Moose 577-420 Wilkinson is my new skirmish round!

[Maillemaker]

I've been in the N-SSA for 4 years now. Since I got in, I've been shooting the highly-recommended RCBS-Hodgdon bullet, with great success. Off a bench, I can blast a silver-dollar ragged hole in the paper.

About a year ago I tried the Moose 580-450 Wilkinson, and while it did OK, it did not do as well as my RCB-Hodgdon. I went with the .580 bullet in the hopes I could use it in my guns that need .576 and the ones that need .578.

For Christmas I got the Moose 577-420. This bullet is about the same weight as the RCBS-Hodgdon. I really wanted this bullet to work well because it is a dream to cast - there is no hollow base so there is no void problem like you sometimes get with other Minie-style bullets. And it's a double-cavity mold, which means you can really crank them out when casting them. It's just a beauty of a mold.

http://moosemoulds.wix.com/mm2013#!wilkinson/c1msz

Well, this weekend our team had a load-work-up meeting, and I tried my new Wilkinson. I went from 35 grains to 55. At 50 grains, it began to shoot hole-in-hole accurate out of my Whitacre-barreled Euroarms P1853 Enfield.

Here are the targets:

http://imgur.com/a/q5DyO

One of our teammates had thought he had worked up a good Hodgdon load on Saturday, but when we went to shoot them on Sunday they were shooting about 8" low. We don't know what got changed but I suggested he try my Moose bullets in his gun, and they worked great there also with nearly the same accuracy even though his gun will take .577 bullets and mine are sized to .576. He is also shooting a P1853 Enfield with progressive-depth rifling.

I have not yet had a chance to try this in my Hoyt-barreled Richmond Carbine, but I hope it will like this bullet also.

This is definitely going to be my new skirmish bullet for my P53.

I'm shooting it with 50 grains 3F Goex and SPG lube.

Steve

[ms3635v]

The Wilkinsons shoot in carbine length barrels as well. I have seen it at MA Region shoots.

[jonk]

One of these days I'm going to get some of these to try. I'd love to get away from the core pin design. As I don't have the scratch for a new mold right now, I think I will hold off for now, but it would be very cool to try out.

One concern I had was fouling. One little lube groove doesnt' seem prudent... how's it go in terms of that, 8, 10 shots in a row?

[ms3635v]

Jonk,

I have been shooting the Wilkinson for the past three seasons. They are easy to cast and if you get a two cavity mould you can cast a whole lot very quickly. These bullets shoot really well, but, loading can sometimes get tight due to fouling. I found that they are fine during an event, but when you retire from the line, just run one damp patch down the bore, then dry it. This way you will remove some of the fouling but keep the bore tight enough, if you clean thoroughly after each event then it's like starting with a clean gun. I use MCM lube (on the base only, never in the compression groove or the round will not collapse as designed) and that keeps the fouling soft, and you are correct, the amount of lube is minimal due to the base size. Also, they shoot the best at .001" undersize...I can feel mine drag, ever so slightly during loading.

As for a load, my two bander shoots them very well with 40 grains of 3F. However, having said that, I have talked to others who shoot the Wilkinson and use other powder charges with excellent results. Using this bullet, I have won a fifty yard musket National medal, and a National musket team medal, so I have nothing to complain about.

I will look to see how many I have in the basement and I will PM you if I do and then I could send you some to try.

[Maillemaker]

When I first got the 580-450 Wilkinson, I was using up Some Shuetzen powder that I had to buy when I could not get any Goex. I could only shoot about 3-4 shots before loading got too crunchy. I switched back to Goex and things got immediately better.

I used SPG lube as I was told that was my problem, but it was the powder. I'll never buy Shuetzen again. I am only lubing with SPG right now because I have some in an old cap tin that I can set on my hot plate and dip-lube. After I use up the SPG I'll probably go to my usual 50/50 beeswax/Crisco mixture.

