Bullet question

Hi Y'all,Newbie to the forum. Lots of good info here. I have a 1:66 twist Springfield Hawken .50 cal. I've read there are three types of bullet for this twist rate, round ball, round ball and uuh round ball. Does anyone have any info on performance of Buffalo Ball-ets or the Lee R.E.A.L. bullet from this rate of twist?

 

[musketman]

From what I gather, the 1-66 twist barrel is suited better for round balls, this doesn't mean that you can't shoot Buffalo Ball-ets or the Lee R.E.A.L. bullet from your muzzleloader...

The BALL-ET is a half ball and half bullet, pre-lubricated and ready to use right out of the box.

It has more energy than a round ball, easier to load than a sabot and has a higher velocity than a conical.

Exceptional accuracy can be obtained in both fast and slow twist barrels...

The LEE R.E.A.L. bullet is a short shanked bullet, so it may also work well in the slower twist barrels.

If I had to recommend one of your choises, (other than round balls) I say go with the Buffalo Ball-ets...

 

[tg]

As stated above the slow twist guns are intended for use with RB, modern type bullets may work or may not, one would need to try them to see if they patterned well, for hunting use the rb is all that is needed for deer/Elk sized game, produces less recoil, and is less expensive.

 

[smokeblower]

Here is my opinion based on observed facts. The REAL is worth the investment. I find it better than the round one. BUTT try it yourself, then you will be the judge, not I. These work best in a 48:1 twist or lower. They have a wide and expanded grip. I do agree with the traditionalists. The ole rounder was best for the time, you could round out a ceader split mold, a soapstone mold, a sandstone mold or buy a fancy mold from England. Some of us want to shoot the new ones.

 

[Aline]

Friends,
The REAL bullets are available in 250gr and 320gr for .50 cal, if I'm not mistaken. In theory the shorter 250gr should be the best for slower twists. My .50 cal sidelock rifle has a 1:48 barrel. Does anyone have any experience with the heavier 320gr REAL bullet in 1:48 barrels?
I'm thinking about getting one of those Lee combo molds that cast one round ball and one 320gr REAL bullet. PRB is what I shoot the most, but wanna try some conicals too.

Thanks,
Aline

 

[smokeblower]

I have both the 250 and 320 molds. I like the 250 better in my Blur Ridge .50. The 320 needs more powder to adjust for the extra weight. The neat thing about these bullets is you can drill out a small hole to make a hollow point. The spru is perfect to accept a small drill. These really flatten out like a pancake upon impact. The 320 lightened up with a hollow point is what I used on my last deer this past season. It expanded to the size of a nickle and looked like the end of the bullet tried to push through the front. I should get a cut from the Lee company because all my shooting and hunting friends ordered one after I gave them a few.

 

[lonewolf5347]

smokeblower what size drill bit do you use and how deep do you drill the HP.?
I just pick up some R.E.A.L. 320 GRAINS for the lyman GPR 1 in 32 twist barrel in 50 cal. I will like to see how they work also in my t/c flinter 1 in 48 twist.
My t/c right now likes the 360 grain maxi-ball and a keith nose 350 grain sabot hp.
I am looking forward in shooting the REAL 320 GRAINS but the weather just won't break

 

[musketman]

quote:Originally posted by smokeblower:
[QB The neat thing about these bullets is you can drill out a small hole to make a hollow point.[/QB]Do you have any type of guide or template to help center the holes, or are you just drilling by eye alignment alone?

On a more fun note, can you drill out round balls too?

Maybe three hollow points, it would look like you were shooting miniature bowling balls...

 

[Gray Beard]

I haven't tried the Buffulo ball-ets, but I think that they'd work just fine in your rifle. I'd also recommend that you'd take a look at Hornady Great Plains conicals for .50 cal.
BUFFALO BALL-ETS
This extraordinary projectile combines all of the advantages of a conical bullet with the ease of loading a round ball, except no patch is needed! The BALL-ET is a half ball and half bullet, pre-lubricated and ready to use right out of the box. It has more energy than a round ball, easier to load than a sabot and has a higher velocity than a conical. Exceptional accuracy can be obtained in both fast and slow twist barrels. All this, combined with a very light recoil. The BALL-ET is ideal for target shooting, plinking and hunting deer size animals. Packaged 50 to a box. U.S. Patent #5,443,010.

