Hunting w/ Minie Ball

[Benjamin Martin]

Hey all,
I haven't posted here in some time.I usually do more reading than posting.Anyhow, I want to buy a mold for one of my .50 rifles.I've always cast round balls, but never any conicals.I'm thinking of getting a Lee improved Minie mold.Anyone ever use these for hunting?I'm sure they'll kill fine, but I don't know if they'll hadle heavier charges.Should I go with the Lee REAL bullet intead?Thanks!

 

[Little Wattsy]

In doing the same "reasearch" I called and talked to a tech at LEE and thier suggestion for hunting (expecially if you have a faster rate of twist in the barrel) was the REAL bullet. they stated that the "minnie" was a "paper" bullet.

For what is worth.............

 

[BrownBear]

The 54 cal version is a Jim Dandy, so I'm betting that Lyman's 395 grain 50 cal #508656 will be too. Accurate as can be and that big flat nose does the job on game. Slap your mouse here to get to the Lyman home page.

 

[Bearbait2]

Mr. Martin,
Our experience with the Lee .54cal Improved Minnie has been the same as Mr. BrownBear. Really smacks 'em hard with excellent penetration on Moose and Caribou.
The Lee REAL has also served us quite well but in our weapons, it had to be cast from pure lead for best accuracy.
Best Wishes

 

[longcruise]

I played with the .50 lee modern minie for a while and got great accuracy with lower charges and not so great when the charge went much over 6o grains. I don't think you can expect good accuracy from any of the thin skirted hollow base bullets. They seem to blow out and turn your bullet into a badminton bird! :haha:

My wife used the .58 Target minie with good success on mule deer at under 50 yards and 60 grains of powder.

Maxi balls shoot with good accuracy in my TC .50 but they don't kill very well. Think it's the pointy nose. Never tried the REAL on game but in both .54 and .50 the accuracy was good at 50 yards and terrible at 100. And, then there's that same old pointy nose.

Don't hunt with conicals any more, but if I do it again it will be with a .50 cal and the Lyman great plains conical.

so, there you are with another opinion. Take it fwiw! :wink:

 

[Benjamin Martin]

Thanks for the replies.
My biggest worry was how they would hold up with heavier charges, say 90 - 100 grs.I'm still thinking about what route I want to take.

 

[Little Wattsy]

Thanks for the replies.
My biggest worry was how they would hold up with heavier charges, say 90 - 100 grs.I'm still thinking about what route I want to take.

"I played with the .50 lee modern minie for a while and got great accuracy with lower charges and not so great when the charge went much over 6o grains. I don't think you can expect good accuracy from any of the thin skirted hollow base bullets. They seem to blow out and turn your bullet into a badminton bird! "


Haveing had this problem I have proven a ssolution....Pack thye hollow base with lube (T/C's wonder lube 1000 for me) the use a felt wad between the powder and minnie/connical and it will take 90 grains easy enough with OUT burning out the skirt.

Have written about this on another thread but doing this I completely got rid of all my "zingers" and can get 1.5 inch groups at 25 yards that equate to 3 in groups at 100 yards with 90 gr of Pyro RS.

 

[windwalker_au]

Thanks for the replies.
My biggest worry was how they would hold up with heavier charges, say 90 - 100 grs.I'm still thinking about what route I want to take.

"I played with the .50 lee modern minie for a while and got great accuracy with lower charges and not so great when the charge went much over 6o grains. I don't think you can expect good accuracy from any of the thin skirted hollow base bullets. They seem to blow out and turn your bullet into a badminton bird! "


Haveing had this problem I have proven a ssolution....Pack thye hollow base with lube (T/C's wonder lube 1000 for me) the use a felt wad between the powder and minnie/connical and it will take 90 grains easy enough with OUT burning out the skirt.

Have written about this on another thread but doing this I completely got rid of all my "zingers" and can get 1.5 inch groups at 25 yards that equate to 3 in groups at 100 yards with 90 gr of Pyro RS.

heres a better solution with the lee minis get a new base plug from lee and turn it down till you have a thicker skirt just use a screw to hold the base plug by drilling and tapping the botom of the base plug as seen in the pics,done like this i get 1-1/4" groups at 100 meters of x sticks in my .54 tryon with a load of 120grn wano ppp it smacks big hogs and scrub bulls like a bolt of lightning has hit them, this load is going 1595 fps
and gives 2398.3992 foot pounds of muzzel energy i think this load would be alrite for griz and moose with a well placed shot the mini is 425 grn.
bernie :thumbsup:

 

[gjkershul]

I am thinking of using a .58 Minie for Elk and Texas feral pigs this Fall and have a supply of 24 ga. shot wads that I will be trying out with 90 gr. Goex charges behind various minie type bullets. Perhaps they may do the same thing a rifle wad would do. The Enfield .58 used a 2 1/2 dram charge (68 grains) in the paper cartridge. The smooth English Prichert(sp) minie type bullet had a clay plug in the flared base of the minie to expand the bullet base. Perhaps the clay plug also helped prevent a blown skirt in conjuction with the paper wrapped around the bullet in the English Enfield cartridge.