I shoot minies all the time. Do they move? Short answer, maybe. If your minie is way undersized and you handle your rifle roughly with muzzle pointing down, then it's possible. The issues stated previously with cavalry, let's think that one through, horse galloping, walking trotting, yup, there's enough vibration to cause it. Just walking around hunting and not seriously vibrating the gun- no. Think it through, experiment by walking around with the gun all day and check to see if it's moved. My bet is-no.
do loaded minnie balls move
- Thread starter Texas Gil
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I cannot say. I have never left a minie in the barrel of my Enfield for more than a few seconds.
yes, conicals can move off the powder, ESPECIALLY while hunting.
All that walking around can jostle things and move that bullet, use a card.
I ringed a barrel a few years back due to this issue. Lucky I had a spare for the rifle.
I only use a conical as a second shot if I missed, I use a card and I try and limit the amount of extra walking I may do, and when I get to a new spot I will run my rod down the barrel just to make sure.
All that walking around can jostle things and move that bullet, use a card.
I ringed a barrel a few years back due to this issue. Lucky I had a spare for the rifle.
I only use a conical as a second shot if I missed, I use a card and I try and limit the amount of extra walking I may do, and when I get to a new spot I will run my rod down the barrel just to make sure.
I had maxi-balls fall out of my 54 Renegade when loaded on a clean barrel. also had 54 Minnie's fall out of the same gun. Got rid of it back in '75
hanshi
Cannon
I'll admit that I've never had a minie slide off the powder while out shooting/hunting. But I know that it can and has happened. I had a Zouave I bought over 50 years ago. It did concern me as a possibility however. At home I loaded a minie as usual - no powder though - and held it muzzle downward and shook it. The minie slid down the bore to the muzzle.
To solve that problem I sort-of "paper patched" it. A square of 2-ply bathroom tissue was separated into two single plies. With the minie well lubed a ply of tissue was wrapped around the bullet & held in place by the lube. Try as I might I could not get the minie to move once seated. Accuracy was as good as ever and roaming the woods was a regular thing with no minie movement.
To solve that problem I sort-of "paper patched" it. A square of 2-ply bathroom tissue was separated into two single plies. With the minie well lubed a ply of tissue was wrapped around the bullet & held in place by the lube. Try as I might I could not get the minie to move once seated. Accuracy was as good as ever and roaming the woods was a regular thing with no minie movement.
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I guess one could also take a fouling shot before loading the conical for the day. I usually carry muzzle up or level when hunting unless it's raining all day like it was when I ringed the .50 cal with a Maxie. Also a Maxie is a lot heavier than is a Minie for the same length.
I think the idea of paper patching a Minie or Maxie to bore diameter is a great idea !
I've been using oven parchment paper for bullet patch paper. It works good and is tough.
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Couple things. A minie is a chance heavier than a round ball and given gravity (not just a good idea, but the law) and an occasional whack, one can see it migrating a tad in a clean barrel. Since one would be worried about the vagaries of a hunt or long walk in the woods rather than the control inherit at a rifle range, consider what I do. First, consider firing a round to dirty the bore, a bore which will now give some grip to the next minie. Or this: I dip-lube minies with SPG. For a minie that will reside a while in the barrel, I don't remove excess lube. Just loading a heavily lubed minie in the bore will anchor it till fired.
They sure move when the trigger is pulled 
The old No Excuses 535 grain conicals basically slip down the barrel of my 54 the lube helps hold them though. My hand cast minies are even looser so I might have to try a little paper patching. They don't shoot well at all.
I never had a problem with my .58 cal Kodiak double rifle, using 120 gr 2Fg and Minnie's. After repeating checking after firing the first shot, the 2nd was always still seated. I found out it was WAY too much for deer. With the Minnie, if three deer were standing in a row, you would probably have three deer to carry out of the woods. I changed to round balls and 90 gr. 2Fg.
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Unless you've dry balled ! I wonder if a musket cap will push a dry balled minie clear of the barrel ?They sure move when the trigger is pulled
Uhmmm, no. I've had to deal with one or two from a team member.
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“Team member”…. ;-)
SamTex1949
32 Cal.
maybe a simple rule would be "if it slides down easily , then it can slide out too " !!
Not me but somebody both Pathfinder and I know well.
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If the minie is of proper diameter for your bore and it has thick lube on it then it won't move easily.
However, I have used a thin strip of cloth (like maybe 3/16" wide) across the bore when loading in order to create an interference fit.
However, I have used a thin strip of cloth (like maybe 3/16" wide) across the bore when loading in order to create an interference fit.
This is the answer! Long ago my friends shot Minie balls with no accuracy at all. A 4 foot cardboard was safe at 50 yards. I lapped the molds for a tight fit and they were hitting the 200 meter gong.
With the loose fit before, the skirts did not flare evenly.
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My Parker-Hale 1858 2 band rifle has a .577" bore and I size my Minies to .576". No movement.
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The N-SSA folks shoot fairly tight mini's for accuracy's sake. In my experience, the ball sliding was never an issue after thousands of rounds. A tight minie and proper lube seems to work fine to keep it in place.
