough. There are others who have experienced that as well, so I know I’m not completely crazy. I don’t shoot matches and my main goal is to hunt and shoot at marks in a manner that mirrors - to the best of my ability and understanding ”“ the practice of 18th century Virginians. The smaller ball and thicker patch is something that I have experimented with in various calibers to great satisfaction. If you could test some smaller balls before buying a mold, that would be ideal. No risk at all.
I have a .525 mold from Larry Callahan that is superb (as is the .530 mold).
