I had trouble with Minie's, even lubed ones, leading up my barrel until I tried this:
1)Start the minie in the barrel leaving the nose at or slightly above the muzzle.
2)Fill the space between the bullet nose and the inside edge of the muzzle with Crisco. Don't pack it in, use just enough to get a gap free ring of Crisco all the way around the bullet nose out to the inside of the barrel at the muzzle.
3)Seat the bullet with a patched jag. This will coat the bore slightly and push some lube downbore with the bullet.
4)Use just one stroke in (to seat the Minie) and then out with the patched jag. This will take out the worst of the fouling. You're now ready to shoot.
This has worked well for me with both lubed and unlubed Minies, though I almost always at least wipe a thin film of lube on the bullet with my fingers before starting. It also helps keep conicals & sabots easy to load and consistent. The big variable is how much Crisco you work in around the nose of the bullet before seating. Too much and the bore gets sloppy and you get some fliers. When that happens, try loading every other one with a ring of Crisco until accuracy returns.
One Big Caveat: This is something I came up with on my own, never saw it recommended anywhere else. There may be good reasons for not using this approach. I can only say it has worked well for me on minies, conicals and sabots and has never caused a problem.
Handling lubed minies was always messy and I still had leading problems. This approach puts the lube where it's needed; on the inside of the barrel ahead of the bullet. I've often had runs of 20 shots or more with good accuracy and no need to clean. Leading is a thing of the past.
YMMV
Bob
