what options for .50 cal bullets?

[golden sky]

who has the best quality/price for .50 cal bullets for Traditions Kentucky rifle?

how much tolerance is needed for wad patch? what thickness patch to use with .50 cal ball ammo?

 

[towgunner11h]

I would look for some .490” round balls locally, and maybe an assortment of patches, ranging from .010” to maybe .020”, so that you can try different combinations to get one that loads easily enough and gives good accuracy. A website such as Track of the Wolf will have what you need, if you don’t mind paying shipping.

 

[TFoley]

As soon as you see you way clear, having established a good load, get into casting your own ball. Here in UK if you don't do it, you are paying eye-watering prices for ready-made. I figure that I can cast at least 250 .44cal RB for the equivalent of 50c of electricity.

 

[golden sky]

i will look into casting later down the road, where are you sourcing lead from? I was thinking about chopping up old car batteries to see whats in those..

 

[Michiganmuzzy]

i will look into casting later down the road, where are you sourcing lead from? I was thinking about chopping up old car batteries to see whats in those..

I recommend you avoid using battery lead. Maybe the posts are ok but not the internal plates that have been soaking in acid for years, and you dont get much lead from just the posts. Turn them in for core charge money, many big chain auto parts store will buy your old batteries. Use that $ to buy some pure lead.

 

[SDSmlf]

i will look into casting later down the road, where are you sourcing lead from? I was thinking about chopping up old car batteries to see whats in those..

Imagine you will find stuff like a gallon or so of sulfur acid, nasty fumes and things like cadmium accompanying the lead. Not exactly the breakfast of champions. Believe there are very few companies extracting lead from old lead core batteries, except possibly in China. Wonder why?

 

[deermanok]

Your Kentucky rifle is probably better suited to round balls.
The Hornady 240 grain PA conicals might be a good alternative. I have good luck with them in a few of my rifles.
Muzzle-Loaders.com is where I buy all of my bullets and balls. They ship free on orders under 50 bucks.

 

[golden sky]

Imagine you will find stuff like a gallon or so of sulfur acid, nasty fumes and things like cadmium accompanying the lead. Not exactly the breakfast of champions. Believe there are very few companies extracting lead from old lead core batteries, except possibly in China. Wonder why?

good point, i do have a metal detector, and I almost always find a 1-2lbs of spent bullets every weekend where i go metal detecting..

 

[golden sky]

Is it possible to use Musket caps for a Kentucky Traditions rifle, will the musket nipple thread into the kentucky barrel?

 

[leadhoarder]

Is it possible to use Musket caps for a Kentucky Traditions rifle, will the musket nipple thread into the kentucky barrel?

It is usually pretty easy to find nipples for musket caps that thread into the barrels of existing guns that use percussion caps. The real question is about the hammer geometry and shape being ok for their use.

I bought some musket cap nipples for my renegade and GPR but have not had to try them yet.

 

[golden sky]

i'm at the crossroads of ordering a cap punch and mix my own percussion materials, or I could file the hammer into shape for musket nipples, or order a spare hammer to modify to work with the winged caps,

 

[dave951]

I'd avoid batteries. I get my lead from a local scrap yard. Look for "Xray room" lead. It's used on the drywall in doctor's offices to shield the Xray machine. That's about as pure as you're going to get short of Rotometals. Another source is old school shower pans from demolished bathrooms.