Range Report on 58 Caliber R.E.A.L. conicals.

[Griz44Mag]

So today I took a batch of the 58's I have been casting and my 3 band Armi repro of a '53 Enfield and did some shooting.
This rifle absolutely did not shoot consistently with Minnies and I had been shooting round balls in it with good success.
But the REAL bullet had to be tried.
Since I was very low on musket caps - I changed the nipple to a #11 percussion cap (had one for backup for my Pedersoli double)
The #11 caps worked flawlessly - I could not tell the difference in shooting.
At 100 yards pushing with 75 grains of 2F OE - the shots grouped very nicely.
I took a bullet block with 24 rounds (pre lubed) and shot all 24 rounds without wiping a single time.
Every rounds went down exactly like the one before and there was no buildup of gunk or lead in the barrel.
The RO managed to retrieve several of the slugs from the mostly sand berm.
I was very pleased at the performance of the bullets.
The 4 recovered rounds had very good expansion and weight retained.
All the pics I took are here - exceeded the upload limit here I guess.
The one target with the smaller holes are me shooting the RO's AK - what a fun gun!
For me hitting a sheet of notebook paper at 100 yards with open sights is PDG! All I can see past the front sight is a vague outline of the page - What? A target is printed on that???

 

[offhand35]

A great report! I have also had great success with the LEE 58cal REAL bullet in my 58cal Pedersoli Kodiak double.

 

[brewer12345]

Did you use an over powder wad or no?

 

[Griz44Mag]

Did you use an over powder wad or no?

I did not use anything between the powder and the base of the bullet.
I have punched and lubed a batch of thin box board and will try those on the next outing with this gun and bullet combination.

 

[brewer12345]

I have some cast up and will have to give them a try.

 

[offhand35]

Mine seemed to work best with a 24ga overpowder card between the powder and the bullet.

 

[Griz44Mag]

Mine seemed to work best with a 24ga overpowder card between the powder and the bullet.

That's something that I will do on the next outing with the gun-bullet combo.
After 24 consecutive shots without wiping or cleaning - when I got home and did clean it up it did not seem to be any dirtier than a normal round ball day when I was wiping every 2 or 3 shots.
After the weather gets cold (er) I will see how these work on a big hog. I'm gonna pick a big boar and whack him right in the center of the shoulder armor.
That's about the hardest test I can think of for a Texas game (pest) animal.

 

[brewer12345]

That's something that I will do on the next outing with the gun-bullet combo.
After 24 consecutive shots without wiping or cleaning - when I got home and did clean it up it did not seem to be any dirtier than a normal round ball day when I was wiping every 2 or 3 shots.
After the weather gets cold (er) I will see how these work on a big hog. I'm gonna pick a big boar and whack him right in the center of the shoulder armor.
That's about the hardest test I can think of for a Texas game (pest) animal.

I'd be surprised if you did not get full pass through in about every case.

 

[hrt4me]

@Griz44Mag, I am still interested in meeting up with you to cast some bullets, and I would also be interested in meeting you at the range sometime to fire these .58 REALs too

 

[Griz44Mag]

My normal range day is Tuesday or Wednesday - weather permitting and no other appointments.
Let's go make some smoke!
You got my number - feel free to use it.

 

[hrt4me]

where is the range to which you go?
or you could come out to my ranch sometime...

 

[Griz44Mag]

where is the range to which you go?
or you could come out to my ranch sometime...

I like both ideas.
The range is 18 minutes from my house and your ranch is 3 hours.
If I have all day I would love to see your ranch - from your descriptions it sounds like a great place, vandalized fences and all.
AND I am certainly willing to bring my range combo tool and help out with some wire repair and stretching.
Now days the penalty for carrying a pair of these in your back pocket is stiffer than carrying a 45 colt open on your hip. (AS IT SHOULD BE!)

 

[TrapperDude]

Those are great results! It's amazing what some bullet lube will do to keep impacts consistent. I put lube behind the lead balls in my revolver, and I go 48 rounds without cleaning the bore, too.

I use cork disks over the powder, though, to prevent powder contamination. I don't know how necessary that is at the range, where the chambers get fired shortly after loading, but it seems to be a wise precaution. I'd hat to have to clear out a charge and bullet that wouldn't fire.