635 Round Ball for 69 Cal Musket?

[Anonym]

I recently purchased a bunch of molds from an estate that I will be listing soon, and in it was a Lyman round ball mold listed to cast a 0.635 caliber ball. Is this for a 69 Cal musket, or is there something specific for this size projectile to be shot from? I don't do much large-bore muzzleloading, so I'm not that familiar with it.

I also got a Lyman 557456 HB Minie. Is this for a 56 Cal, or something more specific?

Thanks in advance.
Justin

[square butte]

.635 Round ball might be appropriate for a 16 bore smoothbore muzzleloader. PM me if you should be interested in selling it. Just happen to be looking for one.

[fouronesix]

69 caliber smoothbore or rifled muskets usually require about a .662-668 roundball for patching. The .635 would be for a smaller ga. or caliber.

That 557456 Minié is fairly specific to the Sharps percussion carbines and rifles- but, it's my understanding, it can also be used for some of the other odd +/- 56 caliber guns also originally from around that Civil War era.

[Anonym]

Yes, this is starting to make sense. Square Butte is going to try that .635 in his 16 bore.

Now that 557456 Minie for the Sharps sounds interesting. Is there much of a market for them?

About half of the molds I picked up were for black powder. There were a few Maxi Balls, several Minie HB Molds, and a few round balls. Got several in 45 caliber, a couple 54s, and then this 56 HB and a 58 HB Minie.

If anyone is looking for one, let me know. I'm going to wipe them down for pictures and get them listed as soon as I can.

Justin