Conical in my 45 Cherokee?

[Big Tom 52]

I been getting conflicting answers so I would like to get you gentlemen's opinion. .

Can I shoot conical bullets out of my Cherokee rifle with a 1:48 twist barrel? Some say yes and some say no because i wouldn't get good accuracy. I really don't want to try until I get your replies! thanks!!

 

[Grenadier1758]

The T/C 45 caliber Maxi-Ball will work in your rifle and the 45 cal Lee REAL conical is worth trying also.

 

[Bad Karma]

Yes. I’ve been shooting the Accurate Molds 45-340I which was designed for the TC 1 in 48 barrels. It’s working beautifully.

I’ve used the .45 Gould’s bullet from a Lyman mold and the maxiball too.

 

[Nobade]

Mine works very well with the Lyman 45 caliber minie'.

 

[nkbj]

If I still had a Cherokee I'd be trying a .45ACP mold cast with soft lead, loaded with some card wads. Don't know if I could get it to work but it sure would be fun trying it out.

 

[user 48679]

I have both a Cherokee & a Seneca .45, in which I've been shooting whitetail deer with T/C Maxi-Hunter conicals for over 35 years, w/o any accuracy issues (I use Holy Black, & not BP substitutes)

 

[Critter Getter]

The Maxi Hunter and Maxi Ball shot fine out of mine. Just don’t load too hot as the stocks were prone to cracking. Greg

 

[Gtrubicon]

I’ve been interested in trying different loads using cast bullets. I sure would like to here more on this.

 

[Bigpete]

Try it and find out

 

[Bad Karma]

The Maxi Hunter and Maxi Ball shot fine out of mine. Just don’t load too hot as the stocks were prone to cracking. Greg

And don’t over tighten the lock bolt. Most of the TC stock cracks I’ve seen were caused by this. More than hot loading by a long mile…

 

[SamTex1949]

BEST ANSWER !!!!!!

Try it and find out

 

[Marshhawk]

My CVA .45 does pretty well with the Maxi-Ball, but not so much with the R.E.A.L.

 

[Wildrangeringreen]

1:48 should stabilize a bullet that's around 1- 1.33x the bore diameter if you get the velocity up reasonable. Granted this just in an online calculator, but AM 45-248 (.61" length) should be reasonably stable down to even 1300fps. Once you go much over bore diameter in length, or use a design with a more rearward center of mass, your rate of twist requirements start getting faster pretty quick. Best of luck, let us know how it turns out!

 

[gonpce]

Mine loves maxi hunter. Shot an 8 pt a few years ago at about 95 yards drt

 

[longcruise]

I've been playing with Lee 452 255 gr semi wad cutter in my TC 1:48. Cast from pure lead and sized to .451. Results are good. But, if you are going to get into purchasing a mold specific probably makes more sense to get a ML design.

 

[Oldhickory]

You will find a more Harmonious outcome if you protect the base of the bullet from gas cutting when shot. Perhaps wonder wads or a reasonable amount of corn meal filler. Keep in mind that most conical bullet bases do not adequately engage the lands and grooves.

 

[longcruise]

You will find a more Harmonious outcome if you protect the base of the bullet from gas cutting when shot. Perhaps wonder wads or a reasonable amount of corn meal filler. Keep in mind that most conical bullet bases do not adequately engage the lands and grooves.

Something to think about if using modern bullets with a bevel base. Ive never used anything between the bullet and powder but I might give it a try.

 

[Wildrangeringreen]

Something to think about if using modern bullets with a bevel base. Ive never used anything between the bullet and powder but I might give it a try.

It also depends on the depth of rifling. Shallow(<.005") grooves have no issue having the bullet upset into the grooves with any charge of consequence. Deep grooves (like some believe you HAVE to have to shoot a patched ball (fyi, you dont, and there are advantages to not having deep grooves)) have more issues with getting a bullet to obturate the barrel before gas starts to erode the bullet base. In my and most people's experience, you dont gain much from using something under the bullet, as BP's pressure build up is almost instantaneous, and that is ideal for smashing the base of the bullet out into the rifling before the bullet really gets moving (in shallow groove barrels).

IMO, have your bullet diameter .001-.003" under bore and you'll be fine with the type of rifling TC was using (shallow). You'll have more issues with the bullet wanting to strip off the rifling in a shallow groove barrel (if you're pushing closer to 1800fps+) than base erosion. Something to think about is paper patching, especially if you are interested in pushing the velocity.

Not to get off topic, but many of the early .40 and .45 brass cartridge chambers were bored such that you HAD to use a bore sized projectile; otherwise, the cartridge wouldn't fit (a hold-over from the ML days). Those did just fine

 

[Bill Bryan]

I tried a mini ball in .45 years ago in my Seneca. The mold was from TC. The accuracy was OK but the prb was better. Bill

 

[ohio ramrod]

I use a short two band hollow based mini with 40 grain FFF in my T.C. forty fives with good results. I would offer to send you some to try, but I am recovering from back surgery and won't be working in the shop for a while.