 

[JesseJames]

Musketman

we had a muzzleloading hunting club with 20 members a few years back. When we first started,the majority of the guys were using 50 cal. maxiballs. We were getting our share of deer,but we also were losng our share. We started hollow pointing the maxiballs,it improved our kill ratio dramatically. One of the members made up a 5-bullet jig for hollow pointng,it worked out perfect. We have been doing it ever since. I also hollow point my 45 cal. maxibals.

 

[roundball]

Can't argue with the success of your modified maxiballs to get greater expansion...but just curious if anybody tried TC's maxihunters that are designed for the very purpose of "greater expansion" on thin skinned game like deer, while maxiballs were designed for greater "penetration" on larger, tougher game than deer.
One time I shot a doe broadside in the shoulder with a .45cal-255grn maxihunter at about 40yds and you'd have thought she was hit with a .30-06, down where she stood...there's tremendous energy release / shock power in the quick expansion of the maxihunters

 

musketman, you could drill a roundball. Make a fitting that fits the hole you drill to load the ball. Should work very well.

 

[JesseJames]

roundball

when we got started into muzzleloading,me and a couple of my friends shot a few thousand rounds. we were buying every new mold that came out at that time..the best performance of all the rounds we shot,the most consistent out of our thompson center guns was the maxieball for tight grouping...sight in 50 yards benchrest,shoot groups of 3's and cloverleaf them...tried the maxiehunters at targets,we get a flyer every now and then...as a club,we would kill an average of about 30 deer a year...before hollowpointing the maxiballs (we would butcher our own deer) we would get some that were mushroomed and retrieve some that you could stick right back into the muzzleloader and shoot,amongst retrieving other projectiles from the deer..22's,buckshot,birdshot,broadheads...when we started shooting tc's booklet said do not shoot plastic in their barrels...now you can shoot al the plastic that you want..i hunted with a hawkins that would shoot maxiballs excellent and roundballs so-so...my buddy hunted with a renegade that shoots maxiballs excellent as well as roundballs excellent,as a matter of fact,i think you could dump anything down the barrel and it would shoot excellent,one of those factory freaks.

 

[Aline]

I have tried the Buffalo Ball-ets. The results were not that great. Guess my rifle didn't like them much.
The ball-ets sure are easy to load, recoil is ok, but accuracy was not very good. I was getting 3" groups at 50 yards. Groups were consistent, with no fliers, but wouldn't get better than 3".
With PRB's I can get 1" groups at 50 yards on a good day.
I've tried the ball-ets in my in-line too. Didn

 

[smokeblower]

Reply to Musketman,
The frist few REAL home made hollowpoints I eyeball drilled. I made a simple wood jig that rests on the backstop of my drill press to make sure the hole is in the same place each time. I use a drill no larger than 1/8 in. and have tried some smaller. I want a mushroom impact , not a expanding shattering of the mini.

 

[Aline]

Smokeblower,
Are you drilling both the 250gr and the 320gr REAL bullets? Or just the 320?
Out of curiosity, have you weighed the bullets after drilling?
Aline

 

[JesseJames]

Aline

We also shot buffalo bullets when they first came out. Found that they shot erratic. I have seen deer killed with those bullets and they definitely tear it up. I will tell you a little story that happened with a friend of mine: he bought a new inline 54 cal.,had a 309 scope put on it,took it to the range prior to deer season,was shooting sabots. He could not get 2 bullets together let alone zoom it in,he was totally discussed. I told my brother to shoot the gun,who was a pretty good shot and he could not get 2 bullets together. It just so happens that my brother was siteing in his hawkins. I asked him if he had any more maxieballs? Just for the hellofit,shoot them out of the inline. Set up on the bench,shot 3 shots,and keyholed them. They were low and to the right. Adjusted the scope up,got it zeroed in,my friend shot it,3 times...blew out the bullseye and has never shot anything different since. They were 50 yard site ins off the bench. You just have to play with different bullets to see which one is the best.