Ball or minie

[trailblazer]

I have a TC New Englander 50cal with the 1/48 twist and shoot home cast round balls. On a good day I can shoot 3" groups at 100yds, (got a deer at 75yds one year)and we all know about bad days. I've tried different loads of Pyrodex,
Goex, Triple-7 and Swiss and prefer real black powder over the replacements. I tried out a couple kinds of the TC maxi without much luck, now I'd like to get a Lee minie mould and see how they shoot.
I think the lighter 250gr REAL bullet would be closer to round ball weight but after using the search, I see some have good luck with heavier slugs. I'm also looking at the LEE 354gr Modern Minie Target for target shooting.
I know the 1/48 twist has it's drawbacks, it can like round ball, minies or neither and LEE molds are cheap so I don't mind experimenting, get to burn more powder that way.
If someone would like to share their thoughts I would appreciate it, thanks
mike.

 

[onefeather]

have you tried track of the wolf website they should have it :results:

 

[rrgr40]

Wolfspotter,
Consider trying some Wonder Wads under the Maxi-balls. This has improved accuracy for many shooters in your situation in the past. Mini-ball can be fun but be careful not to try too heavy a load, it will spread the skirt of the bullet. I believe that Lee sells a mold for the Improved Mini. I use these in my .54 with 105 grains of FFG Goex, it will clover leaf at 50 yds. Good Luck. :results: :m2c:

 

[Tumblernotch]

You want the skirt of a Minie to spread. That's what causes it to engage the rifling. However, a very heavy charge can partially melt or split a thin skirt.
:front:

 

[trailblazer]

Thanks guys, I made it to the range twice this week and one fellow muzzle loader said my gun won't shoot anything but round ball, another said his 1/48 TC shoots the lighter
minies or maxies and has very good luck with sabots and
44 180gr bullets. He also said wonder wads make it shoot much better.
I'm going to go ahead and get the LEE 250gr REAL mould and some wonder wads and see what she'll do,
Mike

 

[cayugad]

I have a LEE .50 caliber Minnie mold. I will warn you ahead of time, I had no luck with accuracy that I considered hunting acceptable at anything over 50 yards with them.

The trouble is they are very under bore in size. So much so that you can load them by putting the ramrod on them and the weight of the rod wil almost seat them. Then if you like you can shake them back out the barrel. Not much confidence if you walk around a lot hunting and have to check the projectile to make sure it is still seated proper or even in the barrel.

If you paper patch them they do a little better in the rifles I have shot them in. Before you invest in the mold I suggest you purchase some and try them in your rifle first. It could save you a little money, unless you like collecting molds. That's about all mine are doing now.. part of the collection. I make a few up here and there only because it is fun at close range to throw big chunks of lead around. I also paper patch them with teflon pipe wrap tape.

You can get them at Black Jack Hill's if you want to try some out before purchaseing the mold. Instead, I would try some of his maxiball with a wad. He also sells REALs. A wad might improve the overall accuracy of the conicals.

 

[trailblazer]

Thanks cayugad, that's the second time I've heard Black Jack Hill's mentioned today, good idea. I'll order some tomorrow, 50 bullets should be more than enough to test before I bother with a mould.
Mike

 

[rrgr40]

Affirmative on the skirt spread in respect to engaging the rifling and creating a gas seal. I was refering to the skirt spreading outside the barrel and affecting accuracy results. eace:

 

[trailblazer]

Well I finally received my 50cal 320gr LEE REAL bullets from Black Jack Hill last week and gave them a try.
The bullets slid down the bore with a little effort, I hope
I have the same luck when I get a mould.

I found 60gr of 3f Elephant gave me the tightest groups, five shots into 2" at 100yds. I'm using a Williams micrometer peep rear and target globe front for sights.

I was surprised that it shot slightly better without the wonder wads. At $9.00 a bag I'd rather spend the money on powder!

I see most on here don't care for Elephant. I got a nice buck two years ago using 70gr of the stuff and a round ball but I'm going to compare it to the Goex and Triple 7 I just got. What the heck, burning powder is so much fun.

:thanks: all for your help,
Mike.