What size .50 round ball ?

[jonathan butcher]

October Country has two flavors of .50 cal round ball, .490 @ 177gr and.495 @ 180gr. Which of these ( if either) would/ do you shoot and why ? I'm preparing to work up a load for a Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken .50

 

[mooman76]

I'd go with the .490 to start off. If you feel you could squeeze in a .495 you can always try that next but if they are too tight to start with, you can only go so small with a patch. You can always get a thicker patch to use with .490 if you find you need to.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I'd measure the diameter of my bore and choose the ball that's 0.010" smaller than bore diameter. Then I would use a patch that compresses to 0.005 + groove depth. That's to start. As @mooman76 says, you can always change your patch and ball if you find you need to.