Lee improved minnie traditional design

[navaman]

i'm going to start casting this bullet for t/c white mountain carbine with the 1:20 twist. the bullet length is 1/32 under an inch. what do you guys think. i'm the one that had all the problems with the R.E.A.L. bullets at 250 grains. oh yeah! i foung some real deal goex black powder. can't wait to hear from you. i'm picking up the mold today

 

[eelclam]

In a .50 cal 1-20 twist at 1100 feet per second (fps) optimal bullet length is 1.5 inches 1500 fps 1.75 inches at 1800fps 2 inches.

with a bullet length just under an inch the optimal fps should be about 450 feet per second.

It is not that the bullet will over spin it is that as you increase the charge the bullet will not stay engaged in the rifling both rather ride over it.

At the low charge you would need to keep that from happening the bullet won't bump upor expand into the rifling.

You may find a spot a charge in the middle the will work maybe somewhere around 800 fps, but that will limit range and performance.

Check out this handi calculator
[url] http://www.uslink.com/~tom1/twistrate.htm[/url]

Good luck

 

[navaman]

i think i have the bought the most worthless product t/c ever made :cursing:

 

[Runner]

Check with the guys on HuntAmerica. One of the guys there was producing and selling the type of bullets you need for that twist. The really fast twist barrels are a pain in muzzleloaders unless you plan to shoot the big bullets only. The big bullets over a moderate powder charge are good hunting bullets. They are good target bullets also. They are not what you would carry in your pouch while you trek off into the woods for a week planning on surviving on what you shoot.

 

[navaman]

sheesh! after reading eelspike's post i just feel like :surrender: throwin' in the towel. it seems as if i'm going to be forced into buying my bullets. that's a shame 'cause i relly like casting my own.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

I don't have one of those, have never seen anybody shoot one, but isn't it designed with sabots in mind? You might try paper patched rifle slugs Maybe Lyman or Lee makes a mold or RCBS. I know for a fact that they work in BP cartridge rifles but none of 'em are .50's that I know of.
If all else fails send the barrel off and get it bored out and rifled for a .54 or a .58, then You would have something unique.

 

[navaman]

is the 45/70 the same diameter as a .50? lee sells some molds for 45/70 bullets. bear with me guys i'm trying hard to overcome this problem but i'm too green to do it on my own. thanks.

 

[navaman]

Christmas kind of wiped me out. i'd have to wait to do something like that

 

[BrownBear]

Don't know where theory ends and reality starts, but the numbers don't hold up for what I see in the field. For example, the 54 cal 380 grain REAL shoots crazy @ 1400 fps out of my 1:32.

I'd shoot it and see what you get, then go looking for numbers if it doesn't work out.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

Just checked my Lyman catalog, they do indeed make .50 cal molds meant for BP guns, and 2 different types of slugs. These would have to be paper or maybe teflon patched or course, but that is out of my expertise, I've just seen it done, but no .50's. I just know it would work. But I'm unsure if the Lyman slugs are meant to be paper patched - you would have to contact them to find out the OD of these slugs.

 

[J.D.]

The 45-70 takes a .457 bullet. You need a bullet in the diameter range of .512, or maybe slightly larger. Such a bullet will difficult to load in a ML, as the bullet will probably fill the grooves.

The suggestion to rebarrel you rifle is probably the best bet if you choose to not shoot sabots.
J.D.

 

[navaman]

from what i understand that 1:32 twist will shoot a lot of different things real good

 

[navaman]

any idea what a job like that would cost and who i could talk to?

 

[eelclam]

.50 cal moulds are indeed available from lyman and others these they are usually
used for black powder cartrage but will work well for you they may need to be sized to fit and they need to be lubed up but don't get depressed. I would suggest you buy some already cast to see what works for you before buying moulds. These bullets don't use paper patches. Bore butter in the grooves works for me. [url] http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=219011 http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=197992[/url]

 

[Runner]

Like I said, check with rattus or Don Wald on HuntAmerica. A bunch of them shoot White rifles with about the same specifications as your barrel. They use bore sized conicals. The big advanatage is that you get to learn what your gun likes before you buy a mold. Try Underclocked on Missouri Whitetails. He has posted some pretty nice targets shot out of barrels with pretty close specs to the one you have over the years. Don't tell them I sent you! They don't like me much!

 

[J.D.]

any idea what a job like that would cost and who i could talk to?

Green mountain makes drop in barrels for TC's.
Track of the Wolf might have them, as should other major ML suppliers.