Lee REAL bullets

[firestick]

I use them in my .58 NA Buffalo hunter. They shoot great and hit like high speed brick. 2" at 50 yds and that is pretty good with my old eyes. Accuracy went way up using 15mm wool felt wads I punched myself. Home brew beeswax/neatsfoot oil mix for bullet lube and a bit of moose milk on the wad. Keeps the barrel fouling to dang near nothing and loading is super easy and consistent.

 

[firestick]

In a .50 cal use a 9/16" cutter. You can find punch cutters that size on fleabay or Amazon. 1/8 Hard wool felt.
get it from durofelt. Copy and paste this and do a google search......
Duro-Felt Products

 

[BillRob]

OK, what is a Lee REAL bullet? Is it any better or worse in a simple CVA Flintlock?
I say a mold for a regular 250 grain bullet (.50 cal) and a mold for a 320 grain REAL bullet. Which one would you recommend?
Thanks
Jeremy

I have hunted with a .54 cal TC Hawken for almost 40 years and found the REAL bullets to be too difficult to load in a hurry (followup shot) using real black powder. They engrave at loading (thus the name) and for me they were just too tight in anything but a perfectly clean bore. I did find them to be accurate in my gun.

 

[William O.]

A couple of questions:

Are you lubing the bullet too?
What over powder wad is a good choice? Pre-lubed or soaked in olive oil, etc. or both?

wm

I just used the pre-lubed "Wonder Wads" but at the velocity that the conical bullets are launched at when using black powder, there really isn't a problem with leading the bore so minimal or no lube at all works fine when it comes to the Lee REAL projectiles. Others, like the T/C & Great Plains conicals (if I remember correctly) can use the LubeAlox or just a mixture of beeswax and olive oil. Just use very low heat and a ratio of about 5/1 was to oil. Add more BW for more stiffness, then just place the bullets on the back ends in a shallow dish and pour your lube into the dish, up to the lube grooves, rings or whatever you call them. Let cool and just push them out. You'll have to adjust your wax to oil ratio to suit yourself but it works well. BTW, even though accuracy improved with the addition of a lubed wad, only the lightest REAL bullet I could find gave me outstanding accuracy, which was the 220 grain. Unfortunately, Lee no longer makes it and 250 grains is the starting point. However, those moulds are still out there and if you can't find someone willing to part with one then the owner might take pity on you and cast some for you. Send him some lead and postage for the return trip and it might be a good deal.
Out of my Great Plains Hunter barrel, the .50, 220 grain Lee REAL bullets propelled by 95 grains of 3f Goes would make one ragged hole in the target at 75 yards and I'm pretty sure that would take down a large elk and exit into the wild blue yonder on the other side. Always work up a load in your gun though and never exceed max powder charge for your particular barrel.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Do use pure lead to cast the Lee REAL bullets. Because the rifling engraves at loading, the hard lead will be difficult to load. For a 50 caliber rifle with a slow twist, the 250 grain REAL is better and the 320 grain bullet is better for fast twist barrels. At the present time Lee Precision does not have any REAL molds in stock.

 

[Woody Morgan]

I settled on Xlox lube with an OxYoke lubed overpowder wad soaked in olive oil under it. Ten shots with 70 grains of FFg before I even think about swabbing fouling that stays very soft and each round loads easily. 30 yard target hits are touching at center when I do my job and I'm still getting used to a flintlock.
I cast ten pounds of REALs today using pure lead from RotoMetals. The two cavity mold made it go lickety split. I ran the lead at 740 degrees. If I stopped, the mold was rested atop the pot to keep it hot. They turned out nicely with few wrinkles. I'm not new to casting, btw.

wm

 

[Rock Home Isle]

OK, what is a Lee REAL bullet? Is it any better or worse in a simple CVA Flintlock?
I say a mold for a regular 250 grain bullet (.50 cal) and a mold for a 320 grain REAL bullet. Which one would you recommend?
Thanks
Jeremy

These moulds come in two weights per calibre. The lower bullet weight results in a short stubby conical. I've found that in my guns with the long slow twist designed for shooting RBs, seems to work real well with the lower bullet weight R.E.A.L. Conicals.

 

[Woody Morgan]

The .50 250s are pretty wicked in my 1:48 Traditions Deerhunter. Looky!

wm