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Thread: MiHec 12ga .678" & .732" Round Balls ~ Any Field Results?

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    May 2005
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    Castlegar, B.C., Canada
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    MiHec 12ga .678" & .732" Round Balls ~ Any Field Results?

    I missed out on this one for a variety of reasons but am interested in other's results.

    In particular I'd like to hear about field results using the 0.678" (in shotcups) and 0.732" balls in rifled barrels or rifled choke tubes.

    I'm a smoothbore shooter so smoothbore results are also interesting but I am really curious about rifled gun/choke tube results.

    Anyone?

    Longbow

  2. #2
    Boolit Master Gamsek's Avatar
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    Anyone? Comparison to slug? I am interested in buying one too.

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Castlegar, B.C., Canada
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    Hah! I thought I had a bite there! You want the same thing I do!

    I am curious as to how these balls are working for people in Rifled guns. Hogtamer posted some results using 0.679" RB's I sent him but I would have figured there be more posters especially when they have beautiful Mihec moulds!

    I was tempted to buy one but toy money is tight and I already have a Lyman 0.678" RB mould that works just fine so... I passed.

    I don't have a rifled gun so can't play to see what works and what doesn't. The 0.678" RB's should work well in appropriate shotcups and they can be paper patched to tight fit as well. I wondered about the 0.732" being large enough not to strip. There is not much bearing surface on a round ball that is just over groove diameter.

    I load for smoothbore and find that 0.678" RB's in shotcups and 0.735" RB's on a hard card wad column can both shoot very well out to at least 50 yards and likely out to about 75 yards. By 100 yards they are starting to wander and groups become unpredictable. From rifled gun the groups should hold up to at least 100 yards.

    I borrowed a rifled gun a few years ago and ran some 0.735" RB's though it and they shot very well to 50 yards. I did not try 100 yards but I have to think they would have done well because recovered balls showed very crisp rifling. There is enough extra diameter to compress and form a nice "belt" with the 0.735" RB's. Modern rifled barrels have twists to suit sabot slugs and they are quite a bit faster than a round ball needs but as long as the ball doesn't strip and picks up the spin fast twist shouldn't matter. I figured the 0.732" RB might be a bit small for the fast twist rifling.

    Anyway, I was hoping for some accumulated real world results from our slug shooters. It has been very quiet though.

    Longbow

    PS: I'll add that I sent Hogtamer some 0.678" RB's and he shot them from his rifled gun getting not bad results but not spectacular. Of course wad/ball fit, wad brand and other variables come into play so I was hoping to see more posts and results from a variety of people. I'd expect that a round ball with a well put together load in a rifled gun should shoot on par with a patched round ball from a muzzleloader (rifled of course) but so far that does not seem to be the case.
    Last edited by longbow; 12-15-2018 at 02:03 AM. Reason: Added PS and corrected spelling

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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