Bullets

[7tharkinf]

I was just wondering what was the best premade bullets on the market I have an Enfield armi sport and I'm looking for a .575 conical old style minie preferred but up to hearing any suggestions.

[Hickok]

Pat Kaboskey <cwbulletman@aol.com>

You may want to find the bore diameter of your barrel as they can vary. I have an Armisport 1853 Enfield and it has a .581" bore diameter. Recommended procedure is to shoot a Minie that is .001" to .002" smaller than bore diameter for best accuracy. Therefore this rifle musket should be best loaded with a .580" or .579" sized Minie.

Pat Kaboskey can provide bullets of various diameters.

[7tharkinf]

Well then that raises another question where can I get a reasonable priced bore gauge
?

[Hickok]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006JCXOQ/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1



Try a .581", a .579" and maybe a .577" plug gauge. They aren't very expensive. Seems alot of repro muskets run a little on the large side as to bore diameter. I found plug gauges were the easiest and most accurate way to check.

[Maillemaker]

Hickok
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006JCXOQ/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1)



Try a .581", a .579" and maybe a .577" plug gauge. They aren't very expensive. Seems alot of repro muskets run a little on the large side as to bore diameter. I found plug gauges were the easiest and most accurate way to check.

HOLY COW WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE??????

I looked up these kinds of things on Grainger and such and they were like $70!

Steve

[Maillemaker]

I was just wondering what was the best premade bullets on the market I have an Enfield armi sport and I'm looking for a .575 conical old style minie preferred but up to hearing any suggestions.

I have great success shooting the RCBS-Hogdgon in my Enfield with a Whitacre barrel with 1:72 twist.

It also shoots very well with the RCBS-500M.

As was noted, I size mine to the nearest .001" that will fit.

Steve

[Hickok]

You want to check just the bore diameter at the muzzle, don't drop the plug gauge down the barrel.

[Hickok]

Steve, I tryed the various other methods of determining true bore diameter, but never got a positive reading I was sure of. With the plug gauges I found my barrel was slightly "tighter" than I thought!:D

[Ron/The Old Reb]

Here is how I do it without a plug gage. Take a Minnie that is larger then the bore. Drill a small hole in the base. Then screw in a sheet metal screw. Tap the Mine into the muzzle about half way. Clamp the screw in a vice get a good hold on the barrel and pull it out. Measure across the grooves with a set of vernier's. You want a Minnie one to two thousand's smaller than the reading you get.

[R. McAuley 3014V]

I was just wondering what was the best premade bullets on the market I have an Enfield armi sport and I'm looking for a .575 conical old style minie preferred but up to hearing any suggestions.

Cannot say just who offers the best premade bullets on the market but do be careful when you buy them. Another gent here, Southron Sr., attended the first Nathan Bedford Forrest Skirmish in 1978 when it was held at a city park in Union City, TN, and flew in from Winchester so couldn't bring any ammo with him. So he bought some premade bullets from Dixie Gun Works, along with a .571 sizer and one of Dixie's so-called "indestructable" bullet starters to push the bullets through the sizer. I don't rightly recall just how many bullets he had "sized" or rather beat them through the sizer, but the stress test he put that bullet starter through... it finally shattered into a gazillion pieces! So it might be good to have more than one size sizing die because if you are attempting to size a .580 thru a .571 sizer, the bullet length may tend to "grow" (enlongate) on you. I have sizers in 1/1000th increments from .577 down to .573 just to insure the bullet doesn't distort when sizing.

[Hickok]

Richard, along those same lines, years ago I ordered some .36 cal conicals from Dixie to try in a Colt Navy. Those conicals were harder than woodpecker's lips. I couldn't even get them loaded in the cylinder.

7th Ark. I can tell you this for true, CWbullet man, Pat Kobosky's bullets are pure soft lead. I ordered some for my Sharps to try before I bought a mold. Pat shoots competition up north, so he knows about good bullets.

Takes some time and experimenting to find a good shooting load for each individual rifle.

As to push-thru sizing dies for bullets, Tom Crone tomcrone123@msn.com makes dies that are second to none. I had some sizers from other outfits, but after buying some of Tom's dies, his are my choice. The have a gentle taper leading into the die that doesn't cut or mar the bullet, and centers the slug gradually before sizing to appropriate diameter. Great price at about $18.

[MR. GADGET]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006JCXOQ/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1



Try a .581", a .579" and maybe a .577" plug gauge. They aren't very expensive. Seems alot of repro muskets run a little on the large side as to bore diameter. I found plug gauges were the easiest and most accurate way to check.


One thing if you use this type of gauge, as others said to no liet it slide down the bore/barrel, just the first 1-2" of the gun.
When doing do I would go one of two things to save a chance fro problem. add tape to one end, just a small band to stop it from falling down.
Other then that one other way is to use a 5-6" brass rod smaller then bore and stick that in first so it can be use to hammer it out if your gauge gets dropped in.... As a just in case.


For any of you trap shooters think of a wad knocker, drop down the barrel to knock a wad out on station.... it is just a slide weight.