Shooting my 1863 Original Springfield

[2horses]

Well I'm going to ask some questions, before purchasing a mold.
I finally got to shoot my ORIGINAL 1863 SA rifle 60 grains FFF Pyrodex.
Using a Hornady .570 round ball.
Lubed pillow ticking. Shot terrible!
The pillow ticking was cutting off from the lands. So giving me FLYERS!
Soooo, I was still using 60 grs. powder .570 roundball with just a regular white cleaning patch, (SPIT LUBE) Measures .015
So, .570 + .015 = .585
Bingo, 4"-5" group at 100yrds.
Not the BEST for sure! I've been shooting rifle competition for 15 yrs+.
I just want to make this OLD GIRL, come back to life! She has been very USED and ABUSED!
I'm almost very sure she saw action!
All the rust, where hands were, powder pitting. Army Ordnance stamps still.
Questionable about rifling at muzzle. Looks pretty worn from steel ramrod wear.
My question is: will the .580 Hodgdon mold work, or do I need larger????
I'm on the fence buying from S&S yet.
Your input would be greatly appreciated!
I spoke with Pat Kobosky in Wisconsin to possibly buy some Minies to try finding bore size.
Thoughts???
Thanks again Terry

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[Lou Lou Lou]

You need to slug your bore or get pin guages to determine actual size

[2horses]

You need to slug your bore or get pin guages to determine actual sizeThanks Lou. I will get that done.


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[Muley Gil]

Most folks size these Minies to .001" or .002" under actual bore size. I shoot a Parker-Hale made 1858 Enfield that has a .577" bore and I shoot a .576" Minie. Target loads are usually much lighter than the service loads of the day. Most Minies do fine with 40-48 grains of FFFg black powder. You want the bullets as soft as possible. The rifle muskets were designed for Minies, not round balls, although sometimes you can find a RB load that does OK.

[melnic]

FYI,
amazon sells individual pin gages
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BHHR0ES/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have 3 rifles (2 Originals and 1 Repro kit) so with all that $ invested, I got the gammot between .576-.583
Mine fell as follows
1863 built in 1864 .582
1863 built in 1863 (Whitney refurb) .581
Chiappa Kit .577

I have several molds and I am going all out on that part so I can find what shoots best out of each.
I started by purchasing minies from Track of the Wolf but 1/2 of the minies they ship come out warped and they don't warrant warping in shipping.