Round Ball Size question

[Freightman]

I have a 1860 something P53 Enfield made in Napal it has a oversize bore .585 what size RB mold do I need to use with pillow ticking? I have a mini ball mold but it only drops .575 so a RB would be my other option.
Thanks for looking.
PS Added pictures of the beast

[waksupi]

Try putting a piece of patching in the muzzle. Take your calipers, and open them up pretty tight with the patch on both sides of the inside jaws. That should put you in a real close size.

[Omnivore]

Generally about ten thou under bore diameter would give a tight fit with pillowticking. I use a ball five thou under, with a thinner patch, for a tight fit. So .575" I'd think, in your case. You can always try different sizes of commercially made balls before buying a mold, then melt down and re-cast the ones you didn't use.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

It is a minie' gun. Likely slow twist and shallow rifling. Cast a .575 minie and patch up to a reasonable, snug fit suitable for the gun's ramrod. Tuck the patch tail in the hollow base of your ball. Grease the patch before ramming.

BvT

[Nobade]

Baron Von T. beat me to it. That rifle may also have progressive depth rifling, which in my experience is lousy for use with PRB. Just paper patch your minie' to the right size and see how she does. I bet you'll like it!

-Nobade

[fouronesix]

I too think the minié is the way to go. But, trying a patched roundball won't hurt a thing. How much lee-way there is for best PRB fit may depend on the groove depth- too tight or too loose seem to be common with best fit harder to achieve

As to options for a minié- the RCBS .584" might work very well but the mold is pretty $teep. It's what I use in oversized muskets and had to bite the bullet when shelling out the cash.

The paper patch minié will work, but I've had zero luck with the Lee Improved design- as cast or paper patched.

[HARRYMPOPE]

My Parker Hales take .574 dia Minie and shoot great.They also shot a patched .575 ball pretty well.With a worn muzzle from that iron rod the ball fit may be deceiving.Put a short section of 5/8"(or so) steel rod down the bore so of you get the ball and patch in too far(and its too tight) you can shake the rifle muzzle down and beat it out.Erik Ohlen can open up a Minie for you for about $30-$40.He did a couple for me.

[Freightman]

Thanks a lot I am going to try the minie ball first PW it might be a surprise.

[rodwha]

Maybe trying patched round balls would be worth trying. There's a lot of guys who like using their large caliber muzzleloader for hunting small game animals with a light charge. I've considered trying my .50 for that, but it still seems a little absurd to shoot a 177 grn .490" ball at squirrels and rabbits. But the cost of a .32 cal rifle would buy a lot of balls!

If not for smaller game hunting or even close range medium/large game hunting, it would make for a cheaper target load or even something to start a youngster or new shooter with (if it's accurate enough).

Maybe a .575" RB and thin patch or .570" RB and thicker patch since you have shallow grooves?

For those of you who have tried PRBs through your shallow grooved rifle what was your 50 yds groupings like? And did you go way up and down with the charge?

[fouronesix]

For what it's worth, I shoot an original Zouave with a largish .584 bore. Have had good luck with .570 RB patched with .015-16 ticking over 45 gr FFF. And, .584 RCBS minié over 50 gr FF.

[Nobade]

For what it's worth, I shoot an original Zouave with a largish .584 bore. Have had good luck with .570 RB patched with .015-16 ticking over 45 gr FFF. And, .584 RCBS minié over 50 gr FF.

Those don't have progressive depth rifling like the Enfields. My Springfield shoots great with balls, but the Enfield is terrible. I think it is burning through the patches down by the breech judging from the recovered ones. A combination big enough to seal at the breech can't hardly be loaded in the muzzle. Works great with minies though!

-Nobade

[fouronesix]

Kind of hard to say about the progressive depth rifling. I have a few originals of each type. The Enfields all seem to be closer to .577 while the .58 rifled muskets seem closer to .580, except for the Remington Zouave-which is closer to .584. It's all original and was shot little if any since manufacture. Pushing a tight patch or PP'd minié down to the breech-- it is definitely a little "looser" near the breech than at the muzzle. I've noticed that "trend", but to a much lesser degree, in all the Enfields and 58 rifled muskets I have. So, I don't know if it is "on purpose" progressive depth rifling or the methods used in the manufacture, reaming, cutting the grooves or the fact that the greatest loss of metal due to corrosion over time tends to be near the breech (the most difficult area to completely clean). Got me?

But, no matter the real story and for sure I'm glad it's not the reverse where the tendency would be for a tight breech area and loose muzzle area.