My First Musket

[Miss Kitty]

Yep I did it. I ordered a C.S. RICHMOND .58 cal Musket from Dixie made by Armi. I know its not top shelf or top of the line but I figured it would be a good starter Musket considering I'm only familiar with my Ex'es Muskets, He had Springfield's Now my question is. What size mini ball should get? There are a few different sizes and I don't want to get the wrong one. Also I know it will shoot FF black powder if I'm not mistaken and can I use Pyrodex or other replacement powders. The musket caps I figured out. Figured I would ask before I made a mistake.

Thanks guy's

 

[arquebus]

What size mini ball should get?

I'd suggest you wait until the musket arrives, & then you can measure the bore size. For best accuracy you want a Minie to be .001"-.002" under bore size (that's bore size, not groove size).
FFg can be used, as can Fg & FFFg, Each gun is an individual & it may take some experimenting to come up with the best load. In my Zouave I found GoEx FFFg gave much better accuracy than FFg.

 

[Trot]

I agree with Arquebus, properly sized minie, no more than .002 under bore size of good pure lead. Also, different styles of minies will work differently. A bit of experimentation will most likely be needed, but that is half the fun!

 

[paulvallandigham]

This means you will need to buy a sizing die to use Minies in the gun. Its not needed if you are shooting RBs. Usually, these .58 caliber guns will shoot either the .562 or .570 diameter round ball. It depends on the actual bore diameter and groove depth. Most will use the smaller, .562" diameter ball and a thicker patch. The patch holds more lube than a thinner patch will, and its usually easier to load the PRB down the barrel if you use the smaller diameter. However, every gun is its own wants, and some of these barrels will simply shoot much better using the .570" diameter balls and a thinner patch. You have to test and experiment to find out what works best for you. :thumbsup: