Unsized Minie Accuracy

[ead]

Hey Guys,

:D Do minies have to be sized to shoot accurately?
Thanks in advance.

[John Bly]

They only need to be sized if they are too big to slide down your barrel. Ideal fit is .001-.002" smaller than the bore of the musket. Any smaller and they might not upset enough to seal the bore upon firing. More powder would upset the bullet more but might get to be more than you want to shoot.

[ead]

They only need to be sized if they are too big to slide down your barrel. Ideal fit is .001-.002" smaller than the bore of the musket. Any smaller and they might not upset enough to seal the bore upon firing. More powder would upset the bullet more but might get to be more than you want to shoot.

John,:D
I thank you kindly for the info.
This will save some work and expense.

[Muley Gil]

My first musket was a Zoli Zouave, bought from Mike Yeck in 1969. I cast Lyman 575213 minies and didn't size them. Using 45 grains of FFFg Dupont, I was shooting 1" cloverleaf three shot groups at 50 yards, from the bench.

[ead]

My first musket was a Zoli Zouave, bought from Mike Yeck in 1969. I cast Lyman 575213 minies and didn't size them. Using 45 grains of FFFg Dupont, I was shooting 1" cloverleaf three shot groups at 50 yards, from the bench.

Gil,
Thanks very much. That gives me much needed encouragement.:D

[John Holland]

The Minie Ball I shoot is almost right at bore diameter, in as much as when I seat it in the muzzle it will stay there. If I pull it out you can see where the lands are just touching enough to leave light marks on the skirt. You have to lightly push the ram rod down the bore to seat the bullet on the powder charge. The bullet I use is un-sized, and must be cast from pure lead. I lube with Crisco and do not have to brush or run a patch down the bore between events, either. Although, I must say if you are shooting in the hotter climates in the Summer, like John Bly and others, the Crisco will melt out, so you would need a stiffer lube. This is the way I have shot musket for some 50+ years. The accuracy has always been pin point. The method John Bly described it is what is recommended by most shooters. I will always encourage people to try things on their own because that's how you learn stuff! As you can see, there is more than one way to skin a cat!

[ead]

John,

Thanks much for the info. Perhaps I'll be lucky enough to have such a perfect fit with my mould as you do. It appears that your bullet gets sized when you load it.
I have all of the Parker Hale rifles except the Volunteer and the only one that's been fired is the Whitworth.
This is a ridiculous situation and has to be remedied.:D

[Joe Plakis, 9575V]

Sized vs unsized in my honest opinion is up to the shooter, and more especially the firearm. All of the above opinions are credible and factual for the respected firearm.

But I size every round I shoot, the reason is that I rather remove every factor that I possibly can to make my shooting as accurate and fun as possible. To shoot unsized rounds, like John said "soft lead" is a must, but the one factor that is hard to control is mold temperature, and that temperature can effect the size of the rounds. Obviously if you have a good lead pot, holding a constant temp of the lead is easy, but mold temperature is a variable based on speed and consistency. The only way to know that every round is the same is to size.

Sizing removes doubt.....

My humble opinion

[Charlie Hahn]

In support of the last message. If you make a cavity pusher that fits tight, when you size you will also be swaging these two diameters to do two things, Make all your rounds the same size, and to make these two features round and concentric.

Charlie Hahn

[ead]

In support of the last message. If you make a cavity pusher that fits tight, when you size you will also be swaging these two diameters to do two things, Make all your rounds the same size, and to make these two features round and concentric.

Charlie Hahn


Sized vs unsized in my honest opinion is up to the shooter, and more especially the firearm. All of the above opinions are credible and factual for the respected firearm.

But I size every round I shoot, the reason is that I rather remove every factor that I possibly can to make my shooting as accurate and fun as possible. To shoot unsized rounds, like John said "soft lead" is a must, but the one factor that is hard to control is mold temperature, and that temperature can effect the size of the rounds. Obviously if you have a good lead pot, holding a constant temp of the lead is easy, but mold temperature is a variable based on speed and consistency. The only way to know that every round is the same is to size.

Sizing removes doubt.....

My humble opinion

Joe & Charlie,:D

Thanks for the great advice. It certainly makes sense to remove every variation in the load, so I'll make it my goal to do as you recommend.
It's still nice to know however that I can also try out the unsized bullets. It'll be interesting to compare the results.

[John Holland]

Joe mentioned the arm a person is using is also a part of the equation. I am using a 33" Harmon/Large barrel, 8 grooves, deep rifling, and a 1x48 twist. The bullet started life as a Lyman 575213, was bored out and faced off to become a wad cutter that weighs about 465 grains.

Be safe, have fun, and then fine tune everything to what you like!

[Joe Plakis, 9575V]

EAD... where about are you from?