Hi guys and gals.
Does anyone have a lead on some lead bullets .562 diameter, for my Burnside Carbine?
Or, any tips on reloading for it.
I was told it has Gain Twist, and that round balls dont work very good in it.
Lee makes a .562 roundball mold. But no Minies that I can find.
Thanks for your help!
Terry
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Last edited by 2horses; 10-22-2018 at 09:46 AM.
Moderator
Yes, your Burnside does have gain twist rifling. The Burnside is known to shoot quite well with a round ball at 50 yards. I have found gain twist rifled barrels to be quite unforgiving in load combinations. They seem to have a narrow window of what will shoot accurately from them. As for using any type of Minie Ball you may find that the overall length will not permit the breech to close.
We do have some members who shoot the Burnside, perhaps they will share their knowledge, if they see this.
Great! Thank John!Originally Posted by John Holland
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That's Great to hear, thank you!
So, it will be worthwhile to buy the Lee .562.
I'd rather ask first, than buy the stuff, and find out later, that wont work!
Thanks Terry
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Banned
Mr. Horses,
Hopefully your experience with the Burnside will be a good one. The gun presents a unique problem -- on loading the cartridge is in one end of the gun,the breech, and the bullet or ball in the other -- the barrel. Betwixt the two is a gap. By design this gap is filled by a thin rim or flange on the front end of the cartridge. This gap filling rim or flange can only take so many shocks before it fails. Without this rim or flange there is a large port available for gas leakage. Leakage like this causes velocity variations, and ergo, erratic hits on the target.
So there is your challenge. Buying new cases over time will bankrupt you. Rounds for the Civil War guys were provided by the government which had its own printing presses for printing money. Not so for our Burnside shooters, many of whom are now homeless and living on the streets of San Francisco.
Rapine had made a mold for a Burnside years ago, it was a short non-Minie bullet. Dixie also had an inexpensive mold of an original style Burnside bullet. I don’t know how lucky you might be to locate either- I sold mine years ago. And as the Eggster says, sometimes the cartridge fails to seal and you get some escape of gas. Considering it vents right at your wrist, I always wore a long, heavy glove to protect my wrist. A blast of hot gas on skin affects follow through significantly, before even considering any velocity variation. But good luck! When a Burnside behaves it is fun to shoot.
Bob Propst
6721V
York Rangers
Tidewater Region
Thank you Robert!
Very interesting info, that I did not know.
I'll keep the glove in mind!
Terry
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2 Horses,
Lodgewood Mfg. Ltd. offers nylon Burnside cartridge cases for $.75 a piece. They say they'll last longer than the brass cartridges, which is why I sold my Burnside. It was a museum quality, 4th model, and one of the most beautifully machined weapons I'd ever seen. That said, it would blow the lip off a $5.00 brass cartridge in about 4 or 5 shots. Unfortunately, the nylon cases weren't available back then.
As a side note, when I sold the Burnside in 1995 I bought a top of the line metal detector. I took that thing with me for a 3 year tour in Stuttgart Germany. The very first thing I dug up was an unexploded WW2 US Incendiary bomb! That put an end to my 'Battlefield Archaeology'.
Bottom line....wish I still had the Burnside!
Charlie Gerringer
Old Dominion Dragoons
I've had quite the opposite experience from Burnside cases. The plastic ones last me exactly one shot. The brass ones? I haven't counted, but MANY MANY shots and no detectable leakage. The bad thing is I've yet to find a suitable load. Also, I've yet to get a good measurement on the 3 groove rifling, but that's my fault. I have someone willing to do it for me, but I need to slug my bore again, as I have no idea what I did with the slug I did it with last time. At any rate, I SUSPECT that my barrel would prefer a bullet larger than the ID of my brass cases. I'm only able to JUST get a .556" bullet into my cases, and I suspect I need something a little larger, but I'm not sure what to do about that. Getting a good measure on the land diameter will be the right next step. I have shot round balls, but never got it to group much better than about 3-4 inches at 50 yards and I'm about the same with an Accurate Moulds 56-450B. That bullet will JUST chamber, and I've had someone else tell me they had to remove the guide screw on a 5th Model to get that bullet to chamber in theirs. Mine will do it with the screw in place, but just barely. Accurate Moulds makes a 56-450 mould that is made for you to use a core pin in. You could make it flat bottom, concave, or hollow base. That MAY be what I try next if it proves I need a larger bullet than what will fit in my cases. A Minie would expand into the rifling and maybe solve my problem.
And yes, I know. There wasn't a 5th Model......nor a 64-1/2 Mustang.......
From other readings I've read. Ive been told to use a .562 round ball.
Is there any way you could flare your brass?
There must be alot of variations?
I like the minie bullets that accurate has, but wanted someone else's experience first.
I had a trapdoor that took me forever to get a proper measurement with he 3 groove rifling.
It should be .459. And is .463+
Bingo! Groups are 1-2" now at 100yds, most of the time.
It's a blast to shoot now.
Thanks for your input!
Terry
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