Loading a Maxi-ball

[Big Tom 52]

Not necessary to use the wad, but it would not necessarily be a detriment. However, personally, I oppose the use of maxi (or any kind of bullet) for ml hunting. My early experience with a TC 'hawken' and TC maxi balls was scary. In many parts of the country (southern Indiana for me at the time) ml deer season is usually early fall. Meaning, the mornings can be quite cool and temps rise sometimes to low 80's by noon. The barrel steel and lead projectile will expand at different rates and the bore lube can/will get soft. I found my maxi slid down the bore from carrying the rifle with the muzzle pointing down. That required reseating for safe shooting. For me, the possibility of failing to do that and having a disaster put me off of using maxi/mini/etc. bullets for the rest of my ml career with rifles designed for prb use. For the record, my deer killed with round balls ended up just as ded as they would have been with maxis.

Thanks for the heads up! I really never thought about that happening. I'm only going to try the Maxi's at the range, mostly out of curiosity. I have a good load worked up for hunting with a patched round ball.

 

[longcruise]

LC, sometimes I think you would try to patch a bowl of Cheerios before eating it.

Pretty hard core, bro.

Guilty as charged.

Another with maxis. I was at the club one day and there was a fella there shooting a very old bullet target rifle. He had paper patches with a round center the size of the bullet base and four wings the width of which added up to the circumference of the bullet. He centered the patch on the bore and loaded the bullet so that it wrapped itself as he loaded. His targets weren't that great but he was shooting offhand at 100 yards and he was an old guy (this was way before I became an old guy so.....)

Anyway I HAD to try it with maxis so I very laboriously designed a proper size patch and cut them out by hand. My targets were way worse than the old guy's so that was the end of that

 

[morehops52]

Guilty as charged.

Another with maxis. I was at the club one day and there was a fella there shooting a very old bullet target rifle. He had paper patches with a round center the size of the bullet base and four wings the width of which added up to the circumference of the bullet. He centered the patch on the bore and loaded the bullet so that it wrapped itself as he loaded. His targets weren't that great but he was shooting offhand at 100 yards and he was an old guy (this was way before I became an old guy so.....)

Anyway I HAD to try it with maxis so I very laboriously designed a proper size patch and cut them out by hand. My targets were way worse than the old guy's so that was the end of that

I was thinking about trying that. I think you saved me some time and powder.

 

[longcruise]

I was thinking about trying that. I think you saved me some time and powder.

Might work for you if you fine tune it.

 

[morehops52]

I was thinking about trying that. I think you saved me some time and powder.

Might work for you if you fine tune it.

My maxis shoot just fine. I have been curious since reading about paper patched projectiles. But reading above got me thinking that's why I shoot maxis, I don't have to adjust anything, Well nothing but powder charge and which of the 1248 lube recipes is best and ....

 

[snakebit]

I don't have any experience shooting the TC maxis, but I do use a felt over powder wad with the Hornady PA conical bullets with great accuracy from my white mountain carbine. Think it's more of a peace of mind thing.

 

[M. De Land]

My maxis shoot just fine. I have been curious since reading about paper patched projectiles. But reading above got me thinking that's why I shoot maxis, I don't have to adjust anything, Well nothing but powder charge and which of the 1248 lube recipes is best and ....

I've shot paper patch bullets in cartridge guns both black powder and smokeless but to shoot them through a muzzle loader the very best accuracy is achieved when false muzzles are used for loaded.
I have not tried a paper patch bullet loaded from the muzzle but believe it would be problematic to load without patch damage if no false muzzle if fitted.

 

[M. De Land]

I've shot paper patch bullets in cartridge guns both black powder and smokeless but to shoot them through a muzzle loader the very best accuracy is achieved when false muzzles are used for loaded.
I have not tried a paper patch bullet loaded from the muzzle but believe it would be problematic to load without patch damage if no false muzzle.

