conicals...help!!

[cboarder]

just got first flintlock..traditions pa pellet and bought lee 50cal conical mould went out to try rifle and could not get conical to load past end of barrel..but got 490 ball and 10thou patch to load great...do the conicals take a gorilla to load ?..i'm toldally new to this and didn't want to burst barrel by jamming it in..any ideas ?...rifle is 50 cal and mold is 50 so help :surrender:

 

[MikeFromON]

Are you shooting Lee REAL conicals, or some other type? Lee makes several different conical molds in .50 cal. Most Minie-type conicals are smaller than bore so they go down the barrel easily, but the REAL bullet has a band that is overbore so it can be quite difficult to load. In any case, all conicals require lubrication, so maybe a bit of wax or grease will help your situation.

 

[BrownBear]

Additionally, if you used an alloy rather than pure lead to cast a REAL, seating can be harder than hard.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

REAL slugs have the top band larger than bore and must be driven down - if you used lead with alloy in it (maybe wheel weights?) they will be more difficult to load. some have said they shot well though - good luck,

 

[faw3]

Most if not like REAL's might take a good slap from a short starter, I got a CVA 50 takes about 1/2 the minie or maxi balls and it is a 1/48 twist but it's gotten to be killer now with 3 months of trying to shoot everyday and shooting a 490 PRB. FRED :hatsoff:

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

First of all, welcome to the Forum! As to your present situation, if you are using unlubed Maxi's, you will have problems. Try some Bore Butter as a filler around the rings of the conical. If this doesn't work, use a mic to check the actual size of both the bore and the conicals that you made to see if they are the right size.

Your mold could be mismarked. If you buy a box of Maxi's for $12.00, you'll be able to use them in your rifle and you'll see where the lube goes and how much to use.

Let us know how you do.

Dave

 

[Kentuckywindage]

The REAL conicals were a PITA to load in my rifle too. Always had to use a short starter and pound on the end gently until it was in. After it was in the barrel it was like hot butter. Make sure you buy felt patches too, my rifle didnt like the REAL bullet until i added a felt wad at the bottom of the bullet.

 

[Dphar]

Sell the conical mould and shoot roundballs.
Conicals are overrated. Mostly pushed by people getting money from companys that make conicals and such. Since the "new is better" syndrome always controls all gun magazines and almost all gun writers one must take everything one sees with a grain of salt.
For deer a 50 RB with 1/2 ball weight of fffg will kill as well as a 30-06 within 100-120 yards with similar shot placement so who needs a conical.
Shot placement is far more important than the bullet design.
Also note that in slow twists like a 1:48 the conical may be marginally stable and may not track properly through the animal. This can result in a broadside "heart shot" going through the liver and guts.
The latest generation of plastic tipped bullets used in inlines is bad for this based on my experience with 45-70 factory loads using this bullet design.
Dan

 

[cboarder]

ok i think i sorted it out...i melted wheel weights for my conicals..noticed lead too hard can't mark it with finger nail..thats why not starting easy..lol....begginer mistake i guess would use round ball mold but they didn't carry one when i bought rifle ..hard to find flintlock equipment in canada..good thing bought box round ball..thanks for help thou guys..