Ball size

[50cal.cliff]

Got a question. I just bought a .54 Lyman GPR kit and have yet to find the time to put it together but I am trying to get all the accessories together for it! So when I do complete the build I will be ready to go shoot her.

I know with my .50, I can shoot a .490 ball or a .495 ball using the same patch material. I am using a washed pillow ticking which equates to .18!
The .490's go down smooth and the 495's are harder to start and a little tighter to get down but both will work with the same patch material.
The .495's seem to contribute a little more kick for the same powder load but, they also tend to give a slightly better group!

Here is the question what is the common ball size for the .54 Lyman GPR?

I am assumingthat like the .50 there is going to be two ball sizes common for the .541 I would like to have on hand a box of each to shoot once I finish the build so I can see which the gun likes better. That way I will have an insight into what mold to buy so I can make my own.

 

[Otter]

My .54 GPR likes .530 and .527 balls with .015 cotton (300 TPI) spit patches over 75 gr Goex 3f for hunting and 50 gr Goex 3f for paper punching out to 50 yds. I have never tried the .535 balls but some do like them. BTW, I'm sure it's simply a typo, but how do you seat your ball in your .50 using .18 thk patching? :hmm:

 

[MSW]

before you plonk down a good bit of money for a good mold


(insert tirade here, the point of which is don't buy cheap tools- either Lee or Lyman make good molds, as well as that English fellow, but there's some junk on the market, so be careful)


you should put about seventy five to a hundred shots through the barrel to get things settled in. conventional wisdon runs from fifty to two hundred, but i think one hundred should do it well- just one guy's opinion. the ball size should be whatever the factory reccomends (if they do so) or, in the absence of that recommendation, the ball patch which is easiest to load (within reason). be sure to swab between shots, and use a guide at the muzzle so you don't wear the lands at the muzzle.

while doing this, there's no reason you shouldn't be getting a feel for the charge which gets the tightest groups, but don't get married to it, and don't tinker with the sights (although the temptation will be strong, you must be stronger)

then, after you get all set with your 75 to 100 shots, get a box of each size and retry the charge experiment with each. thus (one hopes) you will arrive at a combination of ball, patch, powder and lube which will provide the tightest groups. then and only then should you consider moving the sights.

(p.s., by the time you're done with all this messing about, you'll have practiced a good bit, which is the real and true "secret" to putting lead on target).

good luck!

msw

 

[cowpoke1955]

I have two .54 GPRs, one percussion and one flint. Both of them love .530 balls, 80 grains of FFg Goex and pillow ticking patch lubed with Ballistol. The pillow ticking I get at Wal-Mart and mics at .018". I have tried .535 balls, but my rifles like the .530 better. Each rifle is different so try both. I buy my Lee molds from F&M Reloading: http://www.fmreloading.com/ . $16.58 for a Lee double cavity mold. Here's the link for Ballistol oil: http://www.ballistol.com/index.htm . You are going to love that .54 :thumbsup: .

 

[bucktales]

Cliff, My GPR likes .530's with .015 ox-yoke patches. This and with 80-85 gr Goex FFFg, and after a few hundred rounds, the rifle settled in and found it's sweet spot.
Can it do better with a different combination of balls and patches? Maybe, but it's shooting straight and tight and is easy to load.
Half the fun is developing a load and finding out what your rifle likes.

I would buy some store bought balls first, shoot a bunch, then decide what mold to buy.

 

[50cal.cliff]

Hey, that is the very reason that I wanted some imput on ball size from some of you all so I could have a box of store boughts on hand! That way when I find out which the rifle likes after I get her broke in if it don't like the others too well I'll just throw them in the pot next time I am melting and pour them into what ever mold the rifle likes.
So based on what you all say I think I will buy a box of the .530 & a box of the.535 see which the rifle likes the best and which makes the best combo and then after I feel she's properly broke in then I will decide which mold to buy.
Otter I am headed to my shed to take a look at the bottle I am using to hold my cut patches as it's wrote on the bottle!
Well here is where the confusion begins. The bottle I had them in does say .18 but, I don't think that is correct and here is why! I think I had that in my mind as what some one else had said they had measured ticking at.But I think they meant.018 but I just went out and cut a piece off of the ticking and brought it back to the garage. read it.
I just reread the cloth on my Dial Caliper and I am not getting that reading. It reads approx. 3 which becomes,.003, or three thousandths of an inch, if my math is correct.
Or maybe I should ask is my math correct?That doesn't come close to the .018 everyone else is talking about using.
He!! now I am confused! :shake:
All I know is it works with both sizes the .490 and the .495, the .495 is tight but "doable"!

Now I am wondering if this is thick enough material. What is evryone else using to measure the cloth with. Dial Calipers may not be accurate enough for cloth!!!!!!!!!
Otter, you open up something here, brother!

 

[paulvallandigham]

I have both calipers and Micrometers. I have measure the same cloth with both to see if I get similar readings. I do.

