50 cal.

[ezyed]

I am thinking that the fast twist carbine(1/20 twist)would shoot beter with a Lee R.E.A.L. bullet than a round ball. Is the 250 grain better than the 320?? I don`t want to buy both molds to try them. Pro`s & con`s???
Thank you
Ed

 

[paulvallandigham]

That carbine will shoot RB just fine. That is your first wrong assumption. As to bullets, stick with caliber length bullets, unless the rifling has the ROT AND the shallow depth intended to shoot longer, heavier bullets.

Try the 250 grain Ballet, first, if you must.

Do some penetration comparision testing with that gun before you spend money on the mold. I think you will be surprised at how well a RB performs even out of a "carbine " length barrel in .50 caliber. If you want to hunt Wild Board, or Black Bear bigger than cubs, or Moose, then consider using those bullets. For whitetails, a .50 caliber RB will give you all you need to kill them. Its the Weight of the ball in relation to the diameter of the ball that creates the penetration, and soft lead balls expand even at extremely slow velocities, causing massive internal damage to game. Conicals have a tendency to fly right through thin skinned game, without expanding much at all. Its not just the increasing diameter of the ball when a RB expands, but the very ACTION of the ball expanding that shocks the internal organs of the game, and sends out energy well beyond the primary wound channel.

That is why so many shooters who try bullets in these rifles, go back to using RB for hunting deer and lesser game. :thumbsup:

 

[longcruise]

Depends on the end use I suppose. For a hunting rifle, either one would be sufficient. For plinking and target shooting, the 250 would be easier on the shoulder. Comparative accuracy would require acquiring both molds. Not a bad idea considering that both would cost you less than one Lyman mold.

I had both molds for my .50 in 1:48 twist. They both shot cloverleafs at 50 yards and then opened up to 12 to 16 inches at 100 yards. At that point I quit using them so if there was a cure, I don't know what it would have been.

 

[longcruise]

Paul posted while I was typing and I wanted to deliver some comments in addition to his.

If it's a 1:20 twist, yes it will shoot balls but it would be iffy. I have seen some that shot balls well and some that would not. If you are going to be shooting in the 20 to 30 grain powder charge area, it's pretty likely that it will shoot balls ok. If going to the 60 to 90 grain charges it gets way iffy. I have seen one .54 1:20 twist gun that delivered acceptable hunting accuracy at 50 yards with a round ball on top of 90 grains of ff. Don't count on that kind of shooting with a 1:20. :shocked2: I define acceptable hunting accuracy at 50 yards as four inches or less. It was not a tack driver.

If you already own this rifle, then trying balls would not be a difficult or expensive thing to do.

 

[Little Wattsy]

The biggest mistake Ive made in Muzzle-Loading is buying before adequately trying....My advice is to take the time/$$ and try RB's (probably not going to be the best with that twist rate) and several differant connicals...Once youve found your best pattern THEN buy a mold for that slug/ball.

 

[nkbj]

Well, it should function as a 44 mag carbine on steroids. Plenty power, plenty diameter, plenty penetration; plenty for North America at carbine ranges.

 

[Idaho Ron]

REAL's shoot ok, but not great. If your using a 50 cal White Mountain carbine I know for a FACT that they will shoot the paper patched 500 S&W conicals I make like a charm. A friend of mine uses them in his with good results. My 1-28 twist will shoot sub 2" groups at 100 yards with them. Ron

 

[ohio ramrod]

It will shoot prb's at lower powder charges. The projectile gets it's stabalising from the rpm. The faster the twist the faster the rpm for a given velocity. The slower the velocity the slower the rpm for the twist. A 1 in 20 twist will give the same rpm as a 1 in 40 if you have 1/2 the velocity. This is why each rate of twist will have a "premium" powder charge for best accuracy.

 

[Walks with fire]

Just out of curiosity Ron; which twist seems to shoot them the best and what charge rates are you using?

 

[Idaho Ron]

I have never measured his groups but from what he says mine shoots better. My rifle with the longer barrel and with the sights is a little better set up for accuracy.
My load is 80 gr of Pyrodex P, and over powder wad, and a paper patched Lee C-501-440-RF.
Ron