What keeps a conical in?

[wpjson]

When I load a conical in my rifle and get it all lubed up, why does it not slide down the barrel as I hike up and down mountains? :hmm:

 

[stuartg]

You must have a tight fitting conical! I'd be careful with some as they can and do have the tendency to move ever so slightly from the powder charge...and can be quite dangerous.

 

[stuartg]

And just a tid bit, a Lee REAL stand for...

...Rifle Engraved At Loading. This engraving is what is keeping it tight.

 

[larry wv]

I have been shooting conical's off and on since the 70s. And have never had one move. I have heard of them moving but don't think it is common.

Larry

 

[Vaino]

Have used conicals in my .50 TC Hawken and found that the conical did indeed come off the powder charge in a clean bbl. So in the course of a day's elk hunt, had to periodically check to see if the conical hadn't moved and sometimes it had. My son had similar experiences. This didn't happen w/ a fouled bore.

My solution.....went to a .54 PRB Hawken.

The .50 TC Hawken is still used for elk hunting w/ a warning to the hunter.....check often if the bbl is clean. This rifle is the camp "loaner" for new elk hunters.

In a clean bbl, once the conical is pushed down the bore, there's nothing to hold it up against the powder except friction and sometimes it wasn't enough.....Fred

 

[wpjson]

How do most hunters keep it in place? I walk a lot when I hunt. This is relatively new to me. I have used muzzle loaders part time the past two seasons and have never had this problem. Don't know if I will ever have it, but I started thinking about it with my new 58 cal rifle.

 

[bubba.50]

I use lee r.e.a.l. bullets & T/C maxi-balls almost exclusively. they are engraved by the riflin' upon loadin' & have enough friction to hold them in place. in 40yrs shootin' I've never had one move until I pull the trigger on it. luck & have a good'en, bubba.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have used hollow based mini's for over thirty years and have never had a problem with them moving. I seat them with a solid "ram " which I believe starts the base expanding. But the lube and any fouling seems to hold them well. :idunno:

 

[nchawkeye]

Conical??? What is that???

Never used one, never saw the need, especially with deep cut rifling of round ball barrels... :grin:

 

[Spikebuck]

I have used conicals (generally buffalo bullets or Hornady Great Plains) and have never had one move off the powder. Having read that they can move, I have experimented by holding my rifle barrel down and shaking it, trying to get the conical to move. Never happened.

I'm not saying it cannot...maybe some gun or gun/bullet combinations are more prone to it than others. Obviously mine are not.

 

[wpjson]

thanks, all :thumbsup:

 

[longcruise]

I have used hollow based mini's for over thirty years and have never had a problem with them moving. I seat them with a solid "ram " which I believe starts the base expanding. But the lube and any fouling seems to hold them

When I got a new .58 for conicals back around '76, I was told to use a hollow base and smack it to expand the base into the rifling to hold it in place. Did not work. Not even with oversize conicals. While walking I saw something pop out the muzzle and then back in. Honestly thought a mouse was in the bore, but it was the conical.

One of the guys in our camp had his maxi balls move in his Renegade.

I just went to prb only and left it at that.

Maybe a card wad over the bullet would hold it.?

 

[F.G. Ford]

In my double .58 the minies were constantly sliding around in a clean barrel. If you fired one barrel, you had to check the second barrel, because often the minie would slide forward.
If the barrels were fouled with a blank shot, the minies would hold better. I stopped using the minies altogether.
Besides the prb's were much more accurate, and also gave piece of mind.
I'm sure R.E.A.l. bullets are less problematic, but prb's are what traditional muzzleloading is all about.
Fred

 

[Rifleman1776]

In my double .58 the minies were constantly sliding around in a clean barrel. If you fired one barrel, you had to check the second barrel, because often the minie would slide forward.
If the barrels were fouled with a blank shot, the minies would hold better. I stopped using the minies altogether.
Besides the prb's were much more accurate, and also gave piece of mind.
I'm sure R.E.A.l. bullets are less problematic, but prb's are what traditional muzzleloading is all about.
Fred

That is good experience and an explanation of why I don't like either doubles or conicals. Potentially very unsafe.
In my area during hunting season, the temp can be in the 30s in the early a.m. but get to almost 80 by noon. Lubes can get slickery and cause conicals to slide. :nono: Bad news. Nothing on this continent I wouldn't hunt with round ball. Except maybe big grizzly.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I've shot a lot of conicals in my TC 50 & 54 Hawken rifles. Have not had any Horandy great plains bullets move on me over the years. I have been in the habit of checking for it too. All depends on the fit of the bore and the conical. I have also made it a habit of carrying the rifle with the muzzle up which may help.

 

[mooman76]

I've shot a lot of conicals in my TC 50 & 54 Hawken rifles. Have not had any Horandy great plains bullets move on me over the years. I have been in the habit of checking for it too. All depends on the fit of the bore and the conical. I have also made it a habit of carrying the rifle with the muzzle up which may help.

Exactly! :thumbsup:

 

[Walks with fire]

I have had them move and I won't use them unless paper patched up nice and snug. I don't want to be hunting next to someone who uses them either. Patched ball is what I like but I only hunt deer. I used .50 caliber for years but once I got a .54 I decided I don't need nor want more. The .54 ball seems just the right weight and diameter for what I do.

 

[M. De Land]

I ringed a 50 TC some 30 years ago shooting conicals while moose hunting. It worked up barrel while still hunting in mountainous terrain.
I think a good practice that would eliminate this would be to thump the butt on the ground periodically while hiking or check with the loading rod before firing if one needs to be very quiet just before a shot.
I've thought about a tight cardboard wad on top the conical much like a shot gun charge but have not experimented with it yet. Mike D.

 

[Col. Batguano]

How do the smoothbore double barrel shotgun shooters hold their loads in?

 

[jamesthomas]

How do most hunters keep it in place? I walk a lot when I hunt. This is relatively new to me. I have used muzzle loaders part time the past two seasons and have never had this problem. Don't know if I will ever have it, but I started thinking about it with my new 58 cal rifle.

I don't think there is an animal on this continent that would need a .58 cal. Conical. That big .58 round ball will work just fine. Plus I don't even want to think about the recoil a .58 conical produces to get a decent group. I would just keep it simple an use a PRB.