The only minie balls from DGW I have fired are their BU-0901, .575" OD, 510 gr., Lyman 575213-New Style minie balls with 50 gr. 3Fg BP. I purchased DGW BU-0906 "Pritchett Style", .575" OD, 530 gr.minie balls but have not fired those yet due to the lubing problem. The Pritchett style minie balls have no lube grooves. The English design Pritchett minie ball and the Confederate version of the English Pritchett minie ball were designed to use lubed paper patch wrap but I think just filling the base cavity with lube will do the job. I have made up several Pritchett style minie balls using 24 ga. shotgun over-powder card on the bas cavity to keep the lube from contaminating the powder. I will try them soon.
So far I have only fired Moyer's "58 cal.", .575" OD, 460 gr., Lyman 575213-OS minie balls using 45-50 gr. 3Fg BP load. I really like the lighter minie balls and the 45-50 gr. load. That is why I have not done any experimenting with the heavier minie balls amd larger powder loads. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", as the old saying goes.
I have purchased Track of the Wolf's Lyman 577611 Gardner style, .578" OD, 540 gr., two lube groove minie balls but have not fired any. The Gardner minie balls need 60 to 65 gr. 3Fg BP and will load more difficult because they fit tighter in the bore. Excessinge leading may be a problem with those but I bet they will reach out there with more energy at longer range.
Moyer's are good minie balls for part timers and if you order their minie balls in 25 round boxes, they will come in a box that just fits into the Civil War cartridge box tins. Just stick on a copy of a Confederate arsenal label on the Moyer's box and you will fool most of the folks.
Be advised, Moyer's so called "58 cal." .575" OD minie balls are the only minie balls that they make and the demand or a labor shortage requires a month lead time on all orders. I assume your Richmond has a .577" caliber bore but if it is 58 caliber, pre-cast minie balls will be more difficult to find. Every precast minie ball I have found are .575" OD or the Track of The Wolf Gardner .578" minie ball which will work better in a 58 caliber bore.
