Naphtali
10-17-2011, 12:45 PM
My first [Shiloh] Sharps 1863 percussion cap lock rifle is being delivered sometime today. It is .54-caliber. Since I have not slugged the barrel, I cannot furnish precise I.D.s of lands and grooves - but I hope the information I obtain will be valid, in principle, regardless of those dimensions.
I want to fully breech seat bullets while most 1859/63 shooters do not. I want to used solid base custom bullets - that is, no hollow base or Minié balls or R.E.A.L. projectiles - with three or four driving bands cast at 30:1-16:1. I'm not being precise regarding alloy because my experience with lead:tin alloys is their dropped dimensions are within "tenths" of one another. What I do not know is what diameter(s) each driving band should be.
I cast custom muzzleloading bullets whose driving bands graduate (base band-to-front band) from several thousandths undersize bore I.D. to .001-inch undersize bore I.D. - that is, (bullet's driving band O.D.s) have a slight reverse pyramid shape. This allows easier loading of several shots before swabbing/cleaning becomes necessary.
But are tapering driving bands needed, or a good idea, when fully breech seating a bullet loaded via push-stick or short starter into barrel's breech? Since breech seating is nowhere like loading bullet into brass cartridge case, knowledge and experience doing this has not yielded any worthwhile conclusions. And the purpose of different O.D.s of driving bands for my muzzle loaded bullet is nowhere similar to that of loading a bullet fully into barrel's breech appears to be.
Help me out, here.
I want to fully breech seat bullets while most 1859/63 shooters do not. I want to used solid base custom bullets - that is, no hollow base or Minié balls or R.E.A.L. projectiles - with three or four driving bands cast at 30:1-16:1. I'm not being precise regarding alloy because my experience with lead:tin alloys is their dropped dimensions are within "tenths" of one another. What I do not know is what diameter(s) each driving band should be.
I cast custom muzzleloading bullets whose driving bands graduate (base band-to-front band) from several thousandths undersize bore I.D. to .001-inch undersize bore I.D. - that is, (bullet's driving band O.D.s) have a slight reverse pyramid shape. This allows easier loading of several shots before swabbing/cleaning becomes necessary.
But are tapering driving bands needed, or a good idea, when fully breech seating a bullet loaded via push-stick or short starter into barrel's breech? Since breech seating is nowhere like loading bullet into brass cartridge case, knowledge and experience doing this has not yielded any worthwhile conclusions. And the purpose of different O.D.s of driving bands for my muzzle loaded bullet is nowhere similar to that of loading a bullet fully into barrel's breech appears to be.
Help me out, here.