maxi balls ?

[plinking_mad]

New to this great forum, but not to powder burners.Two part question...
Anybody know why T/C went from the old 370gr. maxi ball, and all I can find on the shelf now are 320gr. ?

I've got a 370 mold, just wondered why they did this, and secondly, does the lube have any function other than ease of loading?

What's a good substitute for wonder lube/patch lube when you find yourself in a pinch?

 

[bubba.50]

no idea why they changed weight. maybe the slightly shorter bullets shot as well or better in their test guns. maybe just to give users a couple more shots per pound of lead. who knows?

the lube is not there to make loading easier. that's just a side benefit. the lube is to keep your bullet from smearing a coat of hard to remove lead the length of your barrel on firing.

luck to ya & welcome, bubba.

 

[excess650]

Conical lube? Crisco or other vegetable shortening, beeswax and olive oil, mink oil, etc.

I happen to like palm oil for a patch lube, and am experimenting with palm oil, olive oil, and mink oil in various combinations for patch lube.

You really want a lube that will combine with BP residue to keep the fouling soft. Petroleum products usually don't work in this regard.

 

[StewartLeach]

Excess, be careful with olive oil as a patch lube. I once set the dry grass at the range on fire when trying out olive oil as patch lube. Loaded and fired first shot, turned around, stepped back and started loading the second shot. Smelled smoke- turned back and had to run down range 25 yards to stomp out a 2-3 foot diameter spot fire! Two more shots with oilve oil both resulted in smoldering patches, and the end of my interest in olive oil.

White Fox

 

[plinking_mad]

You might be onto something there....we're still paying the same price (if not more) for a box of maxi balls but getting less lead in return.

 

[BrownBear]

I've got a 370 mold, just wondered why they did this, and secondly, does the lube have any function other than ease of loading?

Bud of mine is a dedicated Maxi user in several calibers, but never got the kind of accuracy he wanted from the 50 cal 370 grain version. He's reporting the 320's are super accurate in both his rifles, however.

Clue to bigger things behind the change, or just the nature of his own two rifles? Dunno.

 

[plinking_mad]

Thanks for all the info. I've always had good luck with the T/C maxi and like the weight forward design. I've really got to try some of the new ones now & see how they perform in the Renegade. It may just like them better as well! Great forum, by the way, .... a wealth of knowledge.

 

[Shifty]

I think the 320,s would shoot better than the 370,s in the 1/48 twist ,it is not the weight it is the length of the bullet,can anyone measure the length of the 320grn for me I have not saw them around here yet.The Lyman Great Plains hunter will shoot the 370,s the 395 GPB&the 410grn,I just found a stash of the 395s and the 410,s the other day about 50box,s each am trying to make a deal on them.

 

[Billnpatti]

A good bullet lube can be made with lard and bees wax. The exact ratio will depend on the outdoor temperature. In colder weather you will need more lard in your mix to keep the lube from being too hard. Conversely, it warm weather, you will need more bees wax to keep the lube from melting. The way to make the lube is to melt the lard on the stove but do not overheat it. You aren't going to fry with it, you just want it to just turn liquid. Melt the bees wax in a can in a pan of boiling water. Don't melt it over direct heat. When both are liquid, remove them from the heat and mix them together. Allow them to cool until they show signs of thickening. At this point, you want to start stirring them so they will stay together as they cool. When the lube starts getting pretty thick, you can put it in a jar or other container to finish cooling. Then take a teaspoonful and put it on a piece of paper and sit it outside in the kind of temperature that you will be shooting in. When it is completely cooled to ambient temperature, examine it to see if it is the right consistency. If it is too soft, re-melt it and add more melted bees wax to thicken it. If it is too hard, re-melt and add more lard. It is a try and see process. A person hunting in Texas is likely to need more bees wax than a guy who is hunting in the winter in Idaho. If you are having to deal with wildly changing temperatures, make up two or three different thicknesses and you will have one of a correct consistancy ready for the temperature that you will be hunting in.

 

[cynthialee]

The only conical I can get any accuracy in my T/C rifles is the 275 grain Maxi-Hunter. Any larger and I get a group that is more like a shotgun pattern.

 

[Clovis]

My recollection of the T/C maxi-ball was at some point they made a lighter (320grn) and heavier bullet (perhaps as much as 420grn) than the old standard 370grn. If I recall they did the same with the maxihunter bullet as well (a heavier and lighter bullet). Offering all of them at the same time.

I think if I recall further, they did this at about the same time as everyone in the industry was starting to make a lot of unmentionable rifles and about the time they had the factory fire, but I might be a little (lot) off on the timeline.

Hope it makes sense and helps. :hatsoff:

 

[Kapow]

The rifling being 1:48, you might need a heavier powder charge to drive them faster to stabilize them? Also an overpowder wad will reduce group size. I found the T/C maxi hunter sloppy and inaccurate in my Lyman, but the maxi ball much tighter and accurate.

 

[BrownBear]

The rifling being 1:48, you might need a heavier powder charge to drive them faster to stabilize them?

That's sure been the experience of dedicated Maxi shooters I know. The faster you can stand to push them, the tighter they group.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

not true at all, my 50ca cva hawken and cabelas hawken, all shoot the 370 maxiballs excellent with just a 70 grain charge of pyrodex rs.

 

[BrownBear]

That's good to know. I can't say the same about the TC Hawkens in our group. The guys have to get them up to 90 grains at least, and 100 is better. Not for me!

 

[Kapow]

hence the use of the word "might"! :v

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I have probably shot more 370 grain .50 cal T/C Maxi's than anybody else here. I use 72 grains of 3Fg Goex. My Lyman Trade Rifle LOVES them in late spring, summer and early fall. I just shot my best-ever score with them a couple months ago: 137 x 150-3x on a 50 & 100 yards 15-shot aggregate COF. The same rifle doesn't like them in the winter.

A friend of mine has the same rifle and his is great in the cold weather and problematic in the heat. I think it has to do with the lube freezing.

Since my rifle helped me to earn my NRA Distinguished Expert in Muzzleloading Rifle by shooting 52 Maxi's in a single day, and I had to do this 6 times (over a period of several months) to earn that award, I also did the monthly matches with a box of 20 Maxi's to maintain my edge. I did notice increased erosion in the nipple's orifice and would change them regularly to reduce group sizes, especially at 100 yards distance.

I know my local guy orders me the 370 grain Maxi's, and they also made 320's, 350's and 470's a while ago. I will check with Remlin (who bought S&W who bought T/C) to see if they still produce #7795 stock number and get back to everyone here. So thanks for the heads-up.

Dave

 

[Okie Hog]

TC still lists the .50 caliber 370 grain Maxi-Balls. Their online prices are horrible.
https://secure.tcarms.com/store/index.php/action/category/id/33/

 

[plinking_mad]

That's about where I'm at, using 70gr. of 2F or 3F, either one with 370gr. maxi. I tried maxi-hunters but they were all over the place. Round balls aren't all that bad either but the maxi was so impressive I got a mold.

I keep seeing the 320 and 350gr. maxi-balls in the store and just wondered what they were up to. Maybe pushing lighter projectiles faster to keep up with that modern manure? Who knows?

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

You ain't lived until you see the face of someone using a spotting scope on your 100 yard target and they're watching 9's, 10's & X's appear on a SR-1 after you take a crack at it while shootin' off-hand with those Maxi's, lol! The face says it all! And the Maxi's cut paper like a wad-cutter!

Dave