Your .018" cloth should read .018 on the dial of the caliper, if the caliper has been " zeroed" correctly. See the directions that come with your caliper.

Basically, to "zero " your dial caliper, close the jaws together. Then, there is a buttom or knob that you push or turn to reset the dial to "zero". Now your caliper is zeroed properly.

( Note: on my caliper, there is a knob at the bottom of the dial that releases the dial scale, so that you can move the needle to zero by closing the jaws- the knob that lets you open and close the caliper jaws. You unlock the dial, rotate the other knob to close the jaws and the needle to zero, then lock the dial. )

 

[Bob J]

My .54 GPR shot very accurately with 100 grains 2f , .530 ball, and .015 OR .018 wonder-lubed pillow ticking. Shot equally well with 3f.

After about 250 - 300 rounds, it seemed that the ball/patch combo loaded a little easier than I really likes. So I went with .535 balls and it shot just as accurately.

For offhand target practice, it shot well with 60 grains 2f OR 3f and spit-patched pillow ticking.

Also tried Birddog6's liquidlube and it was very accurate (and mouth didn't get so dry as spit-patchin' when the temp and humidity was in the 90s :wink: ).

 

[roundball]

There can be variations to dial caliper readings from one person to another depending on how you do it. I've gotten into the habit of just closing the jaws just enough to begin feeling resistance...that I feel something is in the jaws...I try not to compress it.

I'd be surprised that you're using patch material that is only .003" of an inch thick so I'll go out on a limb and think it may be a measuring error.

Make sure the dial caliper in properly zeroed than gently close the jaws on a piece of that pillow ticking until you feel it...do it several times (in different places on the patch) until you develop a consistent approach and feel for the the cloth, then get some fresh patches and measure a few.

If you're using typical pillow ticking for ML patches, it whould probably be somewhere in the range of .015" to .020"

 

[paulvallandigham]

I agree: I want the cloth I am measuring to just slip from the jaws when I have them closed. If I have closed the jaws too tight, they will hold onto the cloth unless I stretch the cloth with a big tug! You do have to develop a feel for using either a micrometer or a caliper. Machinists learn to do this. Sometimes, they are measuring work in the .0001" measurements, where even the heat from their own hands can change the measurement over time. If you ever have shaken the hand of a machinist, I doubt you would ever consider the words " delicate touch " and " machinist" in the same sentence, but its true!

 

[50cal.cliff]

OK, my bad! After rezeroing my calipers. The reading is approx. .018. I forgot to zero the calipers last night. Guess my brain just jumped gear into neutral. Hey but at least I know I'm not totaly crazy! :youcrazy:
Just operator error! :blah: Sure had me scratching my head as too why I was getting that reading though!
Thanks for the feedback on the ball size on a .54 GPR! :thumbsup:
While I am thinkng about it how does $1.00 a lb. for soft scrap lead sound? That's the price quoute I got Friday from our local scrap yard! That is the only one of five that would even sell to me the others had quit selling to individuals.

 

[R.M.]

A buck a pound is outrageous, unless it's in one pound ingot form.
Bandits.

 

[50cal.cliff]

It ain't nothing but scrap I got to do the melting into ignots.
Problem is I can't find lead around here except for the scrap yards.
This site has good clean leadhttp://www.rotometals.com/
but,the cost is about $1.80 pr. pound some of that includes shipping and some doesn't!
So what's a fellow to do?
If I just had all that good lead I threw away years ago when I used to do some roofing. Makes me sick now when I think about it!
I have got to find a cheap source for soft lead, if there is such a thing short of just stubbling into a great deal!

 

[50cal.cliff]

I guess that kind of puts a lid on this thread.
Thanks for the imput on the ball size evryone!!!!If you are interested in the lead discussion you can follow this link to: Post#640744
:http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/227268/
to that discussion.

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu hae to talk to autobody shops, tire shops, and roofers, as well as dentists, to find lead that is being thrown out. No, not everyone will deal with you. But, I believe if they sell the lead to a scap dealer, he is only going to pay them $.40 a pound, while charging that $1.00 per Lb. to buy it.

Make them an offer they can't refuse! If you offer to pick up the lead, saving them the trip, and offer to pay more than the scrap yard will pay, guess who they are likely to call when they have a bucket of lead to get rid of?

Oh, plumbers often are removing old lead pipes, even in your state, from both homes, and businesses, and sometimes from utility lines. That is a great source of pure lead. Talk to them, too. Don't call them. Go by the workplaces and talk to them in person. I often run into other shooters who are keeping all the lead for themselves, or their buddies. That's okay. Just introduce yourself, and let them know that you will still be interested if they get more lead than they need, and make sure they have your phone number. Then stop by every 3-4 months to talk to them again. If you can send some business their way, it helps. If you can take them a case of cold soft drinks on a hot day, It helps. Make a deal, Capice?

 

[poordevil]

I buy my lead by the 20pounds at a local plumber shop here in Yuma.