Best minne for an 1841?

Does anyone shoot an 1841 Mississippi rifle made by Navy Arms? If so, what minne works the best with 50-60gr 2f? Will be for fun shooting.
I have only shot 570RB the last 25 years. I would like to make some minnes since I have over 500 pounds of lead, just need the right mold.

since I have over 500 pounds of lead :shocked2:

Best stock up boy, never know when you'll need some more :rotf:

Lyman makes a 315 gr or so short Minnie that I used to shoot well in a Zouave. Balisticly it compares with the ball and you need to shoot light charges. Most ealy WBTS battle fields turn out a lot of Minnie's right at 400 grains. If you got the 3 groove shallow rifling you may find shorter thin walled Minnie's give you your best shots.

Mine likes the Ideal 575-213 HB 505 grain with 70 gr of Goex ffg.

Measure your individual bore carefully & then look for a Minie ball mold that suits your preferences. = Mine shoots my @530 grain homebrewed Minies just fine out to 125 plus meters just fine.
(I paid 15.oo for my double mold used at a gun-show years ago & have never seen any reason to replace it.)

BEST WISHES.

yours, satx

Well having never had a reason.....I will offer you $20.00! AND I pay the shipping! Now you are faced with PROFIT! (pm me and we'll deal!) :blah: :rotf:

A big thank you to tenngun, bpd303, and satx78247 for your input!

I forgot to add my rifle has five very thin lands.

I supposed those used in the Civil War used minnies but I thought during the War with Mexico they used a PRB? I don't really know- just asking.
How is the accuracy. I think Kit Carson said he thought the 1841 was about an ideal rifle.

Accuracy is very good with a 570PRB over 60grs 2F.

No clue as per your question.

Right you are Crockett.

The Mexican/American war was fought in 1846-1848.
The Minie'-ball was adopted by the US military in 1855, so patched roundballs would have been the ammunition used during that war.

As for shooting Minie' balls in the .54, there are some bullet molds available but I think I should mention that good accuracy depends largely on the bullets fit in the barrel and the depth of the rifling.

The best accuracy requires the bullet to be about .002-.003 smaller than the bore and the rifling grooves should be no deeper than .006".

OK. - I'll sell it to you on the 8th Tuesday in Octember. = CHUCKLE.

Btw, I think that it's a late 1960s-era RCBS mold, but UNMARKED except with a "number".

yours, satx

crockett said:

I supposed those used in the Civil War used minnies but I thought during the War with Mexico they used a PRB? I don't really know- just asking.
How is the accuracy. I think Kit Carson said he thought the 1841 was about an ideal rifle.

Click to expand...

The original M1841 was rifled with deep grooves for round ball. Most were recut to .58 with three shallow grooves after the Minie was adopted. I suppose you could use a .54 Minie in the original configuration, but doubt it would seal as well.

As for accuracy and popularity, they shot great whether they were used with RB or elongated ball and from accounts I've read quite popular.

So that's how they ended up with .58 rifles, re-bored. Makes sense I just never thought about it.

You can work up good shooting bullet loads in barrels that are not shallow groove but the further away you get from what works best then often the more work it takes to get there.