Conical bullet for hunting and target.

[jbiros]

What 50 cal conical would you recommend . It is a 1 in 48 twist Flintlock. Is there a mold you would suggest? do you lube your bullets with wonderlube, or something similar. what load would you suggest as a starting point? Is a "ballet" a good option? Has anyone had good success with a patched round ball in a 1 in 48 twist?

 

[Livbucks]

I have had good results with the Buffalo Ball-et, although they are not made anymore and hard to come by and are on the light side at 245 grains I believe. You could try the Hornady Great Plains Conical or the TC Maxi hunter. All of them are prelubed. I hear the 48 twist is right for them. Start with about 70 grains and work it from there. Push them too hard and they fly around from my experience.

 

[Stringbean]

I have shot some good groups with my 50 cal. 1 in 48 with the TC maxi-balls in the 370 grain with 90 grains of 2f goex. Kick like a draft horse but would probably kill one too. I used bore butter on mine.
String

 

[coloradoclyde]

I have had good results with the T/C Maxi-Ball but every gun is different.

Although I much prefer the simplicity, economy, versatility and sheer historical elegance of the round ball.

 

[Spikebuck]

I have used Buffalo Ball-ets and liked them, but as Livbucks said, they are hard to come by and one reason I quit using them was the inconsistent availability. I have had great success with Hornady's Great Plains conicals and their PA Hunter is very much like the Ball-et. My wife used the ball-ets in a .50 with 70 gr of 2F. But that gun has a 1/66 twist.
http://www.hornady.com/store/50-Cal-240-gr-PA-Conical/

A patched roundball should also shoot well...you just have to find the right load.

 

[Patocazador]

My percussion T/C Hawken has a 1:48 barrel and shoots both Maxi-balls and round balls well. I use 80 gr. of 3F for the Maxi and 60 gr. of 3F for the PRB.

 

[BrownBear]

Sounds like you plan to use the conical a lot. My top priority would be to consider only those for which you can buy molds. If you're buying all those bullets, you sure won't be shooting as much as you would be if you cast them.

 

[Greenmtnboy]

I built up a fast twist hawkin back in 82 when I was in 10th grade(shop class)
I bought the Lyman 275 grn maxie ball mold.
Before I switched to Round ball I killed many elk,deer and a bear with that rifle and every one died in two min or less.
It is a very accurate bullet ot of a 1 in 48 twist.
I also lube wirh SPG blackpowder lube.
Hands down the very best conicle blackpowder lube made by Steve Garb.
I would consistantly get a 5 shot MOA at 100 yrds with that bullet and it was just light enough to not rainbow out to 100yrds like all the 350grn plus conicles do.
:hatsoff:

 

[jbiros]

Not set on conicals....would love to use round balls, but i was under the impression 1-48 twist was better for shorter style conicals. If round balls work....I am very happy with them.

Most hunting shots here are well within 75 yards, and targets def no more than 100 at the few shoots I have been too.

 

[jbiros]

Thanks....always willing to try different things.

 

[BrownBear]

...but i was under the impression 1-48 twist was better for shorter style conicals.

Pure stewed prunes.

Lots of original rifles (including the vaunted Hawken rifles) were 1:48. No dust on their accuracy rep with RBs. The difference is that 1:48's like TC's often have shallower rifling to ease loading with conicals. Easy fix with a little tighter patch/ball combo.

 

[palonghunter]

I shoot patched balls out a 1:48 twist barrel all the time. Accuracy is at least as good as it is with the conicals I've tried. Balls are cheaper and they kill (deer at least) just as well as conicals do.

 

[rodwha]

I have a Lyman's Deerstalker .50 cal with the deeper PRB grooves of 1:48". I've merely broken it in with ~200 shots and at 50 yds it does OK, though I found that my eyesight is much worse than I thought.

I just had to see what shooting a conical was like and bought some cast 320 grn Lee REALs. Using my typical 70 grn charge of 3F Olde Eynsford that I use for my .490" PRB's my first shot was maybe a foot left and a bit low and had keyholed. Reading that a felt wad may help I tried again. It was just below the bull and flew straight. Another shot showed it nearly touching.

