Conical bullet for uberti army 1860 cal 44

[84mmcarl-gustav]

Hi,looking to buy a mold for uberti 1860 cal 44,but what size do I need,Uberti said conical .454 dia,but Lee mold got .450 and .456 diameter,are those will do the job,thank you

[milrifle]

If you decide you need the Lee 450-200-1R, I have a very slightly used mold you can have for $10 plus shipping.

[Charley]

Slightly oversize is better than slightly undersized. Pure lead will swage down, and perhaps shear a ring off. Those will do fine. Undersize, you can get flash behind the bullet/ball to the powder charge. Chain fires are not something you want.

[DR Owl Creek]

Slightly oversize is better than slightly undersized. Pure lead will swage down, and perhaps shear a ring off. Those will do fine. Undersize, you can get flash behind the bullet/ball to the powder charge. Chain fires are not something you want.


+1

Pure lead conicals at .454" or even .456" would be your best bet. Smaller is just asking for trouble. IMO.

Dave

[Gray Fox]

The smaller diameter Lee mold is designed for the Pietta and Uberti revolvers, the larger one is designed for the Ruger Old Army. I have the former and it works well for the ones I shoot. GF

[Springfield]

Remember, the barrel may be .454 but the cylinders are more like .450. Also, some conicals can be difficult to load with the cylinder on the gun, not enough room. Unless you need the extra weight for hunting, balls usually work fine and may even be more accurate than conicals, especially if the conical is not inserted perfectly straight.
Another option.
http://www.biglube.com/BulletMolds.aspx?ItemID=09d6fdda-c105-4c87-b269-68ebfdaba982

[84mmcarl-gustav]

Thanks all for your info

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Nothing here will be your best bet UNTIL you slug your cylinder chambers and the bore. Take the cylinder and nipples out. Use a punch diameter that will allow for pushing a slug out of each chamber. Likewise on the barrel. Then you will know the cylinder chamber and barrel relationships.

BvT

[Charley]

I didn't mention RBs, because you didn't ask about them, but I agree with Springfield. For general purpose shooting and plinking, ball will be a LOT less trouble, and likely more accurate.

[bedbugbilly]

My suggestion would be to see if you could scrounge up a dozen or so from somebody and try them first before you purchase a mold. As already mentioned, you may have problems in loading with the cylinder on the frame. If you are loading off the frame, you won't have a problem.

I decided to try conicals in my Uberti '51 Navy (after shooting a variety of different Navies over the past 50 years). I bought the Lee conical mold for 36 cal. It cast a great soft lead slug but my Uberti '51 doesn't have enough clearance with the cylinder on the frame to load it. I have always loaded with the cylinders on the frames on all of my C & B revolvers - am too old to change. :-) I ended up forgetting about trying to use the conicals and went back to the RB I've always used and had great results with. Ended up selling the mold to a fellow who loads off the frame. If you could scrounge up some sample conicals it would give you the opportunity to try them and see if your like them or if you prefer RB better before you spend the money on a mold for the conical. Just a thought . . .

[Blackwater]

Haven't shot my old cap and ballers in a while, but I just cast soft lead from a Lee mold and loaded 'em as cast. Don't even recall if I ever actually measured them. Cast of soft lead, they should "bump up" very quickly due to how BP burns, and the only concern I ever had was eliminating chain-fires. That was easily done by using a BP compatible lube (I used Emmert's) I'd melted and poured into a lozenge tin so I could carry it around more easily. I'd use a popsicle stick and scrape off about a pea sized glob, run the flat of the p. stick over the cylinder, and use the tip of my pinkie finger to press it in and squish it around to seal off the front of the bullet from stray flashes from the ignition of the one under the hammer. This also lubricates the bullet, and keeps the BP fouling soft - a VERY helpful thing with these guns, and one to never forget if you want them to be fun.

You've piqued my interest in taking them out for a "walk" again. Thanks!

[Good Cheer]

If you should happen upon an old Lyman 45266, the narrow lands and that goofy bevel base it makes a cracker jack percussion revolver boolit. But, it takes up lot of powder room.

[SniderBoomer]

Accurate Mold's 45-220S

A heeled design for Cap and Ball. I use this myself in my 44 Uberti's, I lube at 0.454. Nice tight fit, they sit very 'square' before pushing into the cylinder, very accurate. I load off the revolver using a cylinder loading-stand.


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