Using R.E.A.L bullet in my flintlock

[Neo]

62899I was wandering if you can use R.E.A.L bullets in a flint lock rifle I own a Antonio Zoli 1803 .58 Cal Harpers Ferry flintlock rifle and I am looking to mold my own projectiles for it so I thought I would ask before I bought the mold I use 575 round ball and 577 mine ball bullets.with 60 grains of powder.:castmine:

[fouronesix]

First question is how well does it shoot the RBs and minies with the standard 60 gr charge??

Whether it is a flinter or percussion has no bearing on how well it will shoot them other than how heavy a charge the rifle will safely handle.

How well it will shoot the REALs?? Who knows. I've never tried them in that type rifle and I don't think they (original or repro) were ever designed to shoot a solid base conical. And it wasn't until the mid 1800s that the minie was developed for rapid reloading on the battlefield. Sometimes the solid base conicals like the REALs and the Maxis do best with a heavier charge and faster twist because they rely on both inertial obturation for rifling engagement and faster rotation for stability.

If your rifle follows the original twist of the M1803s of about 49" you may have a chance to make it work with a solid base. Check the twist, your Zoli might have a 48" twist. Try a standard 50-60 gr charge and see what happens.

Bottom line- get a few already cast, shoot them and report results. I'd even try some with a felt base wad. Sometimes that helps.

[PTS]

I wouldn’t expect any non-hollow based bullet to work well in a flintlock. They are interesting bullets though; I’m going to learn more about them anyway.

[Rattus58]

62899I was wandering if you can use R.E.A.L bullets in a flint lock rifle I own a Antonio Zoli 1803 .58 Cal Harpers Ferry flintlock rifle and I am looking to mold my own projectiles for it so I thought I would ask before I bought the mold I use 575 round ball and 577 mine ball bullets.with 60 grains of powder.:castmine:The REAL shoots adequately well in almost any gun. I sometimes size them to borewidth when shooting with kids for ease of loading, but they can shoot quite admirably...

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[johnnybar]

62899I was wandering if you can use R.E.A.L bullets in a flint lock rifle I own a Antonio Zoli 1803 .58 Cal Harpers Ferry flintlock rifle and I am looking to mold my own projectiles for it so I thought I would ask before I bought the mold I use 575 round ball and 577 mine ball bullets.with 60 grains of powder.:castmine:Never tried any bigger than 54 cal which casts .556-.557 on the top band and .541-.542 on the bottom band using pure lead. I use a lubed felt wad under the REAL and have never had any issue loading them. Those soft narrow bands engrave very easily in my Hawken rifles. If I had some 58's, I would send you a few to try but, 50 and 54 only here.

[PTS]

Thanks Rattus, I’m going to pursue those. I shoot a Pedersoli Kentucky flinter, mostly with Buffalo ball-ets and other hollow-based conicals. Being lead, I suspect the REAL bullet can still expand into the rifling. Another thing to get excited about!

[johnnybar]

I wouldn’t expect any non-hollow based bullet to work well in a flintlock. They are interesting bullets though; I’m going to learn more about them anyway.

It's the barrel and charge, not the lock, that determines bullet performance. REAL's will work well as long as the bore is not oversized compared to it's bands.