Lee 45 cal Minie ball Loads

[TCLouis]

I cast a few tonight while I was running ball anyway.

Any idea what level of FFG or FFFG these will survive without blowing the skirts?

[mooman76]

No idea but I've run the 50 cal as much ar 80g without a problem.

[Buckshot]

................Heck, experimenting is 75% of the fun! I'd start at 40.0grs 3Fg, and go up 5.0grs at a time until you hit nirvana or start getting whistlers. I'd then switch to 2Fg at that load or maybe go down 5.0 grs to start, before going up with the 2Fg. Regardless which powder, at the accuracy spot experiment up and down around that spot in 2.0gr increments.

How deep are the grooves, and what is the twist?

.................Buckshot

[TCLouis]

I got to 60 grains of FFFG with no issues apparent. I just got a tired shoulder and quit. I shot 100-150 rounds of 50 and 54 on Friday and was sorta worn down already.

Besides I had almost 150 rounds of high performance ammo to run through the SRH offhand and that requires some energy to handle recoil and weight of the gun.

[Rattus58]

My very first muzzleloader buck dropped to this bullet. It was in a .451 volunteer in front of 60 grains of Pyrodex P. I had Lee cut down my pins for me, and got a skirt very thick from the process, something you couldn't blow with 130 grains of powder probably, but not at all accurate. My accuracy with this bullet quit at 70 grains of Pyrodex P. I don't have any long twist .45's which I think would would lend to much more accuracy..

The stock minie of mine had the thinnest skirts of any of my minies and I don't know I'd trust it much with more than 60 grains of 2f/3f.

Aloha...