When I did my test this past weekend, I did not weigh out my bullets. I will probably do so in the future but the mold pours so well I'm betting that there will be very little inconsistency between drops and it may turn out unnecessary.

Also when I dipped, I allowed the lube to flow into the compression cavity and then the excess ran off. While a meniscus of wax remained at the bottom of the compression groove, there was enough air gap remaining that I did not think it would be an issue, and as you can see from my targets it wasn't. So I don't think the Moose Wilkinson is terribly sensitive to getting a little lube in the compression groove - least wise the amount left when the lube runs off the bullets.

I dip them and set them on a piece of wax paper so I do not end up with much on the flat bottom of the bullet.

I was only doing 5-shot strings for testing, cleaning after each string, and had no problems loading. At the end I fired off perhaps 10 or so without cleaning and again had no problems loading.

These bullets can be a little awkward to load because of the tiny bearing surface band at the base of the bullet - unlike a cylinder of lead that gets started and drops in the rest of the way straight, the base ring of this bullet is so small that you can start it and then cock the bullet about 15 degrees in any direction until the head of the bullet starts going also. So you kind of have to pinch the head of the bullet over your muzzle to keep the bullet true until the head catches up with the tail on the way down. No more of a pinch than the ogive part of the RCBS-Hodgdon gets on its way down the barrel, though.

Steve

[jonk]

Yeah, the schutzen powder... I tried it in a lot of things and found it is a lot better in cartridges and breech loading guns than with minies. Otherwise not only is it dirty, but the standard deviation of the rounds in musket was pretty horrible. I think it needs the pressure created by a bullet being over bore size to really ignite properly and burn cleanly.

It's something I keep a single can of on the shelf, as I had worked up some decent bp cartridge loads with it, but that's about all.

[John H]

Hi All,
I just recently purchased a Whitacre-barrel for my Euroarms P1853 Enfield , And I am using a RCBS-Hodgdon bullet. So this is very new for me. I just went to the range to see where I am hitting with all this new gear. Well I am shooting about a 6" group AT 50 yards and to the right. My powder load is 48 grains. Since you all were talking and have lots of experience I thought I would ask for some help. What powder load should I try? Someone said they were using 30 grains. Should I tap the front site over to bring the POI over? I am sizing .0015 under.
Thank You,
John

[Maillemaker]

Here is my Euroarms P1853 with Whitacre barrel shooting RCBS-Hodgdon with 46 grains 3F Goex at 50 yards off a bench:

http://i.imgur.com/Jtlwi7v.jpg

If you discount the flier, about a 2" group. Even with the flier, it's 3.149".

As always, the only way to be sure is to do a proper load workup. I typically start at 35 grains and go up to 60, in 5 grain increments. It is probably overkill on the upper and lower limits for this bullet and barrel, but that's how I do them.

Steve

[ms3635v]

John,

Some skirmishers have had new base plugs made to make the skirt thinner. I was using this bullet years ago and I was shooting 45 grains of 3F, and in the quest to make it shoot better, I had John DeWalt of Northeast Trade make me a new base plug. This modification was worth doing. If you decide to try it call him and give him the particulars about what you would like. He is a really nice guy to deal with.

[george7542]

I just got the new base plug from John he had it in stock I want to say it was around 6 dollars. But have yet to cast any or work up a load

[John H]

Steve,
Would you know about how much thinner the skirt is? I am able to make my own base plug. And thank you all for the help, I will work a powder load up starting at 35 grains. I am guessing the front site on a Whitacre barrel are pretty accurately set left to right?
Thank You,
John

[ms3635v]

Dan Whitacre machines a dovetail in his barrels so you can make sight corrections.

[John Holland]

To all: Please be advised that when it comes to Rifles and Rifle Muskets, even though the front sights are dovetailed, once you acquire your windage the front sight must be fixed in place so as not be adjustable. It is all spelled out in the N-SSA's Rules. These Rules are available online through a link on the homepage.