Looking to build a Minnie rifle

[ian45662]

Does anyone shoot 58 cal minies at 1000 yards competitively or otherwise. I am very interested to see what equipment they are using.


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[johnson1942]

if you made a barrel with the right twist and the type of lands a grooves for a mini bullet it would shoot that far. also i would recommend that the cupped base have a little thicker rim or skirt on it and maybe not so deep. a nice round nose like a 45 70 government 500 grain bullet. make the barrel at least 36 inches long and build the gun right and there is no reason with the proper sights that it wouldnt shoot that far and shoot well. you could put a well made barrel on a spring field and make it a real sleeper. i have a sleeper 1/2 stock mountain man rifle, tacks and all. the barrel is 50 cal and 36 inches long. it is a 1/28 twist and shoots a 535 grain pp bullet like a house a fire at any range. looks like a round ball gun but it isnt. i think it is fun to do this type of thing and out shoot anyone around you with there standard twist barrels.

[ResearchPress]

Does anyone shoot 58 cal minies at 1000 yards competitively or otherwise. I am very interested to see what equipment they are using.

Nearest we get in the UK is 800 yards. The Muzzle Loaders Association of Great Britain holds National Rifle Championship matches for Enfield rifles at 200, 300, 500 and 600 yards. A club I am in holds an annual match for Enfield, the aggregate of 15 shots at each distance 600 & 800 yards.

I have some information on my blog: Long Range Shooting with the Military Muzzle Loading Rifle

David

[ian45662]

Very Interesting thanks for posting!! When someone is shooting the 1853 enfield at that range are they using the traditional 1:77 twist barrel that the 3 band enfield used or are they using a different twist. How to the bullets out of the slower twist preform against the faster twist barrels of the shorter rifles? What kind of powder charges are you guys using and how long are the minies that you guys are shooting?


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[ResearchPress]

The rifles used are a good mix of originals or Parker-Hale repros. with appropriate twist to the pattern. P.53 aren't often used but do come out to play now and again. I shoot an original short rifle. Difficult to come up with any good comparisons between the 'three-band' and 'two-band', by far the most used are the short rifles. With the rainbow like trajectory and no windage adjustment on the sights, the skill comes in reading conditions and aiming off. Shooting by the way is prone with just the military two point sling for support. My bullet is from an RCBS mould that was opened out a little so it cast bullets that fit my barrel. Some have had modified base plugs made so that thicker skirts are cast - loads vary 75-90 grains of Swiss No. 3 (2f) or 4 (1.5F) I would think typical.

David

[ian45662]

That's a pretty stout load!! What kind of groups are you guys getting st 1k?


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[ResearchPress]

The standard NRA fullbore (highpower) targets are used which are 10' wide by 6' high for 800 yards. Getting all 15 shots on target is done now and again, but best I've done is about 80% hits. This is open sights and sling only support, shooting prone. No cheek wrests to help head position are permitted (unlike in target rifle events). Difficulties are when wind starts to shift to head or tail - its ever so easy for bullets to go just over or fall just short of the target. In the 1860s when the Rifle Volunteers (akin to US National Guard) were shooting competitively, Enfields were not commonly used beyond 600 yards. In the NRA Queens Prize, the first stage was fired out to 600 yards with Enfields, then the second stage qualifiers fired at distances out to 1000 yards with Whitworth rifles (excepting one year when Rigby were used) in .451 calibre.

It's an interesting exercise with Enfields - if the target is considered as an artillery crew or advancing column of troops then they would be suffering. There again we're shooting at a known distance, at a white target with black aiming mark and no one shooting back!

David

[peter72]

A question, Im interested in Pedersoli's Wurttembergischen.
Its a .54 with a 1.55 and a recommended minie mold of .54u, 39 inch barrel. Is that enough info to tell if that would stabilise ok? I'm no expert but it's a lot faster than other Pedersoli minie rifles.

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[PtMD989]

Not trying to hijack the thread. Would the Lee Minie 50 cal,360 grain, at .940 inches length be a good choice for my 50 cal BD with 1 in 28 twist with about a 22 1/2 in barrel?


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[johnson1942]

a 1/32 twist would be ideal for that bullet. how ever its not a long stretch to 1/28 twist. try it and see. the 22 and 1/2 inch barrel wont affect the accuracy at all as the mini bullet should to bumped up in the first 11 inches. the problem with bullets that are spinning too fast for their length is that they can gryo once in a while that means like a spinning gryo it suddenly take off left or right as the bullet flies. if you shooting really good groups with this gun then suddenly once in a while you get a bad flier that is what is happening. you may not get fliers with that gun. that bullet should shoot good in a lyman hawken 50 cal with a 1/32 twist.

[PtMD989]

Thanks, that's good to hear. Get to buy another mold. Oh yeah. The obsession continues. The occasional flyer is more likely me rather than my gun. Haha. Like when my wife calls my cellphone at the moment I decide to squeeze the trigger.


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[Ayetter]

UPDATE last Friday finished my latest underhammer in .45 13/16 barrel from Green Mountain. Load was 50 grs 3fg with a .433 ball resulted in a 2" group at 50 yards off bench. Next load was same powder but a 250gr Minie ball group was same but 6" low. Conclusion, roundball barrels will do just fine no need to order special barrels.

[johnson1942]

try it at 150 yards and i would be very interested in the results. i am truly not trying to be a jerk but 50 yards is not a good test. may be you live in a wooded area and hunt only at 50 yards but that does not test a rifle. it would really be good to us all if we heard what they do at 150 yards. that is the average distance a deer stops to look at you out in the open. the head of our muzzleloader club said this. you could put that bullet in backwards and still get your deer at 50 yards with any muzzleloader. again, would love the results at a range it is really used at.