.56 caliber smoothbore questions

[wtilenw]

Does anyone shoot a .56 caliber smoothbore? What size ball do you typicaly use in a smoothbore in relation to bore size? I know that with rifled barrels it is common to go .010" or .005" under bore size. Is this a good number with a smoothy or since there is less area (without rifling grooves) to take up patch thickness is a thinner patch required? Can you shoot shot effectively out of a .56? Would there even be enough shot to be effective? A guy has a barrel he is trying to sell and I thought I'd ask a few questions before I let him know if I'm interested. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Idaho PRB eace:

 

[tg]

I think that TC made a .56 cal smoothbore and made a .56 cal mold that threw a .550 ball this seems a bit tight by most smoothie standards as most use a .020 udersized ball but I guess it works as there are quite a few pwoplw using the old TC .56 guns and .550 balls

 

[roundball]

Does anyone shoot a .56 caliber smoothbore? What size ball do you typicaly use in a smoothbore in relation to bore size? I know that with rifled barrels it is common to go .010" or .005" under bore size. Is this a good number with a smoothy or since there is less area (without rifling grooves) to take up patch thickness is a thinner patch required? Can you shoot shot effectively out of a .56? Would there even be enough shot to be effective? A guy has a barrel he is trying to sell and I thought I'd ask a few questions before I let him know if I'm interested. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Idaho PRB eace:

I used .550 balls with oxyoke prelubed .015" cotton patches...it required a sharp palm smack with the short starter but it was very surprisingly accurate at the 50yd range that I sighted it in at. If I had to do it over again, I'd try a thinner .010" patch, but would also add an oxyoke wonderwad to keep the thin patch from burning up.

Since it's a strong 1" TC octagon barrel, you can use a larger shotload than the typical "modern" .28ga shotload of only 3/4oz...1oz to 1+1/8oz works fine in the .56's and they're a good small game percussion smoothbore.

I was getting away from percussion and into flintlocks at about that time and my interest in the .56cal SB faded in favor of a .62/.20ga flintlock instead, have since sold the .56cal.

 

[redhairedwench]

The sizes you quoted on shot size are right on, you use the same configuration as you would for a rifled barrel as a smoothie. As for accuracy with a smoothbore, let's just say if you can do well with a rifle, you should be able to do equally as well with a smooth tube, from 25 to 50 yds. Like a rifle, make sure you work up the proper load, powder and projectile, experiment to find out what works for the gun. Same with shot loads. Good luck and keep me posted on what you decided to do. I think you'll enjoy it. :redthumb:

 

[Bigblue250]

I love my .56 T/C, I shoot home cast .550 balls(made with a long out of production lyman mold) with a .018 prelubed patch. As it has been said, a good smack on the starter is needed to start the ball. My deer load is 110 grains of RS pyrodex, and is dead on at woods distances(30-75 yards). I have yet to try shot in it, but will soon. I am glad I picked this old girl up, it gave me the fever :thumbsup:
Finding the balls was the bigest problem till I got a mold, good luck, and have fun. ::

 

[CoyoteJoe]

.56 seems to be the standard for muzzleloading 28Ga. It really is .010" over 28ga. and the same diameter as circle-fly 28ga. wads, which fit very loosly in the .560" bore.
I'm currently loading a .535" roundball cast of hard alloy with .020" patch and that loads tightly but not too hard in my .560" Jack Garner barrel. I have also loaded .495" balls in double patches and that shot not too badly.
Whatever ball size you shoot, I believe it best to load wads under the ball just as if it were a shot load. I mean real wads, two .125" hard card overpowder wads, one 1/2" fiber cushion wad, then the patched ball. Don't waste money on those silly little 1/8" felt things, it would take half a dozen of those flimsy little things to make an effective wad column and 100 of them cost more than 1000 real wads.
In Lyman's 2nd edition "Blackpowder Handbook and Loading Manual" Sam Fadala wrote of his work with a .56 T/C smoothbore. He said that after much experimentation and refinement he was finally able to get groups of 8" at 100 yards and that was about half the size of first attempts. :m2c:

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

Looks like you've already gotten some good info back on your questions about the .56cal smoothbore. Using home cast .550 ball and careful loading techniques, I have gotten 6" groups (3 shots) at about 50yds range. I also shoot shot loads and find that even with "no choke", it can do quite well out to 30yds. It has more "oomph" than you might think.

I also made my own measure that does double duty for shot and powder. I never go overboard with powder, and I keep the shot charge reasonable as well. I stay with #6 or smaller shot. It (the smoothbore) is quite a versatile gun for me, and I enjoy it very much.

If the barrel isn't priced too high, GO FOR IT!

Shoot Safely,
WV_Hillbilly

 

[rayb]

buy it


rayb

 

[adkmountainken]

i have one, love mine, killed a nice jake with it. know your limits and it is a great turkey, deer, small game smoke pole. here is a pic of the jake i took with "ole Bob " my TC 56. smoothie.

 

[wtilenw]

Wow! Thanks guys. That is a lot of great information. I will see what he will take for it. He wants 125.00. That seems a little steep to me but I'm sure it's worth it. I guess I just have to be careful where the money goes and that makes me choosy about my purchases.
Thanks again!
Idaho PRB eace:

 

[Rebel]

I think $125 is a bit much for just the barrel. I have seen the whole guns go for around that or a little more on auction arms and gunbroker. See if you can talk him down to $100 for it. Do you have a Renegade stock it will fit?

 

[wtilenw]

Yeah, Ive got one. I'm gonna put my new .58 green mtn barrel in it but I could sure swap 'e back and forth. That's the other issue. I don't think the "Warden" will goe for two barrel purchases in one month and I want the .58 more. If anyone else wants it, let me know what Youll pay for it and I'll make an offer.
Idaho PRB eace:

 

[Rebel]

You could always tell the "warden" that one is NEXT months purchase in advance. ::

 

[wtilenw]

Now WHY! didn't I think of that? :crackup:

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

He wants 125.00. :youcrazy: That seems a little steep to me but I'm sure it's worth it.:nono:

I bought an entire gun (.56cal Renegade smoothbore) just about 18 months ago for $125.

I'd offer him $75 if, AND ONLY IF, that barrel is totally like new. Keep looking. There are plenty of other ones out there. Some people will buy a .56cal gun cheap and then pull the barrel and swap in a Green Mt. rifle barrel. That leaves them with usually a decent barrel that hardly anybody wants. You should be able to end up with a prize .56cal barrel for very little cost.

Good Luck!
WV_Hillbilly

PS It's called being wise with your money. Nothing wrong with that! :redthumb:

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

Well,I had one a few years ago, and i was totally amazed at the accuracy I got with it. Here's the info. 90Gr. GO FFg, 58 caliber Ox-Yoke Wonder Wad, .530 roundball in a blue jean patch, also lube with Wonder Lube (about .035"). This loads so tightly that I doubt that it would be of any use in the field, but I shot a 1 1/4" group with it at 50 yards. This was from a rest with a T/C renegade .56 smoothbore, receiver sight, and a double set trigger.

I was really impressed, but then I decided I had to have a .58, so had the barrel rifled.

Good luck!

Gene