mold for 50 cal

[ihuntbear]

Got a new Lee 50 cal 250 grn muzzle loader mold.made a 100 boolets and went to the range seemed they were real easy going down the barrel.They were flying all over the place..no group what so ever..When I got home i drove a boolit down the barrel and to measured it...very little marks.So hit the boolet with a hammer to make it bigger in diameter then drove that down the barrel..Measured it and its .5015 inches...the boolets this mold makes are .4970 inches..now i know why no grouping..Boolet isnt big enough..So my barrel measures .5015 should i buy a lee 50 cal .517 diameter ???? need info please

[mazo kid]

Sounds like you need the 50 caliber minie ball mold...the black powder will upset the base of the boolit so as to engage the rifling. Do you have the R.E.A.L. mold now?

[ihuntbear]

I have a Lee double bullet mold....50 cal 250 gr number 90394...that I have no use for..anybody want to trade for something that would work for me

[ihuntbear]

i dont really want to shoot round ball..I need a boolit mold for my inline 50 cal that i use for deer hunting.. i use round balls in my 45 side lock for target only..Since i cant find a .520 diameter mold would a .517 mold work or still not big enough...I think the magic number is 2 thousands of an inch bigger then the bore...I need to order a mold but want the right one that will work..Hard to believe 53 people looked at my questions and only one replied

[69papatango]

Try to get your hands on a Lyman Maxi-Ball mold. Thats correct .001"-.002" over bore ...your statement of .520 or .517 is way to big. even .003"-.004" may work for you with soft/pure lead, Wheel weights you maybe jumping up and down on your Ram-rod to get to go down your bore.

[Screwbolts]

the 250 grain 50 cal REAL is Lee's short conical intended to be shot from a slow twist barrel, in place of a RB, the 320 gr REAL will shoot good for you in the inlines , they prefer a longer projectile to stabilize. The mentioned Maxi is also a good choice. for conicles it will IMHO be vey important to use the softest/purest lead for ease of loading and they need to Obterate upon firing to seal the bore and further take to the rifling.

Ken

[ihuntbear]

i have some of those 320 grn boolits that a friend gave me to try..they are a little bigger but still dont really grab the rifling in the barrel that great...they measure .5055 but would probably work..but will expand a little when fired...maybe thats the mold i will try

[Moonie]

i have some of those 320 grn boolits that a friend gave me to try..they are a little bigger but still dont really grab the rifling in the barrel that great...they measure .5055 but would probably work..but will expand a little when fired...maybe thats the mold i will try

I don't believe you understand the way cast boolits work in a black powder rifle. The slug MUST be smaller than the diameter so they can be started and seated fairly easily. When shot they obturate to fill the bore. Black powder boolits must be cast from very soft lead, WW metal is usually to hard. I had the lee REAL mold, worked great and was very accurate, when cast from soft lead and lubed properly.

[ihuntbear]

maybe i dont really under stand black powder but i do know that when the boolit hits the target sideways some gas must be getting around the boolit in the barrel which would cause it to tumble...i tried the 250 grn .the boolit pushed down the barrel with hardly any push..had no grouping at all at 25 yrds loaded with 80 grns of tripple7 greased with a mix of bear fat and beeswax..now im going to try the 320 grn which is longer and a little bigger in diameter...seems to push down the barrel a little harder which means to me its now grabbing the rifling...going to the range this week ..hopefully they work better

[Larry Gibson]

Assuming you have the REAL 250 gr bullet;

Are you casting them of pure lead?

Is the triple 7 3F or 2F?

Larry Gibson

[HORNET]

You might try a felt wad or small ball of Dacron between the powder and boolit to give an initial seal until the pressure gets high enough to obturate the boolit. Triple7 is NOT the same as actual black powder.