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Thread: The Minie Ball in The Revolutionary War...

  1. #1
    Boolit Man
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    98

    The Minie Ball in The Revolutionary War...

    Yes... no minie balls that I know of during the American War of Independence, but... I got a new mold, so why not experiment.

    I recently picked up a 54 cal Lyman mold for a 425gr Minie Ball (#542622). The rifle is a 54 cal Pedersoli Jaeger flintlock rifle. Barrel twist is 1 in 24”. It’s actually a very good representation of a basic, unadorned military Jaeger type rifle that would have been carried by Hessian or German troops in the late 18th or early 19th century. BTW, despite being a fast twist, this rifle shoots patched RB very well with my standard 90gr FFg load. Doesn’t make sense, but it works...

    Minie balls work with a 19th century rifled musket, so why not a flintlock? I cast up the minies and lubed them with my 50/50 beeswax and olive oil mix. As dropped they miked .542. Too large to load in my rifle. So I had Lee make me a .535 sizing die and resized them. They loaded just fine. First three shots with 80gr and the cavity filled with lube resulted with no accuracy and keyholing. The skirt on this minie is very thick. I removed the lube in the cavity and upped the charge to 90gr FFg and was rewarded with a ragged hole.

    I was able to load and shoot as much as I wanted without wiping the bore and having any resistance in loading. Completely unlike a patched RB. It made for a very easy range session.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Experiment was successful.

  2. #2
    Boolit Man
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
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    98
    Click image for larger version. 

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  3. #3
    In Remembrance

    aspangler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    1,244
    Good shootin' thar Tex! Sometimes you hit it first time, other times you have to experiment. Looks like you found what you rifle likes. BTW Good lookin' gun too.
    Tennessee Hunter Education Instructor

    “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to
    restrain the people; it is an instrument for the
    people to restrain the government-lest it come to
    dominate our lives and interests"
    Patrick Henry

  4. #4
    Boolit Man
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
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    98
    I like the most that I was able to just load and shoot. I’m not saying it was the most accurate load, but it sure was fun to just pour the powder down, load, prime, and shoot. Before I was wiping the bore after every third patched RB. Good accuracy too. Not complaining.

  5. #5
    Boolit Man
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    98
    I have a great pic of my Jaeger but I’m can’t meet the minimum size of the forum to upload

  6. #6
    Boolit Man
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    98
    Quote Originally Posted by aspangler View Post
    Good shootin' thar Tex! Sometimes you hit it first time, other times you have to experiment. Looks like you found what you rifle likes. BTW Good lookin' gun too.
    Thank you. It was a bit of work to make it work. With that bullet. Of course always was easy with RB or even a Maxi ball.

    I’m pretty sure I could have cut a few years off the Revolutionary War if they had the right mold and a rifled Musket. Lol
    Last edited by Pavia; 10-15-2017 at 10:49 PM.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master Good Cheer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    the Ark
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    5,276
    Pavia,
    Thought about it for years, of having a long range flinter, of what elements would be incorporated into the design. Got a .52 with 26" twist flinter set up now on a TC Renegade.
    https://imgur.com/voEkqk9

    One of the .519 bullets.
    https://imgur.com/mszGaPp

    One of the things I want to see how much variation is introduced by the flash hole venting.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master

    Hickok's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    High mountains of WV
    Posts
    3,403
    I shoot .58 caliber Enfields with Minies, and like you, when putting loob in the cavity, it has never worked for me. The loob is still in the slugs after they are shot and retrieved. No accuracy and severe fouling.

    I loob the outside of the Minie, and they shoot great. Fouling stays soft, and can keep on shooting.
    Maker of Silver Boolits for Werewolf hunting

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy

    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    347
    I used to shoot PRB but discovered Minies 35 years ago and haven't looked back. I shoot in the N-SSA.org

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check