Minie ball thoughts

[John Bly]

So how does one lubricate these bullets to keep fouling soft?

[Mike McDaniel]

Don:
A very educational response...you really have got to finish that book on the Lorentz.

How would you go about lubricating a compression bullet? A small amount of lube in the compression grooves? Lube a ring around the ogive of the bullet? Thanks.

[Don Dixon]

So how does one lubricate these bullets to keep fouling soft?

You put the bullet in your loaded cartridge tube and swish it once through melted lubricant. The critical issue is providing a thin layer of grease and NOT filling up the compression groove(s). If the groove(s) are filled with lubricant [see the photo in my prior post] they cannot compress, the bullet will not take the rifling properly, and the shot will be very inaccurate.

Regards,
Don Dixon
2881V

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

I've been patiently waiting for Don to finish his book too, but realize quality takes time.

I shoot the .54 cal. single-groove Wilkinson bullet from Greg Edington. I bought the six-cavity mold he offered, and live in fear that it will wear out or get damaged because I can't replace it.

I use MCM lube too, but apply it with a Lyman Lubrasizer. I took a .539 sizing die (a thousandth under my bore diameter) and inserted a bullet until the projectile tip was flush with the top of the die. Then I looked where the bullet groove lined up to the lube holes, and epoxied shut all the other holes in the die. When I put the die in the Lubrasizer, I line up the holes sideways so the lube comes into the groove equally from both sides. If you don't do that, you'll get more lube on the side closest to the lube reservoir. I fill the groove about halfway to allow for expansion.

The bullet shoots well out of both of my relined 1854 Lorenz muskets, even though their rifling is different. When I got my second Lorenz, I put together the typical series of 5-shot loads with the bullets and charges measured to within .1 grains of each other. I did a 5-shot preliminary test at 50 yards with just my normal loads (thrown powder & unweighed bullets). The results were good enough that I never went through the series of different loads. My eyes just aren't what they used to be, and I didn't think I could do any better.

[CAGerringer]

I just stumbled onto this thread. Fantastic info!
How can we sign up for a signed, first edition of Don's book?
Charlie Gerringer
Old Dominion Dragoons

[John Holland]

I have no doubt that Mr. Dixon will let us know when his finished work is available! All good things take time, and Don is being very thorough with this admirable project.

[Maillemaker]

Thanks for all the info, Don!

So how does one lubricate these bullets to keep fouling soft?

I dip only the bottom ring of the Moose Wilkinson in lube. The tiny lube groove is all that is filled with lube. As Don notes you do not want to pack the compression space full of lube or the bullet cannot compress and won't take up the rifling.

I found the Moose Wilkinson, carrying so little lube, did not shoot well with Shuetzen powder - after about 3 shots it got crunchy going down the bore. With Goex 3F I can shoot them pretty much indefinitely.

Steve

[Robt. Propst]

Thanks to all for great information. I have both the .54 and .58 Eddington molds, and never had success, likely due to over lube in the rings. Sounds like it is worth a re-look.

[PoorJack]

Thanks for all the info, Don!



I dip only the bottom ring of the Moose Wilkinson in lube. The tiny lube groove is all that is filled with lube. As Don notes you do not want to pack the compression space full of lube or the bullet cannot compress and won't take up the rifling.

I found the Moose Wilkinson, carrying so little lube, did not shoot well with Shuetzen powder - after about 3 shots it got crunchy going down the bore. With Goex 3F I can shoot them pretty much indefinitely.

Steve

I lubed the Moose Wilkinson the same way, it shot well for the first 4-5 shots then got crunchy and group opened way up.

Steve- what are you shooting them out of. My 3 band didn't do well with them.

AAAnnnnnd back to the original question posited, Has anyone, or Does any shoot the Original style Lorenz bullet similar to that I posted in a link to a British muzzleloader board?

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

A translated version of the 1854 Lorenz manual is on-line at http://acwsa.org/Documents/LorenzManualTranslation.pdf The specs and trajectory information is at the back.