Bullet recommendation for Two-band Enfield

[Obi2winky]

I'll make this very easy for you.

I have a 1st gen Parker Hale, nothing done but skirmish sights and trigger. The bore measures .576 by pin gauge.

RCBS Hogdon minie with thin skirt base plug in the mold sized to 575. Pure lead, pot at 850. 43gr 3f Old Eynsford, RWS caps, Crisco only lube applied just prior to a skirmish to the sides and a hint in the base and I mean just a wee bit.

This load and gun will shoot into one hole at 50yds and about 2in at 100. I loaned this gun to a fellow skirmisher on my team last Nats and he hit 36 for 39 shots. I was standing next to him and it's no BS.

Is the one you have also of the 2 band length?

[Obi2winky]

Hi Maillemaker, thanks for those videos! I got into the firearms because of the hisotrical aspect and I felt like I have to try paper patching to justify buying a PH 2 band enfield Between the BritishMilitariaForum and here, I'm learning a lot!

I think it was a lot of your posts that I was reading about Wilkinson type bullets. I guess you didn't have much success with it on your 2 band. But the idea of the bullet is still cool

[Maillemaker]

Yup, I did not have much luck with either the Hodgdon nor the Wilkinson in my Pedersoli P58.

The way I "measure" my bore is I cast an oversized bullet and then go up in sizing dies until I find one that does not fit, and use the next .001" under that. But, you have to have the sizing dies to do that.

Another way is to use pin gauges.

Another way is to drill a drywall screw through your bullet, and then push it into the rifling and pull it out. Turn the bullet a bit and push it in again, until the lands have sized the bullet for you. Then take it out and measure the diameter.

Steve

[Hal]

Buy, or find someone who has, pin gauges. These look like metal dowels maybe 3" long, but are precision ground tools that you carefully insert into the bore in increasing sizes until you find the one that won't go. the size is the one right before that one. You would probably need .575" thru .580" or so. some may be a little larger, but most would fall into the range I mentioned.

[PoorJack]

Is the one you have also of the 2 band length?

Yup.

On the subject of the Hogdon and Wilkinson bullets, I tried them in a Euroarms P53 3band and 1862 Colt Contract 2 band with no real success. Best groups at 50yds were about 3in and that was in the Colt Contract. The Euroarms 3band, not so much. But to quantify that a bit, I found through further experiementation that the Hogdon does shoot decently in the Colt Contract when lubed with pure Crisco and nothing else added. That's a similar result to what happens in the Parker Hale but not as accurately.

The bullet that I've found to be pretty consistently accurate across several guns is the Rapine Trashcan or variations thereof. In both my Colt Contracts, it'll shoot almost one ragged hole. Not quite as good as the Hogdon in the PH, but pretty darn close. Lee used to make a version of it, but that mold is discontinued now, and the Lee mold drops a bullet right at 575+. Pass through a 575 sizer to clean it up a bit and it shoots very well in the PH and my Whitacre barreled musketoon. In this case, pure Crisco isn't the ticket for lube. I've had the results stated using Lens Lube.

Point is you're going to have to experiment with bullets, sizers, lube, powder charge and cap combinations to find out what works best for your gun. But every 1st gen Parker Hale I've heard of will all shoot the Hogdons very well, followed closely by the Trashcan.

[PapaRob]

Buy, or find someone who has, pin gauges. These look like metal dowels maybe 3" long, but are precision ground tools that you carefully insert into the bore in increasing sizes until you find the one that won't go. the size is the one right before that one. You would probably need .575" thru .580" or so. some may be a little larger, but most would fall into the range I mentioned.

Fantastic idea!. I just ordered a set precisely for bore sizing.

[Lou Lou Lou]

Pin gauges are used to measure bore. Our team carries a bore gauge for .575 to .580
We should be at Chaplin and Hopkinton

[Obi2winky]

Pin gauges are used to measure bore. Our team carries a bore gauge for .575 to .580
We should be at Chaplin and Hopkinton

Oh great! I will not be able to make it on the 28th but I might make it to Chaplin on the 29th. I'll keep you posted!

[Obi2winky]

Yup.

On the subject of the Hogdon and Wilkinson bullets, I tried them in a Euroarms P53 3band and 1862 Colt Contract 2 band with no real success. Best groups at 50yds were about 3in and that was in the Colt Contract. The Euroarms 3band, not so much. But to quantify that a bit, I found through further experiementation that the Hogdon does shoot decently in the Colt Contract when lubed with pure Crisco and nothing else added. That's a similar result to what happens in the Parker Hale but not as accurately.

The bullet that I've found to be pretty consistently accurate across several guns is the Rapine Trashcan or variations thereof. In both my Colt Contracts, it'll shoot almost one ragged hole. Not quite as good as the Hogdon in the PH, but pretty darn close. Lee used to make a version of it, but that mold is discontinued now, and the Lee mold drops a bullet right at 575+. Pass through a 575 sizer to clean it up a bit and it shoots very well in the PH and my Whitacre barreled musketoon. In this case, pure Crisco isn't the ticket for lube. I've had the results stated using Lens Lube.

Point is you're going to have to experiment with bullets, sizers, lube, powder charge and cap combinations to find out what works best for your gun. But every 1st gen Parker Hale I've heard of will all shoot the Hogdons very well, followed closely by the Trashcan.

Thank you for the detailed reply! I'll keep them in mind as I try experimenting.

[Southron Sr.]

The Enfield Naval Rifles and P-60 Army Rifles (both used identical barrels) with the 5 Land and Groove Barrel and with the "magic" 1 in 48" twist are the most accurate of ALL the 57/58 Caliber muzzleloaders of the Civil War period.

British NRA matches of the late 1850's and early 1860's allowed both active duty British soldiers and members of the British militia to compete in target matches. Any competitor that used either an Enfield Naval Rifle or P-60 AUTOMATICALLY had 10% of their final score deducted so as to create a "Level Playing Field" with those competitors that used regular P-53 "3 band" Enfields.

Confederate Sharpshooters were issued Enfield Naval Rifles and P-60 Army Rifles (when available) along with British made, paper patched ammunition. These rifles proved accurate out to 800-900 yards.

I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED THE IRONY THAT THE N-SSA, A TARGET SHOOTING ORGANIZATION, HAS BANNED THE USE OF PAPER PATCHED MINIE BALLS [THE MOST ACCURATE OF ALL .577/58 PROJECTILES] BECAUSE OF PREJUDICE!!!

The Lyman Parker Hale Mould sold by Dixie Gun Works is an excellent mould for the replica Parker-Hale Naval Rifles. Best of all, it is "N-SSA Legal" as long as you don't paper patch the projectile.