Conical For My KY Pistol

[Capnballhunter]

Hey folks,I have a Traditions Kentucky pistol which I built from a kit. Its a beauty and I put a lot of time into the finish. Shoots wonderfully with a patched .490 round ball but I'm still exploring different projectiles.

I have the .50 caliber version with a ten inch, 1/20" twist barrel. Looking for a traditional or simple conical bullet, not really into sabots and all that stuff.

I would prefer to cast my own. I plan to work up a good heavy load for whitetails if I find a bullet that shoots accurately enough.

Can anyone suggest a bullet mold that would be appropriate? Thanks in advance - Capnballhunter

 

[Don]

You can try a Lee R.E.A.L bullet mold. I tried them in one of my ML rifles and didn't like them much. I've had good luck shooting light Thompson Center conicals and Hornaday PA conicals. Both were pretty accurate out of my pistols and because they were under 300 grains weight the recoil was very manageable.

Don

 

[Patocazador]

REALs shoot pretty good in my .45 cal. Patriot. Try a lighter-weight one in your .50 cal. Lee molds are pretty inexpensive. I have 13 of them.

 

[Capnballhunter]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Lee products, from the old Lee Loader to bullet molds. I think I may give the REAL bullet a spin I just purchased their 450-200-1R mold and am extremely happy, as always with a Lee product.

 

[rodwha]

DD4 has some of the heavier 320 grn .50 cal REALs. You may ask about them and see if you can get a few to try before buying a mold that doesn't work.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showuser.php?uid/30474/

 

[bearbullets]

I think Buffalo sells something called the Ballet and its available thru cabelas and other retailers. Its a bit longer than a ball. In all honesty I think the 490 ball out a 10 inch barrel would work on whitetail with the right charge and range. Its a limited application thing either way and Id go with the ball just so I dont shake the gun loose with something too heavy for it to handle.

 

[cynthialee]

I think Buffalo sells something called the Ballet and its available thru cabelas and other retailers. Its a bit longer than a ball. In all honesty I think the 490 ball out a 10 inch barrel would work on whitetail with the right charge and range. Its a limited application thing either way and Id go with the ball just so I dont shake the gun loose with something too heavy for it to handle.

Unfortunately for me my best accuracy charge in my .50 cal Hawken Pistol is 10 grains shy of what Big Brother thinks is the minimum needed charge to kill Bambi. If I go up to the 40 grain minimum in the pistol my shots open up and I get groups that are more akin to a shotgun pattern. Now I have every confidence that 30 grains of 3f pushing a .490 ball can hit and kill a deer at my max comfortable range of 30 yards. But my opinion is not the important part here. So I do not get to hunt with the pistol.

 

[azmntman]

Simple! Load 30 gains and carry several 40 grain loads in your possibles bag to show big brother! If needing a back up shot just pour 3/4 of the load in (or like me you may spill about 1/4 during excited reload)!!

 

[cynthialee]

You know that had crossed my mind, but I tend to fly straight. I have proper rifles and smooth bore long guns to do the job. Only reason I have to hunt with the pistol is to say I did it. Not good enough reason to bend the rules.

 

[nkbj]

Well, sometimes you just have to select the powder charge and then finagle it into being accurate enough to do the job.

 

[Baby Huey]

Why bother with a conical? I have a 25 year old 50 cal single shot pistol by CVA which has had thousands of patched balls shot through it and will still give a respectable group at 25 yards with 25 grains of FFF black powder (Goex), It will work at 50 yards with enough power to send the ball through a 2X4 with that load and the maximum I have used in it was 60 grains.

 

[rodwha]

I certainly commend one who plays by the rules.

 

[tenngun]

I have one of those c.v.a "trapper" pistol in 50 cal. With a 45 grain charge of 3f have killed 3 deer with it at ranges of 20-30 yards. Two whitetails and one fair sized mule deer in wyoming in 1980. All were through and through and quik klls. All were kills of opertunity and not 'hunting'at the time. I like a long gun to hunt with, however I know a prb in range will put meat on the table. I doubt that a conical will give you any longer range.

 

[Capnballhunter]

I have one of those c.v.a "trapper" pistol in 50 cal. With a 45 grain charge of 3f have killed 3 deer with it at ranges of 20-30 yards. Two whitetails and one fair sized mule deer in wyoming in 1980. All were through and through and quik klls. All were kills of opertunity and not 'hunting'at the time. I like a long gun to hunt with, however I know a prb in range will put meat on the table. I doubt that a conical will give you any longer range.

I know full well the capabilities of the round ball and pistols in general for hunting, hence the username. One of the cleanest kills I've ever made on a whitetail was with a 12" barreled, brass frame 1858 Buffalo loaded with 30 grains of Pyrodex P and a .454 round ball. Heart shot, in one side and out the other...

I've been using round ball exclusively for better than 20 years but just began casting my own slugs not long ago. This gives me an inexpensive way to test out various projectiles.

 

[rafterob]

I too have the Traditions Kentucky pistol. I believe you would need a "real" type conical because these barrels have deep rifling. I have some 2 banded conicals that work pretty well and are fairly easy to load. I bought them off a trade table, hand cast so I have no idea what they are. There was a 3 band and a 2 band. the 3 band are a near no-go for loading. I only target shoot with mine so gave up on conicals a few years ago.

 

[BEP]

Going against the tide here but I'd be wary about shooting conicals in your pistol due to the recoil. I don't have a Traditions Kentucky but I do have two CVA Kentucky pistols and I believe that they are similar in construction. On my pistols the only things that hold the barrels to the stocks is the small amount of wood under the nosecap and the tang bolt. Not very much. So I've always used gentle to medium loads in mine; nothing stout or robust. Of course, if your barrel is also secured by a pin or a wedge you shouldn't have the concerns that I do. But if Traditions builds them like CVA did, I'd think twice. Just my .02. Have fun.

 

[crockett]

This is an open question for all our ballistic experts. There is a Florida hog hunting group that uses 240 gr conicals that work great but I am now thinking things over a bit... If we think about rifles, the PRB is fine at short ranges, the velocity drops off at longer ranges and a conical starts to be better. At very close ranges the ball is faster than the conical.
So...in a pistol(short range), I've just assumed a conical is better but I really don't know. If a ball had a higher velocity would it be better than a conical?

 

[Patocazador]

The nose shape of the bullet is the most important thing in my opinion. I think about 40% of Elmer Keith's stories are partially fabricated BUT he was right about the "Keith" bullet. A flat nose or SWC shape is more lethal than a round nose in my experience (and Elmer's). I shoot 200 gr. REALs and 255gr. flat-nosed bullet in my Ruger Old Army and have killed both hogs and a deer with it.

 

[rodwha]

The higher sectional density/mass of the conical also helps generate more penetration. It may not be necessary though as I've read several accounts of RB's and complete passthroughs on medium game.

 

[FishDFly]

The higher sectional density/mass of the conical also helps generate more penetration.


Have any documentations of the higher sectional density/mass of the conical helps generate more penetration along with bullet weight and powder charge?

Should be interesting reading. your studies or someone else.