New member

[DHalvy]

Hey I just joined and I’m fairly new to muzzleloaders in general. I have a question right off the bat too!


I am getting prepared for the Montana heritage muzzleloader season and I have a .58 cal Thompson center big boar. As many of you probably know, .58 cal bullets are very hard to come by. I have been shooting balls but have not been able to be very accurate with them even at close range (50 yds). I was told with that gun and the rifle twist of 1:48, I should be shooting conicals. So I was able to find some all lead Minnie’s that are size 57. My questions are, 1. are these safe to use in this gun? 2. Could I use two patches to snug them up if they are loose? Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Hey I just joined and I’m fairly new to muzzleloaders in general. I have a question right off the bat too!


I am getting prepared for the Montana heritage muzzleloader season and I have a .58 cal Thompson center big boar. As many of you probably know, .58 cal bullets are very hard to come by. I have been shooting balls but have not been able to be very accurate with them even at close range (50 yds). I was told with that gun and the rifle twist of 1:48, I should be shooting conicals. So I was able to find some all lead Minnie’s that are size 57. My questions are, 1. are these safe to use in this gun? 2. Could I use two patches to snug them up if they are loose? Any information would be greatly appreciated!

This is a pretty big technical question so this is going to be moved from New Member Introductions.

So you need to give us much more information.

Size of the round ball?...
Type of patching material?...
Thickness of the patching material?...,
Lube or no lube?...
What type of lube? What ingredients?...
Black powder or a sub?....
Amount and granulation of powder?...,
What groups are you getting at 50 yards?...
Shooting from a bench or not?...

The reason is that a 1:48 twist should be fine for roundball...
Minnies may not work in your rifle, depending on how deep the grooves are in the barrel..., but they likely will work.
Civil War style minnies like the ones shown had a bad rep when used for hunting. The more flat pointed styles do much better from some reports....

LD

 

[user 31232]

Welcome from Indiana!

 

[Trot]

You don't use any patches at all with minies, that just won't work!

 

[longcruise]

Pretty sure the minnies will shoot just fine IF they are a fit to your barrel. If they are a loose fit it might cause Innacuracy. Further, a loos fitting bullet might slide in the bore and create an unsafe condition. Other than that, it's a big chunk of lead and should let the air out of an elk just fine.

Your rifle will shoot balls accurately but it will take some fiddling.

 

[ppg1949]

Welcome from Indiana and congratulations on starting your muzzleloading journey with a
T/C Big Boar.
Good luck, have fun and be safe.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Welcome from Upstate NY.

 

[Colonial Boy]

Welcome from New England.

 

[Duk]

Welcome from North Dakota

 

[oldwood]

Welcome from Pa..............As for the Big Bore Question , make sure the muzzle crown is not sharp. Just recrowned a brand new one that had such a bad sharp crown , it couldn't be loaded with any type projectile. Recrown fixed it.

 

[bpd303]

So I was able to find some all lead Minnie’s that are size 57.

Welcome from the Ozark Mountains.
Those should shoot just fine in your Big Bore, from the picture the size is .577, are they hollow base?
Edit: Had to go & look it up but my 58 caliber shoots this from Track of the Wolf, Lyman 575-213, 510 grain, pure lead, hollow base,

 

[52Bore]

It’s probably not your projectile - it’s probably your powder charge…

 

[BoomStick]

Welcome to the forum and muzzleloading. In a TC with 1-48, I'd try maxi balls before those minnies. October country sells 58 maxi. Try a box and if they shoot well could be an investment in a mold.

 

[LANEY REECE]

WELCOME from Nth. LOUISIANA.

 

[Trot]

The problem with minie balls it that they must be sized exactly to your bore. You can try them but I would say you'd have better success with working up a good round ball load or maxi ball.

 

[toot]

Welcome.

 

[LSLibelo]

Welcome from California.

 

[DHalvy]

This is a pretty big technical question so this is going to be moved from New Member Introductions.

So you need to give us much more information.

Size of the round ball?...
Type of patching material?...
Thickness of the patching material?...,
Lube or no lube?...
What type of lube? What ingredients?...
Black powder or a sub?....
Amount and granulation of powder?...,
What groups are you getting at 50 yards?...
Shooting from a bench or not?...

The reason is that a 1:48 twist should be fine for roundball...
Minnies may not work in your rifle, depending on how deep the grooves are in the barrel..., but they likely will work.
Civil War style minnies like the ones shown had a bad rep when used for hunting. The more flat pointed styles do much better from some reports....

LD

Thank you for the response. So the balls im shooting are the Hornady .570. Im using .010 prelubed patches. Pyrodex powder. 100gr load. Shooting off of sticks.

This is a pretty big technical question so this is going to be moved from New Member Introductions.

So you need to give us much more information.

Size of the round ball?...
Type of patching material?...
Thickness of the patching material?...,
Lube or no lube?...
What type of lube? What ingredients?...
Black powder or a sub?....
Amount and granulation of powder?...,
What groups are you getting at 50 yards?...
Shooting from a bench or not?...

The reason is that a 1:48 twist should be fine for roundball...
Minnies may not work in your rifle, depending on how deep the grooves are in the barrel..., but they likely will work.
Civil War style minnies like the ones shown had a bad rep when used for hunting. The more flat pointed styles do much better from some reports....

LD

 

[DHalvy]

Pretty sure the minnies will shoot just fine IF they are a fit to your barrel. If they are a loose fit it might cause Innacuracy. Further, a loos fitting bullet might slide in the bore and create an unsafe condition. Other than that, it's a big chunk of lead and should let the air out of an elk just fine.

Your rifle will shoot balls accurately but it will take some fiddling.

What kind of fiddling do you propose?

 

[nkbj]

And another Indiana welcome!

About that .58 you're working with, it should shoot minies, Lee REAL's, maxiballs and round ball for you once you've had enough frustrated finagling and cussing as to figger out what it likes. It would probably even shoot with those big honkin' plain base molds like people used to kill cats with in foreign lands.

For round ball I'd try a tight patch and something on top of the powder (a patch, cloth or paper or card). Check your recovered cloth patches for burn through and for rifling cuts.
TC usually liked to put grooves about .005" deep in their barrels and that should work great.
Best wishes.