Help with 50 cal Minie

[Sean Gadhar]

Well I have a 50 cal underhammer Rifle that is a bit of a safe queen.
Then I got a miss order of Rush Creek 50 Cal Minie from track of the wolf. . . . and they said, "our mistake, don't send them back, just keep them"




So now I'm thinking my Underhammer needs to try out Minies



But I don't know a bloody thing about them!!

Lube?
Powder loads?
Any special needs?

In short. . . .what don't I know that I don't Know about .50 Caliber Minies.

 

[dave951]

Oh man. where to start.

Twist rate and rifling depth have to be right to use minies. Minies need to be .001 to .002 under bore size to engage the rifling properly on ignition.

Lube- ask 5 people get 12 answers but the commonality is a natural based concoction. Melt lube and base dip ONLY the grooves and do NOT fill the base with anything. I use beeswax/lard/lanolin with very good results.

Powder charge- don't go crazy, more is not better. I'd start with about 40g 3f and work upwards looking at accuracy.

If everything is in balance, there should be no need to wipe between shots. When working up loads, you may well have to till you find that point.

Good luck, they can be wicked accurate.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Because Minie balls have that hollow base, a modest charge of powder is enough to enlarge the skirt around the base to engage the rifling and seal the bore. One reason that shallow rifling works better for the Minie ball to seal the bore. The hollow base also effectively shortens the length of the bullet so a slower twist will stabilize the Minie ball much like a slower twist for a round ball.

45 to 60 grains (volume) should be enough powder.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

.

Lube- ask 5 people get 12 answers but the commonality is a natural based concoction. Melt lube and base dip ONLY the grooves and do NOT fill the base with anything. I use beeswax/lard/lanolin with very good results.

I have a "Summer" Lube that is something like 5 parts bees wax, 2 parts Coconut Oil, 1 part Bear Fat. . . . it holds together into the 90s without melting away.

I just lubed 10 up with that. . . . hope to give them a go tomorrow

 

[ohio ramrod]

Mini's shoot best with low powder charges. I like an over powder wad to prevent the lube from 'wetting' the powder, since I use my mini's for deer hunting and the gun is often loaded for long periods.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Ok 1st, no throwing rocks!!! But I'll take the name calling. . . . . . Yes!!! You are seeing a picatinny rail on my Underhammer I wanted a M/L for night hunting Hogs

Anyway the Minies Shot great at 25 yards with 40 grains of FFFG, Shot a bit low at 50 yards, I then tried bumping up the powder to 50 Grains but the wind had come up and knocked over my paper target, I shot a few at a 8" steel at 70 yards & hit two missed two, but because I had no Idea how or where it grouped at 50, I can't blame the misses on anything but not knowing where to aim.

It was 102 degrees so by the time I had a cold range to reset my targets. . . .I just went and pulled them and headed for the AC