Needless to say I bought a mold as it obviously shows promise. It's done much better than a PRB, though I admit I haven't adjusted ball size, patch size, or patch lube, and have only used Pyrodex P and RS, as well as 3F Olde E and 3F Triple 7. So I can't say it doesn't like a PRB as well yet.

My concern with conicals is that some of them are undersized and can easily slide off of the charge creating a dangerous situation. It's why I went with the REAL.

 

[house]

I have a 1/48 twist T/C Hawken and it shoots PRB very well. I did have to try different patches to see what worked best for my gun though. All shot well but .018 works the best for me.

 

[eaglesnester]

I think that the standard military charge for Minnie ball on both sides (civil war) was around 60-65grains. This charge kept the skirt from coming apart from gas pressure and spin or so they tell me I could be wrong. I have never had good luck with conicals in my Thompson Center 50 cal hawken. No accuracy at all. I did however find that 50 caliber Great Plains hand cast bullets shot very well with 90 to 100 grains of 3f. I do have to say that the recoil was very stout, enough to make yur eyes water, knock yur glasses of and spin yur hat sideways.

 

[MadscoutB5]

I have a TC hawken with a percussion lock and it loves the Hornady Great Plains conicals (385gr) backed by 90gr of FFF. That combo give me about 1.5" groups at 75yds if I do my job as a competent shooter (that's a big 'if!') :grin: . I dug one of those out of the dirtpile I shoot into on my property and average expansion was over 1" consistently!

My groups are comparable with the TC maxi hunter 275gr and 70-80gr but I like the heavier bullet so I can get a little more oomph downrange.

I have seen the bullets from precision rifle and am thinking of trying those as well. here's the link: www.prbullet.com

One thing I like about the sight is that it provides a chart showing which of his bullets are best suited for which twist rates. Again, I haven't tried pr bullets, but they could be an option if the others don't work out for you.

As far as performance on deer, the Hornady dropped a huge doe where she stood at 90yds. Actually, it looked more like was knocked off of her feet and landed a few feet past where she was when I pulled the trigger.

Hope my limited experience is useful for you. :idunno:

 

[roundball]

Has anyone had good success with a patched round ball in a 1 in 48 twist?

Other than starting out with T/C's .45cal/255grn Maxi-Hunters back in the 90's, I switched to PRBs and never looked back. When I first began getting some T/C Hawkens they had the standard factory 28" x 1:48" barrels on them.
In range tests under same conditions one weekend, all three barrels shot into 1+7/8" - 2+3/4" groups at 100yds benched...I have no doubt that someone who is a better shot would get even smaller groups. As stated above, tight fitting PRBs always seem to give the best accuracy.

Personally, for my east coast whitetail hunting in thick woods where shots average 35-50 yards, PRBs have proven to be more than enough in .45/.50/.54/.58/.62 calibers out of 1:48", 1:66", 1:70" twists in shallow groove, deep groove, square groove, and round bottom groove barrels over the past 20 years or so.

 

[Bougalee]

I second the vote for the Lee REAL bullet. My .50 cal. Pedersoli likes it better than anything else I've tried. I believe the twist is 1-48". I lube it with Lee Liquid bullet lube.

 

[bob308]

the 1-48 will shoot round ball real good. I have a .54 that does just fine with round ball it has a 1-48 twist. most original Hawkins had 1-48. for target and even hunting use the round ball save on powder and lead.

 

[Christophero]

I have had very good results with the T/C Maxi Hunter 355 grain conicals lubed with either Crisco or Bore Butter. The mold I have is the original design with more ogive on the nose than the style now employed. I am sure what is offered today are just as good. These are out of 1/48" Renegade and Hawkin barrels (T/C). I use 65 grains of fffg geox. Much more than that and the soft pure lead stripped out of the rifling on my rifles. Accuracy is excellent.
The Cabela's Blue Ridge long rifle sports a 1/48" barrel, too, if memory serves me correctly. It shoot those conicals pretty well, too, with the same load. I use this for both target and hunting.

The shorter White Mountain Carbine once owned had a much quicker twist rate and only shot the 325 grain Lee REAL bullets accurately. Couldn't get the Maxi Hunters to group at all in that gun.

I am, as late, intrigued by the patched round balls, though. Something new to work on.