.32 conicals

Has anyone tried conicals in their squirrel rifle? Found these at the local store and was going to get a pack and try to work up a load for “larger” vermin.

Those are made for modern weapons. The alloy and the lube used is not conducive to muzzleloading use.

They look like the hard cast bullets that Meister puts out.

Excellent bullets. But you can't get a thumb nail into them.

They'll never take the rifling.

T/C used to make a .32 Maxiball , I’ve got the mold but I’ve never shot one. I think there might be a Lyman .32 Maxiball mold too?

Why wouldn’t it take the rifling?

64Springer said:

They look like the hard cast bullets that Meister puts out.

Excellent bullets. But you can't get a thumb nail into them.

They'll never take the rifling.

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Do you know your bore size ? I'm thinking those bullets are about .007 too small for most 32 caliber muzzleloaders. Even if it did fit the bore the harder lead alloy probably would have a difficult time bumping up to fill the grooves with the small powder charges .

Hanger said:

Why wouldn’t it take the rifling?

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The lead is too hard to compress.

And probably what sax said regarding being undersized.

Those bullets are for cartridge rifles and pistols.

they might work if you paper patched them, but that would be rather tedious considering their tiny size, and would also depend on the depth of your rifling grooves.

Track of the Wolf has Lee 6 cavity 32 cal. maxi ball molds in stock

Hanger said:

Has anyone tried conicals in their squirrel rifle? Found these at the local store and was going to get a pack and try to work up a load for “larger” vermin. View attachment 223568

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That's the exact size, weight, and design I use in my 32 S&W Long and my 32 H&R Magnum.

Conical bullets in muzzleloaders have to engrave the rifling into the bullet during loading to allow it to spin, or it will tumble like a football with no spiral. Cartridge arms force a hard lead bullet into the rifling through the forcing cone. Soft lead really makes a mess in a cartridge arm.

I'm betting as they have modern lube and grooves they'll be way too hard for a muzzleloader.
But you've got nothing to lose by trying them

Saw some .31 caliber soft lead airgun pellets at a place, I posted about them before but if the diameter is right at least the lead is of the right hardness...

https://nielsenspecialtyammo.com/store/

I bought a box of .32 conicals when I had my crockett. Not impressed with the accuracy. .36 too. Will see if I can find the box and post a pic. Your gun might shoot em great? However you could also just get a .36 for PRB cuz you know you need it anyway??

Then a .40, that one should be a Kibler SMR IMHO. By this time she will have caught on so check back for tips on smuggling long boxes insde, places to hide long arms, gifts when caught red handed etc. We are here to help.

Those are great bullets. Just not for a muzzleloader. I used to shoot with the previous owner of the company. Their main focus is "unmentionable" cartridges. I've shot a ton of those bullets and they are consistent and load great, but I don't think they're what your looking for.

Interesting question. Has anyone used a 32 caliber conical on deer sized game and if so- how did it work?

Red Owl said:

Interesting question. Has anyone used a 32 caliber conical on deer sized game and if so- how did it work?

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I’ve seen one video on YouTube. The guy took out a doe, this is what got me thinking. Are regs are .30 minimum for deer…. So my .32 is legal. If I went in the woods with conical loaded see deer or hog first, shoot… hunt over. If I see squirrel shoot… reload with round ball, continue squirrel hunting.

Red Owl said:

Interesting question. Has anyone used a 32 caliber conical on deer sized game and if so- how did it work?

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It might work, if you can get the velocity up there but without a reliably expanding bullet kept in its expansion velocity range it wouldn't be too ethical I think, unless you limited yourself to strictly headshots.

I think Davy Crockett used a 36 caliber for all the bears he killed however he used dogs and the bears treed and he took a headshot at close range.

I have lots of experience with minie balls and muskets. Muskets have very shallow rifling compared to the standard PRB muzzleloader. Conicals and REALS must engrave the rifling into the bullet. Minies are slightly undersized with a hollow base. The burning powder causes the wall of the minIe to expand, making contact with rifling. PRBs are much more undersized and the patch engages the rifling. The recovered ball often has no marks except the imprint of the clothe used.
The lead must be very soft for Minies or conicals or you'll be hammering the bullet down the bore. I've done this, not fun.
I think this is why many have erratic results with conicals in PRB barrels.

I've never tried paper patched, it might work in your situation

Good luck.

I've never tried the paper patched but I'm interested in its application. My thought on a 32 conical would be for coyotes since most states mandate larger calibers for deer.