I need a TC 58 cal Maxie mould or..a good knock off

[omgb]

I have reinvented my youth and purchased a Navy Arms Hawken Hunter in 58 ca. I had one of these back in 1976 but sold it due to a new baby etc. Now I've got another one. This is that heavy barreled Hawken that Val Forgett used with a 610 grain Shiloh Stakebuster and 180 grns of 3F to take Africa's Big 5.

I don't want any blown skirt issues so standard minnies are out. Lyman 577611 might work but I'm thinking a maxie design might work even better so...anyone got one?

R J Talley

[montana_charlie]

I know the .45 TC Hawken had a rifling twist of 48:1. That was slow enough for a patched round ball to work in, and fast enough to handle a conical. The conical TC designed for that twist was the .45 Maxi-Ball.

The bullet would enter the muzzle easily, but the front band got engraved ... which held the base tight against the powder charge when seated. When fired, the bullet would shorten by a predictable amount, which made it 'just long enough' to work in that 48-inch twist.

There were Maxi-Balls designed for their other calibers, too, and I'm convinced they were 'balanced' for the specific twist used by TC in each of those. I know that the looks varied between calibers ... with longer or shorter 'grooves' according to caliber.
In other words, they weren't all just re-scaled models of the original .45 bullet.

I don't think TC ever built a .58, so I bet they never designed a Maxi-Ball for that caliber. If you want to get one built, it would need to be 'configured' for the twist in your Navy Arms rifle.

CM

[omgb]

They did in fact make a .58 and they actually did make a mould for it too. My Navy Arms gun is rifled 1/60 and is designed for a fairly long bullet. I bought a bunch of these maxis cast from an original mould. They are in the mail now and when I get the bullets I can measure them and have Accurate Molds make one but I was hoping someone might have an original and save me the trouble. I have their maxis in 36, 45, 50 and 54 and all work well. I also have an old Cramer gang mould that cast 6 of the 50 cal maxis.