Round Balls in smooth Bores

[Britsmoothy]

I did not know they had marbles back then. Pretty cool - from 247 years ago!
Just one curiosity - why the heck did someone bring a bear all the way from Russia?

There is a joke there somewhere! Lol. Just can't think of it....lol.

 

[tenngun]

In 1472 there was competition in Central Europe shooting matchlocks at four hundred yards and a five foot target.... smoothie at this time. And just to give you humility they were shooting crossbows at this range too.
In Basel Switzerland smoothies compeated shooting at a30” target at 570feet, 190 yards. This was in 1605.

 

[sonnyboy]

you would think that a mini ball with a hollow base would be tough to beat. The obturation at ignition would flare out the skirts an act like a stabilizer for the heavy solid tip/////sonny

 

[hawkeye2]

A mini won't stabilize without spin, they just don't work.

 

[smoothshooter]

I did not know they had marbles back then. Pretty cool - from 247 years ago!
Just one curiosity - why the heck did someone bring a bear all the way from Russia?

A lot of marbles in those days were made of various kinds of stone.

 

[Griz44Mag]

A lot of marbles in those days were made of various kinds of stone.

I did not know that. It would also explain why the hand gonnes are reported as shooting arrows, stones and lead balls.
The marbles were really ammunition - by design.... Makes sense why someone would go to all that effort to make a marble.

 

[mushka]

When I was a kid, the best hardest hitting marbles used as shooters were agates. Heavy and hard, would knock a marble out of the circle better than anything.

 

[Stantheman86]

I'm thinking hard lead alloy balls might not be too kind to the relatively soft steel of your bore?

I use pure lead .648 balls in paper cartridges or loaded loose with paper wadding in my .69 muskets and I can shoot ragged holes at 50 yards. Can also put most of them in the boiler room of a silhouette at 100.

I believe obturation is desirable, the ball bumps up a bit and fills the bore. This is why Minie balls must be pure lead.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I'm thinking hard lead alloy balls might not be too kind to the relatively soft steel of your bore?

I use pure lead .648 balls in paper cartridges or loaded loose with paper wadding in my .69 muskets and I can shoot ragged holes at 50 yards. Can also put most of them in the boiler room of a silhouette at 100.

I believe obturation is desirable, the ball bumps up a bit and fills the bore. This is why Minie balls must be pure lead.

Even the hardest lead alloy is not going to wear or damage even the softest steel and if it did we will be long gone first!

 

[nkbj]

Was rummaging around this morning and pulled out the GM drop-in flint .61 smooth rifle barrel.
Tempted to put together some single and double cartridges with hard ball and get ready for a range trip. Yeah, that sounds like a fun day.