Shooting a maxi ball in a 1-66 twist PRB muzzle loader

[Fly]

I have been in muzzle loading since the 1970,s. All my muzzle loaders are slow twist PRB barrels with exception of my Gibb,s.
Now the question that has been ask many times. Most of the civil war muskets had very slow twist as we know. I have never tried
shooting a mini or maxi ball in my rifles. With a 1 in 66 twist why won't it work?

Fly

[tdoyka]

i have a lyman deerstalker 50 cal. and it goes( i think) 1 in 48" twist. it shoots roundballs consistently 1.5" at 100 yards(5 shots). i tried a maxiball (from different grain of ffg and fffg and different lubes) and the best was 3 3/4" at 100 yards, i won't tell you about the worst. now my dad owns a tc hawken 50 cal (1 in 48" twist, the hawken was done as a kit rifle) and a group of maxiballs will go 1 - 1 1/4" at 100 yards(5 shots). it will do a rb almost as well as the maxiball.

you would be better off to with a hollow base boolit than a maxiball.

https://www.northwestfirearms.com/at...oto-jpg.88784/

[NSB]

I shot maxiballs in my TC Hawkens and they shot pretty good. At 100yds they'd shoot under 3" groups on a regular basis and they were more than good enough to kill a bunch of deer.

[bubba.50]

T/C Maxi-balls shot very well in my 54cal Lyman Great Plains with the slow twist. nowadays since the moulds are so cheap, I use the lighter of the two weights of the Lee R.E.A.L. bullets in my slow-twist guns.

[triggerhappy243]

1-66 is a round ball twist. the maxi needs a faster spin to stabilize. watch a slow motion video of someone throwing a football...... same principle. But go ahead and shoot 3 shots on a target and watch what happens.

[Fly]

1-66 is a round ball twist. the maxi needs a faster spin to stabilize. watch a slow motion video of someone throwing a football...... same principle. But go ahead and shoot 3 shots on a target and watch what happens.

Well if true Why are the Enfield muskets something like 1 in 70 twist & can shoot very accurate to 300 yards. We are talking hollow
base bullet here. Most of the civil war muskets had very slow twist & shot hollow based bullets.

Fly

[bubba.50]

three round groups with maxi-balls over 80 or 90 grain equivalent of Pyrodex RS averaged about an inch & a half at 75yds in my aforementioned Great Plains rifle. and right often they would be practically touchin' in a cloverleaf pattern.

[Fly]

Charley I read most guys that shoot the reals say the lighter real is more accurate then the longer heavy real. They say it is because in a
slow twist rifle shorter is better. I don't know why but that's what some say. I would like to play with this some. I shot my son in laws
Zouave Zolli this weekend & was impressed. My first time in all these year to shoot a musket. I do not now the brand of maxi balls he
had, but they shot well in that .58 cal. We were only shooting 50 grains of my home made 2ffg powder. It got me to thinking shooting
hollow base bullets in Lyman GPR, & that's why I,m asking.

Fly

[triggerhappy243]

Well if true Why are the Enfield muskets something like 1 in 70 twist & can shoot very accurate to 300 yards. We are talking hollow
base bullet here. Most of the civil war muskets had very slow twist & shot hollow based bullets.

Fly

i do not shoot enfields, so i cannot answer that question. but i do shoot maxi-balls and they are different from mini's.

[RedJackson]

Had Lee make me a maxi style 1.2 ounce boolit to shoot in my 61 caliber flinter round ball rifle. Just as accurate as RBs, far more powerful. Think of a 16 gauge Brenneke (437 gr @1350 fps), I get 580 gr @ 1100 fps. Just for grins shot it at a VW bug sized rock @400 yards. Lots of holdover but were it a real car, the occupants would be doa.

