Bullet/ball for H. E. Leman rifle

[borderman]

Hello,

My 86 year old neighbor has come into possession of his deceased brother's Leman percussion kit rifle, no supplies included. I cleaned it up for him but he would like to shoot it while still able. It has a hexagonal rifling/bore which will accept a .328 drill but not .343. I am totally unfamiliar with this style bore. Any suggestions for a bullet or ball would be most appreciated.

 

[Le Grand]

If you were to ask my opinion, which you actually haven't, I would suggest that you do not shoot the rifle. It sounds like you have an old original Leman. (You referred to it as a "kit" and I will ask why?) Prior to shooting that old rifle you should have the bore inspected along its entire length. That should be done simply to get an idea of the barrel's condition. A full-length inspection would also see if the rifle is already loaded and a lot of old muzzleloaders were put into storage while loaded. After that, if you still want to shoot the rifle, try it with some well undersized round ball, such as .315", wrapped in a patch no thicker than .015". You'll have to find these items where muzzleloading accessories are sold. But, once again, shooting the old rifle (if that's what it is) isn't the best idea, especially if you don't already have experience with muzzleloaders.

 

[borderman]

Sorry about the poor 'kit' reference. Jim knows his brother assembled the rifle from parts long ago, but cannot recall a time frame. I can certainly try a few ball sizes but thought there would be a tremendous amount of gas leakage past the hexagonal 'grooves'.

 

[Le Grand]

Okay, we can assume that the rifle is not an original Leman. Now, about the bore, a muzzleloading rifle when used with a round ball fires a ball that is undersize to the bore. That ball is wrapped in a cotton or linen patch. It is the patch that fills the grooves of the rifling and seals the gases. My recommendation for patch and ball sizes still goes. You will also need to get some powder and I'd used black powder in the FFFg granulation. Let me also recommend a powder charge of just 20 grains to start with. Before you shoot the gun, it is best to have cleaning accessories and a ball puller just in case you forget to put in the powder...

 

[ohio ramrod]

Gas leakage can be solved by simply folding a cloth patch up and making an over powder wad to place between the powder and patched ball. I use leather wads between the powder and patched balls in all of my rifles. :idunno: