Original 1841 Mississippi Rifles in .58; Accuracy?

[Niederlander]

Gentlemen, I'm sure someone here shoots an original 1841 Mississippi that was rebored to .58 caliber. I know it was done to use .58 Minie bullets, but how do they do with a patched round ball?

[gemmer]

Gentlemen, I'm sure someone here shoots an original 1841 Mississippi that was rebored to .58 caliber. I know it was done to use .58 Minie bullets, but how do they do with a patched round ball?

Progressive depth rifling presents a problem for a patched ball. The patch/ball combination that's sized to clear the muzzle without a mallet will not fill the deep grooves at the opposite end, which can cause burned patches. I've hunted with RBs in my .58 Mississippi. I used a lubed .62 fiber wad over the powder to fill the deep grooves. Hunting accuracy was good, but not nearly as good as with my Rapine semi-wadcutter and 45 gr of 3F GOEX. One hole at 50 yards.