round ball size

[PA16th]

A .490 round ball is recomended for a 50 cal rifle but I see molds for casting a .495 round ball. Anyone have a preference either way Your thoughts.
Don

 

[Rifleman1776]

A .490 round ball is recomended for a 50 cal rifle but I see molds for casting a .495 round ball. Anyone have a preference either way Your thoughts.
Don

That reccomendation is not universal. Barrels vary as do shooters habits and preferences. Your barrel may prefer anywhere from .480 to .510".
However, most factory made barrels and rifles today will digest a .490 or .495 with a proper patch thickness combo.

 

[Mr.D123]

.510 for a .50?

 

[ohio ramrod]

Ford or Chevy ?. Some people get better results with smaller balls and thicker patches, some with larger balls and thinner patches. That is just part of the game. Finding out which combination works b est for your particular gun.I and my boys shoot 45 calibers and use .445 balls , but both of my boys rifles ( one jukar barrel one T.C.) like .010 patches, my target rifle ( Douglas barrel )likes .015 patches. :idunno:

 

[BrownBear]

...a 50 cal rifle....

There can be a lot of variation in what that means. From brand to brand there can be some variation. Your choice whether to use a .495 ball or a thicker patch with a .490 ball to account for larger "50 caliber" bores.

Also there are differences in the way people load them. Range shooters often use very tight combos, so tight they need a mallet to start the ball. I'll admit that a couple of my 50 cals are most accurate by far with .495 balls and .018 patches, combos that take a mallet hit to start down the bore. But I'm not a range rat. I'm a hunter unwilling to carry a mallet on hunts. I therefor use a .490 ball with .018 patch which I can start by hand. Might be a 1" larger group at 50 yards with that combo, but the deer don't know it.

 

[Rifleman1776]

.510 for a .50?

Could be. As I said, barrels vary. Today's barrels from factories do tend to be more standardized than hand made barrels from 'back then' or even custom barrels of current times.

 

[George T.]

When the T/C's hit the market at .440 and .490 they changed the standards for then on. A 50 barrel older than 1970 will likely take a .495.
I wonder what their original intent was? Geo. T.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I am WAY too lazy to use an 0.005" below bore size ball. Too hard to start, too hard on a wood rammer; so you might nead an extra range rod. You need to carry a short starter.

WAY too much work.

 

[PA16th]

My barrel is a GM 50 cal. and I am currently shooting a .490 ball with either a .018 0r .015 patch. I am starting into casting my own round balls and want to buy only only one mold. There fore the reason for the question. I do mostly hunting and think it may be better to stay with what works. Thanks for the replies.
Don

 

[2172]

Igo a little undersized I use a .48 in a .50 and a.443 in my .45 tis lets me use a thick .017 to .20 patch with no loading by pounding I buy the molds from that Englisman Jeff and he is good at turning out molds of non-standard type hank