Mold selection

[CapPopper]

Hate to ask a question im sure has been asked in one form or another. I was looking into buying a minie ball mold or something since my rifle doesnt seem to like PRB very much from what I can tell. Im concerned about buying a mold and my gun not shooting what I cast well either. Its a traditions fox river fifty with a 1:48 twist that my dad bought and never really shot.I was looking at getting a lee mold since I've never cast before and don't want to spend a lot of money right off but im concerned the twist is to slow to stabilize the 360 grain minie ball from that mold. It shoots saboted 240 xtps fine but they just aren't as cool as a big lead bullet or as cheap. It seems to shoot the buffalo ball-ets fine they just impact 16 inches low.but I don't want to file my front sight down for something I may have trouble getting a hold of. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

 

[nkbj]

Hollow base minies should stabilize.
And the TC maxiballs were made for 48" twist.
The Lee REAL's are another possibility.

 

[CapPopper]

I thought hollow base bullets should stabilize since they are helped by being nose heavy. I just wasn't sure I know foster slugs do ok with no rifling at all.

 

[mooman76]

1/48 twist should shoot round balls well. What kind of problems are you having with RBs?

Lee REALs are a possibility. They are shorter than some maxies to stabilize in slower twist barrels. An over powder wad helps with them. I tried the Lee Minies and they didn't do so great for me. That of coarse doesn't mean they will not work for you. Another question would be what kind of accuracy are you looking for?

 

[azmntman]

Mine loves Hornady Grat Plains @ .385 grains. Mine also loves PRB with a tight pillow tick patch and 65 grains 3f. Have yet to "dutch" this one but its a keeper and I dont keep em over 4" at 90 yards. I say more load development for PRB? They dont need too much powder

 

[excess650]

I have a .50 TC that shot the modern stuff better than PRBs. For a soft cast bullet, I would recommend the Lee .50 250gr REAL.

 

[CapPopper]

I haven't messed with them a whole whole lot but everything else I've shot in it hits pretty well centered high or low elevation is great on the prb but they like to wonder left and right 2 to 8 inches either way. Now id accept that I can only shoot so good with iron sights but the 240 xtp I've shot will do less than 2 inches at 100 so it can't be me.

 

[CapPopper]

Minute of deer is fine the best I can get preferably. Id like to get 3 or 4 inches at 100. I probably won't shoot at many squirrels with it maybe a rabbit or coyote but that won't be very far away. Don't get me wrong barking squirrels is fun but if I was planning on killing squirrels id probably my 22 hornet pistol.

 

[Rifleman1776]

1:48" twist is the most used in rifles of all calibers these days. It will shot a prb to 'X' center if loaded properly. You need help finding why yours is not hitting where you want it. Going to a heavy bullet will not solve anything if you are not doing things right. And, yes, a heavy bullet will drop much faster than a rb.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I wouldn't give up on round balls just yet....But, keep in mind that 100 yards is pushing the envelope for round balls. They seem to become less accurate beyond 75 yards IMO.

I'm guessing you don't have the right patch, ball, lube and powder combination yet.
I'm not a fan of those fancy expensive conicals....They only shine on paper...
Also,
Good hunting skills can shrink even the largest of group sizes....
If the front sight is dovetailed on you shouldn't have any problem finding a replacement.

One other thing to consider if you're getting poor accuracy with round balls...
It might be due to the fact you have been shooting conicals....your rifling grooves may be fouled with lead or plastic.

 

[CapPopper]

I haven't shot it a lot really so prb may shoot better than im thinking. The patch I have is .015 cotton duck lubed with spit its a pretty darn tight fit. My groove diameter is .515 if I remember correct cause with a .490 ball I figured id need a minimum of .0125 to fill the lands out and seal properly. I tried another patch that I think was too thin but I never measured it. I'd love for it to shoot prb cause id use it to hunt more smaller game.i know the sabot 240 xtp will put every shot in the bottom of a pop can at 50 yards no problem and I can't even hit the can with a ball... I need to get some better cleaning supplies as well so that may help but it seems to shoot everything else real good as far as windage but my balls go left and right. I'm open for suggestions on what to change for the prb I've got some Crisco that I usually cook with but I thought about trying that instead of spit. If I do that do I just rub some on the patch or is there a better way?

 

[azmntman]

If yer not getting the dutch system ditch the crisco and all other patch lubes and just use spit until you are getting a decent group then fine tune trying different patch lubes.

 

[CapPopper]

Sounds good id prefer to use or be able to use spit most of the time. I know I want something else if im going to leave it loaded for deer season. I need to shoot some with different powder charges and see if less is more lol

 

[CapPopper]

How much should I vary charge weight? 5 grains or 10?

 

[Wes/Tex]

Usual variation jumps is 10 grains but you can fine tune that when you get close. One of my shooting pals used 68.5 grains for his accuracy load. Seemed a bit OCD but he was convinced that was the ticket! When you do load adjustments, only change one thing at a time, for obvious reasons! :wink:

 

[tenngun]

In terms of testing mv three grains should not make a difference shot to shot. How ever, all the theory in the world make no difference to the shooter finding his sweet spot. I don’t think there is one perfect load. I think but can’t prove there is several loads that work, you just have to fine the one that works best for you.

 

[CapPopper]

So just to check with a .490 ball and groove diameter of .515 is a patch thickness of 15 reasonable or would thicker/thinner patches be a better start. I have several thicknesses of cotton duck but .015 is my thinnest. I couldnt get the thicker stuff started in the bore but I have a ball starter now. At .015 I still have to seat the ball a hand width at a time or I can't get it to go down the bore.

 

[tenngun]

Might be a little thick, or you might want a tad more lube on. Try a damp swab patch between loads. There is no hard and fast rule on loading pressure. I’ve seen folks make repeated pushes every few inches almost pile driving the ball down, while for others the push is pretty easy.
Tight load is best, except when it isn’t. Grabbing the rod high and trying to make one long push can break a rod, and lots of pressure on the rod results in broken edge hitting the pushing hand. Generally it’s best to ram in short strokes.

 

[Wes/Tex]

It all depends on the actual bore diameter... a .490" ball and a .015" patch is the standard mentioned load but much will vary on the gun itself. If it's really that tight in the bore, I'd recommend you try some thinner material.

 

[CapPopper]

I got a can of pyrodex rs at Wal-Mart just now for 17 dollars to try. might be better than a 15 year old can of pyrodex p. We shall see hopefully I get to shoot before the weekend. I ordered a minie ball mold and a 2 cav ball mold im going to keep an eye out for a 1:66 rifle. Saw one a few months ago at a gun showfor $85 but I just didn't have the money. I kind of like traditional bp rifles being a oddity to most people cause someone's you find killer deals.