370 maxi ball ?s

[randyrat]

I just got my Lyman Maxi ball (50 cal) mold the other day and cast a few up, they came out at 370 grs with pure lead. This big game getter has two grooves, one big and one small, do i lube both grooves,the whole boolit? How many grains do i use? Starting and max? I'm shooting it out of a Thompson thunder hawk shadow... Can't find any book for it right now and i'm not sure of the twist rate, haven't measured it yet. I know it's not a traditional but its as close as i can get right now. Can someone give me an idea where to start safely.. GEEEEZZ thats a nice big boolit. BTW i have bear lard, bore butter,felt wads and Pryrodex RS ffg to play with. Thanks

[Blammer]

50 cal I presume?

lube both grooves.

start with 60gr FFg...

[Blammer]

dude! you also have BEES wax too! I'd run 50/50 beeswax and lard/crisco.

[Guido4198]

Like the man said... find a recipe for a home-made lube using some of your beeswax..!!Fill those grooves with it..!! Beyond that...you can start@ 60gns. and work up. I've kept my maxi-ball load in the 50 cal. Hawken @ 90 gns. Goex. PLENTY of power, and doesn't seem to just blow unburned powder out the end of the bbl. I've heard of people getting their groups to tighten up a bit using an "over-powder" wad..you might give that a try, since you already have some.
Good Luck...ENJOY..!!





I just got my Lyman Maxi ball (50 cal) mold the other day and cast a few up, they came out at 370 grs with pure lead. This big game getter has two grooves, one big and one small, do i lube both grooves,the whole boolit? How many grains do i use? Starting and max? I'm shooting it out of a Thompson thunder hawk shadow... Can't find any book for it right now and i'm not sure of the twist rate, haven't measured it yet. I know it's not a traditional but its as close as i can get right now. Can someone give me an idea where to start safely.. GEEEEZZ thats a nice big boolit. BTW i have bear lard, bore butter,felt wads and Pryrodex RS ffg to play with. Thanks

[Johnch]

I just got my Lyman Maxi ball (50 cal) mold the other day and cast a few up, they came out at 370 grs with pure lead.

give me an idea where to start safely.. GEEEEZZ thats a nice big boolit. BTW i have bear lard, bore butter,felt wads and Pryrodex RS ffg to play with. Thanks

Yep it is a fine game killer
Never recovered one , even the Texas heart shot I took a few years back that broke the deers jaw exiting

I agree fill both the grease groves
I always used straight Crisco , but Bear lard or Bore butter should both work great


My TC Highplains Sporter shoots 100 Gr best and the Renagade Hunter shoots anything you put in it great
But any decent load should work from 60 - 100 or max for your rifle

I never liked a lubed felt wad between the powder and the Maxi , because I would keave the rifle uncaped but loaded for several days at a time during hunting season

Always afraid of wet powder
And I practice with what I hunt with

John

[Blkpwdrbuff]

Randy, I also use a 370 gr Maxi- Ball in my T/C Hawken.
I shot a small 2 point mule deer last season at about 100 yds. When i skinned him out it looked like I had shot him with a hi-powered rifle.

I use White Label Lube on mine, run through a .512 dia sizing die in my Lyman 4500 sizer. I load 90 grs. of Goex FFFg ( yes, that's right, FFFg)and a CCI #11 cap.
In my opinion Maxi- Balls are just plain better killers.
Just my .02.
Blkpwdrbuff:castmine:

[randyrat]

Thanks, that gives me something to work with. I gotta take picture of these, they look like a killin torpedo, losat missle,scud. Put one in a sock and they would make a blackjack.LOL

[Pilgrim64]

I did a fair amount of shooting with my TC Hawken 50 using Maxi-balls. At 70gr of 777 my group finally began to tighten, above that and it is all over the place for me - recoil was serious at 100gr.

What is the perfect recipe for the Maxi-Ball? 100% Lead? I want to cast some in the future.

[405]

Yep, torpedo is right. Seriously, even with pure lead which is what I used when I hunted with them they WILL penetrate and that risks hitting animals behind the animal you may not wish to hit.

The 60 gr FFg load is as good as any to start with. Even that will penetrate nearly as much if not equal to the much heavier loads. Accuracy is everthing. If you're worried about the felt wad contaminating powder then don't put any lube on it. Or you can use a 50 cal hard card wad. Wads between base and powder seem to help accuracy by better sealing and/or base protection- my observation.

One thing not mentioned about bare lead bullets in MLs is that they can lead the barrel. Every once in a while it's good to check with a really tight jagged patch on a good stout rod to see or "feel" if any lead. It is a real pain to de-lead a ML. Chore boy or bronze wool tight around old worn brush and stout rod and elbow grease :)

[10 ga]

Good choice and good components. Lube made of the 50-50 bear grease and beeswax is top notch. Fill all the groves with lube. Use felt wad or a hard card under the boolit. In cool weather the grease dosen't come out of the wad but in warm weather over time it will leach into the powder. I prefer the "Holy Black" but RS is OK. As stated before start at 60 gr and work up in 5 grain increments. With my Firehawk the sweet spot is 85 gr of FFF Swiss. The higher or lower charges only move the boolit up or down in elevation and it really doesn't move side to side. I shoot a 270 gr maxi hunter type. With that 370 gr boolit be prepared for some serious recoil as the charge increases. I also have all of my guns equiped with 209 type priming in the inlines and Mt. State Mfg. Spitfire musket nipples on the hammer guns. Mo better more fire. You are on your way and good shootin. 10 ga

[Larry Gibson]

I use the Maxi-Ball in my .50 cal TC Blk Mtn Magnum. It is rated for 150 gr Pyrodex. I use the same alloy as I use for my 500 gr 45-70 loads service loads which is 1-16 tin/lead. I also use the same lube which is a 50/40 mix of beeswax/virgin olive oil. I hand lube the bullets and only lube the bottom groove and have experienced better accuracy and no leading. I load it over 90 gr of FFG triple 7 with a lubed felt wad under the bullet. Velocity is 1530 fps. The picture shows 6 shots (1 in the clean barrel followed by the 5 in speed loaders) without cleaning between shots at 100 yards. I have recovered one bullet that went through a lot of elk on a raking 80-90 yard shot and it shows awesome expansion.

I couldn't ask for better than that.

Larry Gibson