New Loading Tips for Muzzleloaders

[morehops52]

snow usually stops the ball/bullet in about 20 feet. spring comes and there is a nice pile that could be fired again mostly! the driveway over to my targets makes a metal detector scream nonstop.

I appreciate that info. 20 feet. Is that in fallen snow or a plowed bank? I'm genuinely curious about this

 

[deerstalkert]

I appreciate that info. 20 feet. Is that in fallen snow or a plowed bank? I'm genuinely curious about this

well that is hard to determine as my targets sit on the right side of a plowed driveway, so i would say it is semi compacted.
I do have a 25 yard station that I know the balls go into compacted snow and the spring crop is always about 10 feet or so past the targets.

 

[French Colonial]

Why not simply fill the cupped rod end with metal set epoxy, level it off, and move on.
Some deformation of the bullet nose has no effect.
You shouldn’t be pounding on the bullet when seating it anyway.
Muzzleloading rifles are short to medium range tools to begin with. Even if your modifications have any effect, it will be very small and immaterial for what they are meant to do. A gun that will only group it’s bullets in a 3 or 4 inch group at 100 yards will still make a killing shot out to 150 yards if properly aimed.
For fairly serious paper target competition, there are many other variables more import at than bullet nose condition.

Sorry to pop your balloon.

BTW, your technical drawings are first-rate.

I have used epoxy many times to form seating dies for different nose profiles, works great.

If you decide that projectile is no longer the cats meow, heat and dig the epoxy out and form another.

Easy Peasy.

 

[Freedom]

Check out how much tissue grabbing and expansion there is on this bullet! Just from the tiny ring imprinted on the end of a .457 round ball as a result of being loaded with the conical rammer of my 1st model Dragoon.

Not sure how much it affected my accuracy. But it sure killed the deer!