Help me choose a minie ball mold

2968 Views 6 Replies 6 Participants Last post by AZshooter, Mar 20, 2014

wrench

Discussion Starter · Mar 17, 2014

I've dipped my toe into the muzzleloading pool, and have an Armi Sport repro 1863 Springfield rifle on the way.
.58 caliber. I've plenty of pure lead, and tin if I need it...but no molds.
I'd like to shoot a minie ball, as I have read that this rifle was designed for these. Is there one that I could start out with, or should I just wait a bit until I have the rifle in hand to check bore size? Does one size these giant things like a normal boolit, or shoot them as cast?
I have read about a crisco/beeswax mix for lube, so I can whip up a batch of that easily.
Also, I would love to begin with a Lee mold, as I don't want to spend a ton of $$ on this to find out that I'll only shoot it once a year.
I plan to use real black powder, love that cloud of smoke!
Any other advice would be very welcomed as well.
Thanks for the help...

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TP

· #2 · Mar 17, 2014

First, throw the tin away, use pure lead only for the Minié ball.

Second, wait until you have your new rifle musket in hand and slug the bore. Find a mould that will cast slightly over .002 under bore diameter then size appropriately. if your bore is exactly .58, you will want a Minié that is .578 in diameter.

And don't forget to drag out your scales, weigh each round to get consistency in weight for maximum accuracy.

Good for you using black powder rather than the ersatz (substitute) powders, it's much easier to clean than any of the others.

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