"Ball-ets"

[Flint62Smoothie]

The point being that because of their short nature, they will still stabilize well in my 66" twist.

Bill:

That is EXACTLY what they were designed to do ... to give a slow-twist rifle user a suitable AND heavy projectile that would stabilize in a twist like a 1-in-66" barrel.

FWIW I used to use them in my 50cal Mowrey Plains Rifle and I found the accuracy to be nothing short of EXCELLENT; as in 2" groups @ 50-yards.

I was hunting bear in heavy timber and I wanted a heavier boolit for the job. ... I chose to hedge my risks by using the best that was available in case I had the chance to get a shot at that big bear. That choice was a bullet that is accurate over a heavy charge of powder.

I commend you for your decision AND choice to use a bullet YOU have confidence in. Agreed, maybe it ain't a patch roundball, but heck, at least you took to the woods with a muzzleloader and I'd rather have you use a MXL with a heavy bullet sized to the game ... than stay home or use a centerfire rifle, or God forbid, and 'out'-line MZL!

I have always been under the impression that using anything under a hollow based bullet defeats the purpose of the hollow base.

I agree with you! While I don't have Paul's vast experience I do have experience with Ball-Ets. I found if accuracy suffered (always worked UP from 10 grains below my 'best' PRB loading), then I needed to try 1 of 2 things - more powder, or if using FFg, then switch to FFFg.

I've always been able to get outstanding groups using these Ball-Ets in twists from 48" to 66" and have turned on may hunters at my club to them too. I still have a HUGE supply of hollow-point 50cal Ball-ETs, that I'll never use all of, if someone needs 50 to 100 here or there. Just PM me if interested.

 

[jtmattison]

That is EXACTLY what they were designed to do ... to give a slow-twist rifle user a suitable AND heavy projectile that would stabilize in a twist like a 1-in-66" barrel.

I wonder how they would shoot in a 1:70 GM barrel :hmm:

They didn't shoot worth beans in my 1:48's or 1:32.

HD

 

[paulvallandigham]

There is no problem for a hollow base expanding with a wad behind it. There is a huge " Kick in the Butt " that occurs at ignition, even with BP, that upsets a pure lead skirt while overcoming the weight and inertia of the conical. Friction between the conical or minie, and the bore contributes to the inertia. The only problem you have with hollow based bullets is making sure you use a good strong solid base wad, rather than something soft, intended to hold lube, like felt wool wads. Those soft wads can be blown or pushed up into the hollow base,helping to expand the skirt into the groove, but also losing the gas seal they are suppose to provide to prevent gas cutting the side of the bullet. Use a solid wad, like is used in smoothbores, and if one seems to sometimes fail, and get pushed into the hollow base, then use two of them! Two will keep the front or forward wad from flexing under the pressure of the expanding gases enough to be pushed up into the hollow base.

A properly sized minie should be .001" smaller than the land to land diameter( bore diameter) of your gun. The wads you use should be at least groove diameter, if not a bit larger. YOu can put an OS card on top of a minie to make sure it does not move in the barrel while the gun is being handled. And, I think these guns shoot a lot smaller groups if you lubricate the bare AFTER seating the bullet. The lube on the bore keeps lead from rubbing off against the lands , keeping the gun free of lead residue, and allowing a more consistent round after round uniformity in velocity and treatment of the bullet in the barrel when its fired. When you get lead building up, it misshapens the subsequent shots, scrapeing off more lead, leaving more lead residue building up, and worsening accuracy.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

I am sure you could try to patch one if you have deep grooves. I have the 310gr Round Nose for my 54cal. I want to try some in my 58cal.