Sizing minie balls

[CapPopper]

Who sizes their minie balls? Just wondering if I'm missing out on something great. I've always been under the impression they were designed to fit a fairly wide variety of bore variation that you see often in original guns. I figure as long as it loads ok and shoots good there's no point right? I just smear grease in the grooves and load them. The rifle shoots better than me that way. Just interested in what others have done/ are doing.

 

[hawkeye2]

If you want to hit anything smaller than a washtub at 25 yards you have to size. Well it's not actually all that bad but a mini must be matched to the bore size for accuracy. Ideally the mini should be .001" under bore and no more than .002". You can get away with a greater clearance but as the difference increases the accuracy falls off fast. At some point you would be better off shooting a ball from a smoothbore. A .575" mini in a .580" bore and the ball will likely arrive at the target sideways if at all. It would seem that the minie design would allow it to accommodate a variation of bore sizes but it doesn't work out that way. Occasionally it works out that a mini will drop from the mold just the right diameter for the gun that you happen to have. It sounds like you were lucky enough to have won that roll of the dice and that saves you the extra step of sizing.

 

[brewer12345]

OK, we know we probably need to size. How do you figure out what size you need? How do you size?

 

[Coot]

Who sizes their minie balls? Just wondering if I'm missing out on something great. I've always been under the impression they were designed to fit a fairly wide variety of bore variation that you see often in original guns. I figure as long as it loads ok and shoots good there's no point right? I just smear grease in the grooves and load them. The rifle shoots better than me that way. Just interested in what others have done/ are doing.

When I was shooting my PH 2 band, I always sized my minie balls. As others have stated, a precise and consistent fit is one of the keys to accuracy. Since I did not have a reloading press, I simply clamped the sizing die in a bench vice & used a dowel with the end turned to fit the cavity to drive the minie thru the die. I placed an old towel under to catch the minie as it came out of the die. A gallon paint can was not too hard a target at 100 yards.

 

[hawkeye2]

OK, we know we probably need to size. How do you figure out what size you need? How do you size?

You need to know the actual bore size of the gun you have and not what the advertisement or your friend who has one too tells you it is. Slug the bore or measure using a set of pin gauges. Once you know that you only have to buy a sizer one or two thousandths under that dimension. If your mold drops a ball more than .002" under the actual bore size you will need to buy a mold that casts a larger diameter ball. Push through dies are simple and the cheapest and are relatively fast. There are also push through sizers that mount in a reloading press but they are more expensive and not a lot faster. I size a considerable quantity and have special dies to use in a Lyman Lube Sizer doing 2 operations at once.

 

[ZUG]

I have a Zuave that will shoot unsized minies into a gallon jug at 50 yards but when sized it will then shoot under 3" at that distance.

 

[Zonie]

Who sizes their minie balls? Just wondering if I'm missing out on something great. I've always been under the impression they were designed to fit a fairly wide variety of bore variation that you see often in original guns. I figure as long as it loads ok and shoots good there's no point right? I just smear grease in the grooves and load them. The rifle shoots better than me that way. Just interested in what others have done/ are doing.

There was a wide variation in the bore sizes of the rifled muskets during the WBTS and the Minie' bullets would work in most if not all of them.
That said, the targets were men and if those big Minie' bullets hit one of them it could be considered to be a success.
Also, the thinking during this war was a carry over from earlier wars, that being, send a massive amount of lead at the enemy and you'll win the battle.

In other words, good accuracy wasn't needed.

If you just load your gun the way you describe, you'll probably get "minute of a man" accuracy. If you want better accuracy, do as the others have suggested and try to either find Minie's that are about .002 (two thousandths of an inch) smaller than your guns bore size. If you can't find any you will probably have to get a bullet sizer and force the bullets thru it.

 

[ADK Bigfoot]

You need to know what diameter your musket wants, but I always cast slightly large and sized down. The best results, I have found, are casting/sizing to about .001 under bore size. An unlubricated cast minie should barely slide down the barrel with gravity alone when the hammer is at half cock. Sounds like "sssssssssthunk!" If is drops down very easily is it too small; if it needs to be hammered down the bore like a patched round ball, it is too large. Like the three bears, just right.

For my PH Enfield, I cast at 580 and sized to 577. Just right. Could touch 5 shots at 50 yards in under two minutes. NO brag, I have the target.

ADK Bigfoot

 

[CapPopper]

I must've just got lucky..... I can easily thumb start mine with no problem and they push down with just a little pressure on the rod..... Won't come off the charge when carried (hasn't happened yet but I check anyways) and I get 1" or better 50 yard groups all as it drops from the mold..... It shot so good with my first load on first attempt I never experimented with it.... Of course it's a deer gun not a plinking gun so after I got the sights dialed in I've only shot it at game. Farthest kill was about 130 so it's good enough for me...... But I'll keep all this in mind if I obtain another gun I'd like to shoot minies in

 

[snubnose57]

Once bought a Mississippi rifle an some minies. Sizers were unavailable, or sold out at the time.
My solution at the time was to take a piece of flat metal( wood would work) and gently press and roll the minie
until it starts in the bore easy enough. Now, I still use that method.

 

[dave951]

We've been over this time and time again. If you want accuracy in a bp rifle, you will be either sizing or, if you're lucky, have a mold that casts the right size. It's that simple. Don't go with the second hand misinformation on utoob from a reenactor.

Hawkeye and I shoot minies in Civil War guns in competition. If you want accuracy, the path is already blazed. Pure lead, real quality target grade black powder, quality caps, proper lube, proper sized bullets. Both my Birmingham Parker Hale and Parker Hale musketoon are 2moa guns or better. That means one ragged hole at 50yds and about 2in at 100. This is not a fluke or internet lore as there are guys in our org, the N-SSA, who do better.

Push through sizers accomplish two things assuming the minie is properly cast. First it makes it the right size and second, it ensures the bullet is exactly round.

 

[hawkeye2]

"We've been over this time and time again. "

And this won't be the last time. either!

 

[ord sgt]

When I started shooting competition, I bought two Parker Hale firearms. One was a three band musket and a musket carbine. Experimented with a few different molds until I found one that worked. I also bought a sizer in .575. That helped tighten up the groups. Tiles at 100 yards were easy to hit on a regular basis. Tweaked the powder charge to the point that I was able to use one powder charge and one sized minie for both rifles. Fewer complications at the firing line. Sizing minies does make a difference.