Please forgive my ignorance. Patch and/or wad question.

I have minimal muzzleloading experience. My son and I put together a traditions kit and then he has since purchased another rifle. Both are flintlocks. i'm thinking about one for myself.
Is there any muzzle loading ammo that does not require a patch, wad or sabot? I've reloaded for years and was wondering if any there are any muzzle loaders that utilize either gas checks or nothing at all and the heat of powder burn causes things to seal up.
Thanks,
Paul

Conicals do not require it but sometimes an over powder wad will make accuracy better. You can also load a oversized RB without a patch if you desire but the accuracy may suffer some.

You really need to find out what your gun's twist rate is, A slow twist often will not fully stabilize a conical resulting in poor accuracy. Round balls will generally shoot well with both slow and faster twists.

First off, this is a traditional muzzleloading web site and we don't discuss modern bullets that use plastic parts.

That said, most of the modern reproduction muzzleloaders made by the big factories will shoot elongated bullets.
There are solid base, solid lead bullets for sale like the T/C Maxi-Ball which rely on the sudden acceleration from the powder gas to expand them.
There are also the hollow base Minie' type bullets which use the pressure of the gas to blow out the skirt at the rear of them to grab the rifling and seal the bore.

Both of these work best if they are very close to the size of the bore. This can cause problems with reloading them for follow up shots because of the fouling made by the burned black powder. If the bore is wiped with a damp cloth between shots, this is not a major problem.

As to whether these bullets will be accurate in your gun, it all depends on the rifling. If the rifling grooves are deep (.006 or more) the bullets will work rather poorly and the barrel is more suited for patched roundballs.

The other problem with bullets is the cost. They can range from 50 cents apiece to $1.50 each.
Lead roundballs on the other hand can be bought for 15 cents apiece.
This might be important because to find the best powder load for a rifle and to get it sighted in can take 50 to 100 shots. In fact, many new barrels need about 100 shots fired thru them to get them "broken in".

Here is a link to Track of the Wolf's muzzleloading bullet selectionl

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/129/1

Hollow based min.s, and REAL (rifling engraved at loading) bullets do not require patching , but an over powder wad helps with both gas sealing and prevents the lube from damping the powder.

A Traditions gun is more than likely going to have a 1 in 48 twist, which is fine for conicals. I used to use maxi balls in my TC Renegade percussion and it was quite accurate. Just be warned projectiles such as a maxi ball and similar can alip off of the powder charge if the gun is carried muzzle down for long periods or if it gets bumped. Ive had this happen several times on day long hunts where I walked alot. You had to check things once in a while.

Don't write off a roundball and patch. It does the job and is economical to shoot. If looking for a conical, the best type to use will depend on the rifling twist and depth of your rifle. So once you get that rifle you ask more specifically what people recommend.

Was there a particular reason you asked this question or just for general knowledge?

mooman76 said:

Was there a particular reason you asked this question or just for general knowledge?

Click to expand...

Well, I was thinking about pouring some projectiles and I don't really know a lot about muzzleloaders. I do shoot air rifles a lot and the pellets are made to seal without issue. I just wondered if this was a thing in muzzleloading. I guess that the wad, patch or sabot acts as a gas check

Many Civil War era muzzleloading rifles shot a Minnie bullet. They did not require a patch or wad etc.

The sealing of air rifle pellets and minnie (mini,minie,minni) bullets is the same process, Both have to be made of pure lead to be soft enough for the skirt to expand to the depth of the rifling. Both have to have a head/front band/area that rides on the rifling lands without rattling around . Using casting equipment for hard cast "modern"ish bullets can contaminate/harden lead enough to cause problems. Yes the patch on PRB's acts as a gas check. Flintlocks need real black powder, not substitutes (eg. Pyrodex) to ignite properly (almost always). Interestingly black will warm barrels more than smokeless, but not lead rifling and require a gas check. Maxi and REAL conicals need to be sized and soft to be engraved (when loading) to seal the rifling (IMHO). PRB,s need to be soft enough to allow the patching cloth and rifling to partially engrave and grip the bullet. Patching needs to be thick enough to seal the rifling . Collect fired patches for holes caused by gas blowby and rifling cuts (too thin or too tight). Start with what the owners manual recommends before experimenting(never experiment with smokeless!!!). Flintlocks have slower lock time, and more smoke in your face, so start with a good rest and shooting glasses (a must) till you get used to them.