ball size in a .69 smoothbore

[surrealpillow]

Was seeing if I could get some recommendations on what size ball i should use for a .69 caliber flintlock. I am planning on using lubed paper cartridges. It seems my options are .672 .675 and .678
Also if anyone knows what size the standard military round was for a .69 bore in the 18th century that would be helpful
Thanks!

 

[tg]

I think the standard was likely around .66 they used much smaler bals thna we do now one has to let go of the rifle/PRB concept and go with smaller balls as a rule I would think the smaller of your options would be the best choice you can always patch up but do not want to have to use to thin of a patch

 

[ericb]

I shoot a .69 Charleville - a lot. I use a .662 ball with Paper Cartridges - have used .672 but they can get a little tight when doing extended shooting. Accuracy in general is better with the .662...at least with me.

Eric

 

[Homesteader]

These guys are all on the money. It really depends on your gun and what you expect from it. I've got moulds for .680, .66- (something), and even a .610! I've often used the little .610 heavily patched with lubed denim (doubled) and done pretty well at 50 yards and under. Usually in the kill zone, and easy to load. But I am using a 4' tapered barrel!

Best part about our old smoothies, I think, is that they've each got personalities all their own. Including what they like to eat.

Have fun figuring it out! :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

You need to actually measure the true bore diameter of your barrel, and not rely on the caliber designation put on the barrel by the manufacturer. Use an inside caliper to measure the bore, and make a decision on what size ball will fit the best after you have that information.

With any smoothbore, you generally want a ball that is .015"to .020" Smaller in diameter than your bore size. Cotton patching can be expected to compress about 1/3-1/2" the measured thickness, so choose a fabric for your patch that, when wrapped around the ball, will provide a good Seal between the wall of the barrel, and your lead ball.

Remember that lead balls this size, cast from pure lead, will expand when fired, and help seal the bore, by pressing against the fabric hard enough that most pulled balls will show the weave pattern of the fabric on the sides of the lead ball. Fired balls that are recovered almost always will show the weave of the fabric patch impressed into the surface of the lead ball.

The primary function of that cloth patch is to center the ball in your barrel, and to carry enough lube in the cloth so that the bore is greased when its loaded, and again as the ball is fired out of the barrel. The grease in turn helps prevent the fabric from burning inside the barrel, and softens the BP residue that gathers on the side of the bore, so that the residue can be cleaned fairly easily.

 

[Skychief]

Welcome home Paul, welcome home. :wink:

 

[Mickc01]

I use .675 in my Japanese Bess, even with a fairly thick path, and it has always worked fine for me.

 

[Hunter McAdams]

I think the standard was likely around .66 they used much smaler bals thna we do now one has to let go of the rifle/PRB concept and go with smaller balls as a rule I would think the smaller of your options would be the best choice you can always patch up but do not want to have to use to thin of a patch

The standard ball size for a 18th century flintlock rifle was a .64 or .65 cal round ball in a paper cartridge.

 

[Cayman like]

The standard ball size for a 18th century flintlock rifle was a .64 or .65 cal round ball in a paper cartridge.

I had a Japanese Charleville repo..
I cut the barrel down to 30 inches and used a .678 mold..it was accurate as heck.

 

[Johnny Too-Tall]

The correct ball size is anything you can safely fit down the barrel it will shoot. From #9 shot to about .678 rb

 

[Clark Badgett]

The standard military ball for the .69 Charleville was .640” and we followed suit with our early muskets. In the early 1800s we went to a .650” ball.

 

[Clark Badgett]

The standard ball size for a 18th century flintlock rifle was a .64 or .65 cal round ball in a paper cartridge.

I’m sure you mean musket.

 

[Clark Badgett]

danged necro threads

 

[tenngun]

For a paper cartridge the paper is unbelievably thick when wrapped on a ball. So you need a very small ball to caliber. A bess at .75 shoots a .690
A .69 charley or American shoots a .640-650 ball. You don’t want much resistance when you are trying to shoot as fast as possible.
English ran the cartridge down under the ball, French on top. Some report better groups with wad on top only.
Patched vs bare ball for me. On initial view patch looks better but the whole five shot group is about the same. .62 with .600 ball

 

[ZUG]

I use a cast .648" ball wrapped in brown paper masking that I get from Harbor Freight that is for masking off large areas for painting. The brown paper measures 0.003" thick. The .648" cast lead balls come from TOTW. I also use the .662" cast lead round balls with tow with occasional good results.

 

[Cornbread]

WOW! Am I wrong or did this 2011 post get recent replies???

James

 

[Adam in WI]

Well, the techniques in question are over 200 years old. So a 13 year old thread revival seems pretty trivial. There's relevant info to be shared.

It's not like bumping one of those "which brand of X should I buy?" threads ten years after the op was last seen...

 

[smokeum54]

Deleted

 

[Hunter McAdams]

I had a Japanese Charleville repo..
I cut the barrel down to 30 inches and used a .678 mold..it was accurate as heck.

I use paper cartridge for mine and if i were to use a bigger ball ide have a hell of a time getting it down the barrel.

 

[smoothshooter]

I shoot a .69 Charleville - a lot. I use a .662 ball with Paper Cartridges - have used .672 but they can get a little tight when doing extended shooting. Accuracy in general is better with the .662...at least with me.

Eric

What kind of accuracy are we talking about?