Thinking on this a bit more perhaps a coned muzzle would work for loading paper patch bullets from the front end but then getting them seated straight shot to shot would rear it's ugly head me thinks.
I suppose some sort of seating jig (short of a full blown false muzzle) could be worked up for a muzzle loader just as is used for breech seating paper patch bullets.

 

[Bad Karma]

I think those were called sugar loaf bullets.

I tried patching maxi balls with thin t shirt material and it worked just fine. Course every time I say that I get told a bunch of reasons why I shouldn't do that.

Often the critics have never experimented beyond .018” or .020” patch material…

 

[Bad Karma]

Guilty as charged.

Another with maxis. I was at the club one day and there was a fella there shooting a very old bullet target rifle. He had paper patches with a round center the size of the bullet base and four wings the width of which added up to the circumference of the bullet. He centered the patch on the bore and loaded the bullet so that it wrapped itself as he loaded. His targets weren't that great but he was shooting offhand at 100 yards and he was an old guy (this was way before I became an old guy so.....)

Anyway I HAD to try it with maxis so I very laboriously designed a proper size patch and cut them out by hand. My targets were way worse than the old guy's so that was the end of that

I’m always looking for a 40 or 45 caliber patch cutter like that gentleman had. Not so easily made but target shooting used to swear by them. I have used a cross patching technique as suggested by Mr. Roberts and it works but it’s fussy…

 

[M. De Land]

I’m always looking for a 40 or 45 caliber patch cutter like that gentleman had. Not so easily made but target shooting used to swear by them. I have used a cross patching technique as suggested by Mr. Roberts and it works but it’s fussy.

Yeah, these are called cross patches and along with two and three strip patches all were designed for false muzzle use. Look in Ned Roberts book on percussion rifles and you will see various false muzzle arrangements and patch cutters for both linen and paper.
This style of false muzzle had a patch die fit to it so the patch was applied as the bullet was pushed through the false muzzle and into the bore of the barrel to keep every thing in perfect alignment.

 

[Bad Karma]

Yeah, these are called cross patches and along with two and three strip patches all were designed for false muzzle use. Look in Ned Roberts book on percussion rifles and you will see various false muzzle arrangements and patch cutters for both linen and paper.
This style of false muzzle had a patch die fit to it so the patch was applied as the bullet was pushed through the false muzzle and into the bore of the barrel to keep every thing in perfect alignment.

This can be done at the muzzle with properly sized bullets. It’s been a long time ago now but I tried it about the day after I read about the cross patch. Mr.Roberts knew a thing or two about the muzzleloading cap lock rifle.

I’m always on the lookout for the guns and gear he wrote about. Never seem to find any of that stuff. Mostly just old Winchesters, ww1 rifles and colts…

 

[Maven]

My first BP rifle was a .45cal. T/C Cherokee which I shot with both RB's (.440") and T/C Maxi-Balls, which I cast. As it was nigh on impossible to get BP where I live, I used Pyrodex RS more often than not. Having said that, I must also say, the bbl. on my Cherokee was extraordinarily accurate with both kinds of projectiles.

About Maxi-Balls: way more recoil than a RB! Moreover, Maxi-Ball accuracy really depends on how well the front band fits, i.e., is engraved by the rifling and how careful you are in casting and loading them: Got to be perfect and loaded straight. To that end, I've found the T/C Maxi-Ball moulds cast more consistently than the Lyman product (don't ask....). A Lee Precision REAL, if it casts large enough and is truly engraved by the rifling, is equally accurate.

 

[longcruise]

@Bad Karma one thing that I thought about was instead of a cutting die, maybe two strips of paper of exact correct width could be precisely matched in a cross with a dab of glue.

I never tried it though. Always have more ideas than patience.

 

[Maven]

Here's a nice .50cal. T/C Maxi-Ball mould for sale* from another site: WTS: TC 50 cal MAXI-Ball

*Not my mould; seller is trustworthy.