[curator]

Fly:

Civil war-era P-53 Enfield muskets did indeed have a 1 in 72:" rifling twist and were accurate to 300 yards and beyond. However, they were loaded with the "Pritchet" hollow-base bullet that had the weight forward like a badminton birdie or foster slug. That combined with very shallow "progressive" 3-groove rifling worked quite well. However by the early 1860s, The Brits were rifling their guns 1 in 48 twist for improved accuracy. The biggest problem with hollow base bullets in a PRB barrel is the deep rifling grooves that are hard to seal by an expanding hollow base. Also, elongated bullets that are not heavier toward the front really do need more spin to stabilize. The Lee R.E.A.L. bullets are made in two weights (lengths) per caliber. The shorter (lighter) of the two is nearly the same length as width (like a round ball) and will usually shoot quite well in a PRB twist barrel assuming it is the right diameter and sufficiently soft to obturate and seal off powder gases. Many shooters use a card or stiff felt wad to aid in accuracy when shooting REAL bullets.

[bubba.50]

Fly:
The shorter (lighter) of the two is nearly the same length as width (like a round ball) and will usually shoot quite well in a PRB twist barrel assuming it is the right diameter and sufficiently soft to obturate and seal off powder gases. Many shooters use a card or stiff felt wad to aid in accuracy when shooting REAL bullets.

that is exactly why I use them in roundball twist guns. that & the fact I don't like all the fuss & bother of shootin' roundballs. and they shoot plenty accurate enough for me.

[bob208]

best advice I can give is try it and find out. there are many things that affect if it will shoot or not.

[Fly]

Thanks for the info very informing. Yes when you read all the post you hear many guys say they have very good luck & others
say no. But as Charley said the REAL conical work great in his rifle with a 1 in 66 GPR. I did not under stand why the heaver &
longer REAL does not. Curator what you said makes all the sense in the world. Thank you guys for clearing this up for me.

Fly

[longbow]

I have an old CVA kit .50 cal. I built many years ago. It has a 1:66" twist and shoots round ball pretty well but Maxis were a no go in mine. I gave the mould to a friend.

The Maxi's seemed to fit well enough but they certainly wouldn't group for me.

The short REAL might be good as Bubba says. That I haven't tried but will one day. Until then I have a paper patch mould I made that I plan on trying. It casts a short stubby boolit that should suit the slow twist but still pack wore weight and punch than a round ball.

Longbow

[Good Cheer]

A thick skirted minie sealed off OK in the .54 GPR with heavy charges.
Not long ago I got a new plug for the Lyman .533476 minie to see how a paper wrap works.


Never tried a flat base or a hollow base in the .50 barrel (had been thinking about maybe getting it recut or relined).

To try using like a REAL, this adjustable length RCBS .54 minie might be fun to try with a flat base plug or with a hollow of reduced size.

[mooman76]

It also depends on the caliber which has not been mentioned yet. The larger the caliber, the less twist you need. Also a over powder wad often helps or a heavier charge. Shallow rifling is also a help.

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

[indian joe]

i have a lyman deerstalker 50 cal. and it goes( i think) 1 in 48" twist. it shoots roundballs consistently 1.5" at 100 yards(5 shots). i tried a maxiball (from different grain of ffg and fffg and different lubes) and the best was 3 3/4" at 100 yards, i won't tell you about the worst. now my dad owns a tc hawken 50 cal (1 in 48" twist, the hawken was done as a kit rifle) and a group of maxiballs will go 1 - 1 1/4" at 100 yards(5 shots). it will do a rb almost as well as the maxiball.

you would be better off to with a hollow base boolit than a maxiball.

https://www.northwestfirearms.com/at...oto-jpg.88784/

I have shot LEE minies out of a couple of CVA 1:66Twist it works ok so long as you keep a stiff charge behind em - couldnt see the point though as both gave fine accuracy with round ball - I had a 54 for the bit of muzzleloader hunting I did those days and it did good with a ball - 530 Ball - pillow ticking patch - backer patch - 120 grains FF - that smacked enough in a 6 1/2 pound rifle - I had a minie mold for it - cast some - shot a few in practice - and quit - realised I had started this project for fun and that were not fun.

[MaxJon]

I have a 1/66 GP rifle just fitted peep sights front and rear.....wonder how accurate the PRB will do now????