Round Ball Vs Conical in 44 NMA

[nkbj]

I recently picked up a New Model Army in 44. I found a round ball mold, and the weather is perfect for casting. But I have a .452 180gr round nose mold for a 45 acp.

I understand I may have to enlarge the space to seat the conical, as they are small.

But whats the pro's and cons of using a conical? I am NOT concerned with HC/PC.

Thanks.

A 180 round nose of that caliber is going to be pretty short, providing very little alignment when loading and then on it's way to the muzzle. That could give you a problem trying to make it accurate. I got a couple of .45ACP molds I'm wanting to try in a Pietta too but I'm gonna size the bases down to slip into the chambers.

 

[Mknight702]

I have recovered several round balls from deer over the years and I have yet to see one "flatten-out" as so many claim, even with the rifle.
The spherical ball is structurally stable and generally will not expand.
But here is a .457 RB I recovered from a revolver shot deer. It is interesting to see that the slight ring made from the loading lever during loading was greatly exaggerated when the ball captured tissue and expanded at this shallow line.
The round ball, in this case, made a very graphic bruise and large, over-caliber, wound channel. The only bone hit was a rib.

That's some really deep rifling you have there.

 

[Eterry]

Thanks all, for some silly reason I wasn't getting notifications of new post. I've about talked myself out of using a conical; I dont plan on hunting hogs with it, so the extra ft/lbs arent necessary.

As far as hunting Deer, which is a definite possibility, I have a pie plate kill zone, so I'd rather have a little more fps than accuracy; as long as groups don't get too big. Not looking for cloverleafs if my range is under 15 yards. May try 35 gr fffg then see what 40grs does.

If I decide to try for small game; rabbits and squirrels, then a light tack driving load will be in order.

Years ago I had a 1860 Army, and had dismal terminal results using RB and a cylinder of ffg. Meaning the feral dog took 4 rounds in the chest area and when I closed to finish him his coat caught fire from my last round and he still didnt die. It was a disappointing incident. My dad said I should've used a 22 LR. It was a major factor in my decision to retire it.

 

[rodwha]

Thanks all, for some silly reason I wasn't getting notifications of new post. I've about talked myself out of using a conical; I dont plan on hunting hogs with it, so the extra ft/lbs arent necessary.

As far as hunting Deer, which is a definite possibility, I have a pie plate kill zone, so I'd rather have a little more fps than accuracy; as long as groups don't get too big. Not looking for cloverleafs if my range is under 15 yards. May try 35 gr fffg then see what 40grs does.

If I decide to try for small game; rabbits and squirrels, then a light tack driving load will be in order.

Years ago I had a 1860 Army, and had dismal terminal results using RB and a cylinder of ffg. Meaning the feral dog took 4 rounds in the chest area and when I closed to finish him his coat caught fire from my last round and he still didnt die. It was a disappointing incident. My dad said I should've used a 22 LR. It was a major factor in my decision to retire it.

If you plan to hunt with it you’ll certainly need an energetic powder, especially if all you want is to use a ball.