Round ball in original .58 Zouave

[eggwelder]

finally got round ball for my .58. Mold is .563, so a little small, but fits my trade gun too. Grease patch over 60 gr put the ball almost 18 inches high at 60 yds. as far as i could tell. i ended up doubling the patch and dropped the powder to 40 gr, and it was still high, about 10 inches. all the hits were in a vertical string so i know i`m on as far as that goes- i set up a scrap piece of wood behind the target just to see if i was overshooting.
i think i will need a taller target to see how high the balls are hitting next time i go out. And find thicker patching.

side note- anyone got about ten .570 balls they can part with?
i can max out at the gravel pit i shoot at at about 85 yards

 

[bang]

Yeah I had to settle on a .562 rb and .575 mini mold. The mini is a thumb pressure start but rams smooth. I added the sniper sight. Aiming at the top of it helped those short range high hits plus is easy to see.

 

[eggwelder]

I have 3 minie molds, one i can`t seem to get hot enough but its a huge one, an Italian brass one that i like, but is a pain to use, and a Lyman. The latter 2 shoot ok, but have fairly wide groups. The round ball, as i said was vertically stringing, but that was caused by a lot of factors, and changing variables. Once i actually figure out where it`s shooting, i think it .562 will be fine. Been thinking about the sniper sight, have to order more nipples anyway

 

[towgunner11h]

Get some pin gauges or slug that bore. Size the Minies to .001” below the bore size.

 

[bang]

I have 3 minie molds, one i can`t seem to get hot enough but its a huge one, an Italian brass one that i like, but is a pain to use, and a Lyman. The latter 2 shoot ok, but have fairly wide groups. The round ball, as i said was vertically stringing, but that was caused by a lot of factors, and changing variables. Once i actually figure out where it`s shooting, i think it .562 will be fine. Been thinking about the sniper sight, have to order more nipples anyway

Been using a #11 primer nipple on mine with no issues