.58 minie mold

[jan buck]

where can i find a .58 mold in the .578-.581 area for my generous 1861 springfield bore?
i tried the lyman 575213 os and they key-holed.
talk about frustrated :cursing:
lee makes a .578 improved minie and i may go that way. any ideas? btw, i went up and down with the powder charge and tried a different mold as well. all to no avail :surrender:

 

[BrownBear]

Short term, try wrapping a few turns of teflon tape around those Lymans. You can build up the diameter a little and make good use of the mold while looking for something larger. If you're planning on hunting with the 61, you'll do everything you can to get the Lee to work. The large meplat is superb on game.

 

[jan buck]

thanks brown bear.
looking to use it for cw skirmishing. teflon tape-now there's an idea. just like paper patching

 

[nkbj]

Erik at www.hollowpointmold.com can precisely increase size of the mold to exactly the diameter you need.

 

[BrownBear]

Erik at www.hollowpointmold.com can precisely increase size of the mold to exactly the diameter you need.

Nice resource! Thanks for the pointer.

 

[ohio ramrod]

The musket shooters that I know prefer the Lee improved mini. :hmm:

 

[phoenix511]

You might look at the lead alloy you are using. Most Minie-type bullets need to be fairly soft to allow expansion into the rifling.

The soft alloys in my experience are most accurate, especially with light charges, around 40grs to 50grs 2Fg. The Lee mold I have (581-482M) shoots well and as-cast is 0.581". Don't know how this design works for hunting.

 

[jan buck]

thanks guys. the lead i'm using was bought at a plumbing store so i assume it is pure, but....
who knows. otherwise i melt round balls i mined out of my range. i think i will go the lee improved minie route.

 

[59sharps]

Rcbs,Lyman, make one that size. a few sutlers sell them. I also think NEI handtools makes one.

 

[Tumblernotch]

Did they all keyhole? If not, the problem is probably a void in the bullet somewhere. Although a bullet with under .002" windage is the ideal for target shooting, you shouldn't have keyholes with bullets with as much as .005 to .007" windage unless there's something wrong with them or the powder charge is too low (if the bullet has a real thick skirt). If they all keyhole, either they're all bad or there's way too much windage. Measure your bore and bullets carefully and compare.

 

[Trot]

My Armisport Springfield with an oversized bore doesn't shoot the Lee improved minie well at all. The best one I have found for mine is the .580 RCBS Hodgdon.

 

[Tumblernotch]

A lot of reproduction muskets (probably most if not all of them) have oversized bores. The originals (US rifle-muskets) were .580 across the lands with grooves that tapered from .015" deep at the breech to .005" at the muzzle. The Ordnance Dept. found that the weapon worked at its best when there was .005" windage between the ball and the bore. This allowed for fast loading in a fouled barrel while still allowing the skirt to upset into the rifling. Though accurate in battle conditions to beyond 500 yds., when we are target shooting or hunting game, we want more precise shooting and windage of about .001" works out real well. I bought a new EuroArms Enfield almost 30 years ago that had a .580 bore and I shot .575 Lee Improved minies from it with good results, but they could have been better. I'm shooting a Richmond rifle-musket now that I had made back in '83 that has a match grade barrel that is .577 across the lands, 6 groove with a 1 in 48 twist. I'm shooting Lyman Old Style minies in it. I size them to .576. Even with a light charge (38 grs.) of fffg or 40 grs. of ffg, the skirt upsets into the rifling nicely. I still get a flyer on occasion and see a nasty keyhole once in a while, but sometimes I miss a light ball or fail to see a damaged skirt. Can't blame the gun or the load. (And sometimes when I'm shooting offhand, I tend to zig when I should have zagged. :redface: )

 

[jan buck]

Did they all keyhole? If not, the problem is probably a void in the bullet somewhere. Although a bullet with under .002" windage is the ideal for target shooting, you shouldn't have keyholes with bullets with as much as .005 to .007" windage unless there's something wrong with them or the powder charge is too low (if the bullet has a real thick skirt). If they all keyhole, either they're all bad or there's way too much windage. Measure your bore and bullets carefully and compare.

yes they all keyholed. i measured the bore- .579-.580. bought 2 molds now and looks like i'll be buying more. hate to spend $80 on a rcbs mold only to find out it won't work either. :shake:
but you never know, guess its a trial and error thing. will press on.....

 

[TFoley]

If it's any consolation to you, my Sniders, both nominally .577, measured .585 and .590. That equalled two custom-made moulds. Lighter charges, too, even in a cartridge - 60gr of FFg in each did the biz at 100 yards.

My P-H musketoon likes the .575 Lyman mould and a measly 55gr of FFg - even down to 45gr at 50 yards still works well.

tac