Starting Conicals

[DanChamberlain]

How difficult should I expect a conical to start? Should I expect to fairly easily start them with finger pressure?

Dan

 

[boar]

If you have one of the coned muzzle on your rifle you could finger start them. If regular muzzle you will have to use short starter. I use a straight piece of hickory to start my RB's and max-hunter's. But haven't shot any conicals last few years. I tapped my hunters around the bottom edge with my stick to make them a little bigger so they made a better seal in bore. A max-ball only seals going into bore by last ring on top. When shot the bottom expands in to the rifling to make a seal. This(tapping) helps to keep them from driffing away from powder. Dilly

 

[Idaho Ron]

My Hornady bullets start good up to the top ring. Same thing with my Lee and Lyman bullets. I have to have a little bullet starter to get them down a couple of inches. Ron

 

[roundball]

My Hornady bullets start good up to the top ring. Same thing with my Lee and Lyman bullets. I have to have a little bullet starter to get them down a couple of inches. Ron

I believe by design they're called "slip-fit" conicals...the initial ease of slipping them in gently allows us to get them as straight as possible in the bore first, then punch them into the ends of the rifling with a sharp blow on the short starter so the driving band is cut cleanly for best accureacy.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

Lee REAL slugs take a push to get the top 'band' into the bore - as they should. Minis are a tight slip-fit. Push onto the powder firmly to hold in position.

 

[hbarrett]

Need a short starter to get them going.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

My son and I use conicals in our local league competition exclusively. Our Lyman trade rifles like to digest the 370 gr. T/C Maxi-Balls in .50 cal. With a clean gun you can start them with your thumb. We never have to use a short starter for them, just use the jag on a range-rod and down they go! Shoot a whole box of 20 at a match without any need for the starter.

That being said, the first 2-3 shots are sighters on a clean bore and the group isn't tight yet...these conicals tighten-up with a fouled bore and win the competition in the conical division and sometimes beat-out PRB and them thar fancy carrrrtridge guns to win the whole encalatta!

May you be blessed with similar results in the "conical world" .

All the best, Dave