Lee .50cal. Improved Minie: Pb v. WW

[Maven]

"I sinned again today when I cast some .50cal. Lee Improved Minie's of WW's. When cast of Pb, they measured .501" - .502" and would slide down the bbl. of my Knight Bighorn with little assistance from me. Accuracy at 50 yds. was good, but not stellar. I.e., they'd group within 2" and occasionally 2 would touch, but Pb Maxi-Balls (Lyman & T/C molds) did much better. Cast of WW's, the Improved Minie's are .504" - .505" and are a snug fit in the bbl., which I hope will result in better accuracy. ( I'll post those my results here.)"

Well I got to test the Lee Improved Minies, both Pb and WW versions @ 50 yds. today using 60grs. Graf's FFg ignited by Remington #10 percussion caps. I can't say I was pleased with the results though since they were inconsistent. The Pb Minie's grouped, if you can call it that, into ~6", but 3 were touching and 2 were in the same hole. Those cast of WW's "grouped" about the same, but none was touching. Since the WW versions were larger and considerably more difficult to seat, I expected better performance, but that wasn't the case. I'll give the Pb Minie's one more chance before I give up on them and sell the mold.

Btw, I discovered that filling the hollow base with lube actually worsened accuracy: I fired 7 with filled bases v. 7 without (all 14 were Pb).

[flinter62]

Maven,I had the same problem with the Lyman 45 cal. HB. Never did shoot good. Stuck with TC maxie.Figured maybe HB not desinged quite right.

[jim4065]

Have you tried upping the powder charge? The only Minie that I've had good accuracy with is the 577611 - and only with "big" powder charges of 140 grains plus of Goex FFg. It seems like the Maxi's perform well with lighter charges (at least in the White Mountain Carbine).

[Maven]

jim4065, Thanks for the tip! I'll try 70gr. and maybe 80gr. before I give up on the mold.

[38-55]

Maven,
I've used 50gns of 3f for years... just smear bore butter all over em' and bang away.. I tried 2f and had results like yours...
Hope that helps,
Stay safe
Calvin

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Most of my Minie' ball shooting has been in shallow groove, slow twist, rifles of Civil war derrivation, with moderate charges. By and large, I believe most shot the best with a soft lube of chapstick consistency, sized to fit with .0015" clearance ( a smooth , dry sliding fit in and out of the barrel). Filling the hollow base with lube never helped me. Hard lubes were bad too.

PURE lead is critical as the hollow base usually extends up the center of the bullet to the point where the external cylindrical stops, but the nose is bore riding at least a little. With WW, the hollow rear cylinder part expands, the front part not so much and the ball starts to tip ever so slightly at the ball emerges from the muzzle, as base perfection is critical. There goes accuracy. Yeah, check your muzzle counter sink often too.

Sometimes it is neccessary to size just to ensure skirt roundness. With my BW/BEEF TALLOW lube it was neccessary to have a winter and a summer lube. I never used those hellacious proof charges that some talk of in original or reproduction enfields or springfields. In my last enfield 40 grains fffg under the RCBS 58-500-M was running a chronographed 825 fps and the fffg fouling with the lube used allowed many shots without HARD fouling, a real accuracy killer in the Minie' as it deforms the shirt in loading, or starts a hard fouling ring at the ball seat. Two moderate taps of the ramrod worked for me in seating.

You must use a nipple with the smallest flashhole you can get, be aware of your best group size, and be able to spot flashhole burnout quickly , as it kills accuracy. Steel nipples were only good for 250 shots, even at 40 grains charge. Beryllium was best, buy several at a time and gauge them when you buy them. Minie' guns are not "patch guns, or BPCR either, but a whole different adventure.