your .45 will need .440 or .445 round balls and .012-.018 patchs.
Actually, he said that he is 45!
Since he brought up .490 ball we can assume it is a .50 cal....maybe!
Couple years ago a friend bought an ml gun and brought it to me and said "what else do I need?". I made him a list and later sorta expanded it just for guys like you. Here it is:
What does a new ML shooter need? (geared to a .50 caliber rifle)
There are probably a few things that you need that are specific to your firearm, caliber, shooting activity or your style, but I think you will find the following general list helpful.
1. Propellant, Real BP or a substitute. ( the more real the better!)
2. You do NEED a range rod! It's invaluable for a day at the range and for cleaning. Get a steel rod (treso is good) and also a brass bore guide that fits it to prevent muzzle wear. Fiberglass is popular, but it also works your muzzle like fine sandpaper.
3. A good patch jag. The jag should have a tapered section behind the patch holding portion that allows a place for the patch to bunch up behind the jag when you pull it out of the bore.
4. Some kinda cleaning patches. Actually, cutting up an old cotton flannel shirt works pretty good. Lately I use cotton flannel from wal mart sold for making baby diapers.
5. You need a pour spout to put on your propellant container that you can cover while shooting or better yet that has an automatic open/close feature as you use it. That way a spark won't fly into the can and set the whole thing off!
6. A volumetric powder measure unless you plan to use pellets (as a new shooter, you might find that loose measured powder will make it easier to establish a good load for your gun. Besides, it's a lot cheaper to use loose powder.) Later, as an experienced shooter you will chuckle at the guys who use pellets.
7. A lost patch retriever. This screws onto your rod like the jag only it has a couple twisted wire dealies on the end. If you lose a patch down the bore, you can attach it to your rod and drop it down to the patch. Give it a few turns and pull the patch out. Sure, you can tear the gun apart or quit for the day and get it out at cleaning time, but the retriever will solve the problem in minutes and not ruin your day at the range! You should also get a caliber specific ball pulling fitting.
8. Course, you gotta have primers!
9. Projectiles. There's a ton of these for sale along with related sabots and of course power belts with the plastic thingie attached. They all seem to work pretty good, but, if you don't want to use round balls, nothing takes an animal down like a 350 to 450 grain pure lead conical that you cast yourself for pennies apiece.
10. Some lube if you decide to use the lead conicals. TC 1000+ (also sold as bore butter) is an excellent lube and also works well as a round ball patch lube.
11. A short starter to get the projectile started down the bore the first few inches.
12. Some .490 or .495 round balls. Cheap to shoot and with light loads dandy for small game and fine for deer etc with heavier loads. Even cheaper if you cast your own using a $20 Lee round ball mold!
13. Some patching material if you decide to use the round balls. You can buy it at the sports stores or get yourself some 8 or 10 oz duck, denim or pillow ticking. Use the same lube you would use for the conicals.
14. A very sharp knife to cut the patch material once the ball is started down the bore about a 1/4 inch with the short starter. Or, you can use precut patches either round or square.
15. How about some targets?
16. Some speed loaders if you plan to hunt. Butler Creek loaders are nice and they're cheap too!
17. Bore solvent. Mix tap water at 10 to 1 with kitchen dish soap and use for a bore solvent and patch lube. Don't use it for a patch lube while hunting since the water content will promote a rust ring in the bore. A grease lube is better for hunting. Plain old crisco is a fine grease lube
18. Some alcohol to dry the bore after cleaning (not really necessary but convenient).
19. Safety rated glasses to be worn while you shoot.
20. A sight adjustment tool (hey it's easy to forget, I've done it many times!!).
21. Two pieces of old carpet. One to put under the butt of the gun on the ground while loading. The other to put on the bench or whatever you lean the gun on while reloading.
22. A rag to wipe your hands off occasionally.
23. A plastic fishing tackle box to put all this stuff in!
24. Patience. It takes a while to get into the rhythm and flow of shooting bp guns. It seems like the big grails sought by most bp shooters is the powder that cleans easily and is the least like real BP and the magic lube/projectile/powder/secret potion that allows the shooter to shoot XXXXX times without wiping the bore. Avoid that trap!
25. Dedication. Shoot a lot. If shooting bp a lot is not fun, then get rid of the ml gun and go back to cartridge! You will not arrive at the best load combo for your gun by going to the range and shooting 4 or 5 three shot groups. You will probably burn two or three pounds of powder before you really get to know what your gun likes. One good accidental 3 shot group means nothing. Try shooting 10 shot groups for a true picture.
I probably missed a few things. Once you make a few trips to the range, you will be adding to and subtracting from this list!
Good luck and good shooting!!
