Lyman .452 down to .447??

[Maxjon]

Hi all, I have a 45 Colt mold which is .452" Has anyone sized this bullet down for use in a 45 Muzzleloader? I think it will have to be sized down to .447 or .448, but I will know soon when I measure the bore of my Kentuckian 45.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

Knowing the bore size, rifling groove depth, and rifling rate of twist will tell you if its possible or not.

If the grooves aren't too deep, you can size and paper patch the bullet to fit.

Here's something to consider also: if the twist rate isn't fast enough, a conical bullet won't be stabilized very well. This can affect accuracy.

Every black powder enthusiast should have a small hole gauge set and a dial caliper

 

[Maxjon]

Knowing the bore size, rifling groove depth, and rifling rate of twist will tell you if its possible or not.

If the grooves aren't too deep, you can size and paper patch the bullet to fit.

Here's something to consider also: if the twist rate isn't fast enough, a conical bullet won't be stabilized very well. This can affect accuracy.

Every black powder enthusiast should have a small hole gauge set and a dial caliper

The twist is 1/32, should be fine, I have an aresenal of measuring equipment, just haven't measured the bore, and groove yet.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

Yes that twist is perfect. Check out some threads on paper patching a bullet and you could be good to go!

 

[LongWalker]

I played with it a little bit, back when I had a .45 rifle sitting around. I had best results with a hollow-based Lyman 454190, cast of 30:1 lead:tin. Bullet was sized to .001" over bore (not groove) diameter; I had to clean between shots. Ten shot groups ran about 3-4" at 100 yards.

In general, it was more trouble than it was worth.

 

[Maxjon]

I played with it a little bit, back when I had a .45 rifle sitting around. I had best results with a hollow-based Lyman 454190, cast of 30:1 lead:tin. Bullet was sized to .001" over bore (not groove) diameter; I had to clean between shots. Ten shot groups ran about 3-4" at 100 yards.

Yes that's a bit of work for 3-4 inch groups @100m....I would expect a lot tighter than that. I'm also toying with the idea of trying a HB Minie of 350gns

In general, it was more trouble than it was worth.

 

[52Bore]

You really need to know your bore diameter.. No need to size more than needed.

Here is an AC Gould 330gr 0.458” bullet that I ran thru a .450/.458” piece of barrel when I played with pre-rifled bullets years ago.
Pure lead, note the displacement of lead..

 

[Bad Karma]

I can’t imagine you’re going to need to size all the way down to .447. After slugging the barrel I’d go directly to .001 over bore, lube and shoot that. Yes, you’ll need to wipe between shots but once you have the routine down it’s really not a big thing.