.36 Revolver HB Conical Boolits?

[J.R.233]

I usually shoot the .44's, but recently acquired several .36's....Need to shoot'em!

No problem with finding RB's for the .36, but unable to find the more authentic conical versions....I checked all the usual places, Graff, Buffalo, Sponsors, Midsouth, Lyman, Bass Pro, Cabelas, more and more etc & etc...Ran across some a few years back in about 125gr as I remember...Cant find any today and starting to believe they have been d/c'ed...Plenty .44 coneheads, but no .36's to be found...[smilie=b:

I like making paper cartridges so Id even invest in a mold as a last resort...

Much obliged for any support, suggestions, links anyone may offer.

[dondiego]

Lee makes a mold for this.

[DLCTEX]

Lee's mould is a flat base, or at least the one I have is. It shoots OK, but the round ball is a little more accurate at 25 yds.

[bedbugbilly]

The originals - both armory bullets and those cast from Colt molds were flat base conicals. You could always try one of the brass reproduction Colt molds but over the years, I've never heard of anyone being too pleased with them due to their quality and the bullet they drop.

You could always have a custom mold made - but it isn't going to be cheap.

I have shot Navies (36 cal) for fifty years as well as a few Armies (44 cal) - both round and conical. The conicals shot "OK" but I still kept going back to round ball - easier loading and more accurate for me.

If you are really set on a conical - try coming up with either an actual bullet or design what you want and see what a custom mold will cost you - it's always an option.

[Petrol & Powder]

I'll chime in here, I've shot both and the round balls shoot better than the conical. My .36cal Remington copy does best with just plain lead .380 round balls from a Lee mold. I did experiment with some soft hollow based wadcutters that I swaged up to .38 cal. They actually shot OK but the RB still worked better.
In the FWIW category, the factory produced Hornady RB didn't shoot nearly as well as my cast RB's

[gwpercle]

Dixie Gun Works has all manner of moulds. I got a reproduction that casts both a round ball and a conical boolit....round ball is more accurate in my experience.
1851 Navy colt reproduction was my first hand gun. You didn't have to be 21 to buy them . Shot it so much the spindle that the cylinder turns on got real loose. It was a cheap Italian brass framed reproduction, ordered from Dixie about 1965. Surprising what you could do with it.
Gary

[J.R.233]

Thanks to all!!! And I appreciate bedbugbilly getting me straight about the authentic conical bullet...I was under the impression they were hollow base....The Lee mold prob be the way for me to go...I also have a couple K of 148 gr 38 HBWC I may try to cut and swage the solid end, or otherwise play around with..If all fails, they go in the pot...

[Petrol & Powder]

As for the 148gr HBWC in a cap & ball revolver, don't bother. I did it just to see if I could and the answer is yes but not remotely worth it.

[bedbugbilly]

J.R.2333 - just as an "after thought" - if you locate a conical mold for the .36, just make sure that the bullet it drops will fit height wise when you move the cylinder under the loading lever. I shoot Navies and have owned a lot of different makes over the years - all can be different in relation to that. If you load your cylinders off the gun, that shouldn't be much of an issue.

Many years ago (and I'm talking probably 45 years), I had a friend who had a 44 Remington and we took it along to shoot (we were working on a load for his original Smith carbine). When we got done with the carbine, we thought we'd have some fun trying out some conicals that were supposed to be based on an original design. They were great looking slugs, but we had to take a jack knife and trim the point down on each of them as they were too long to fit when rotated under the loading lever to ram into the cylinder. They shot fairly decent but he went back to using RB.

I, personally, have never tried any of the "original style" combination molds that were reproduced for Colts & Remingtons - the molds that cast one RB and one Conical. I have heard a lot of grumbling from others who have and their complaints have ranged from the "misalignment" of the cavities in the halves to "casting out of round". I can remember a lot of these in the 60s when repro C & B revolvers were being made - they looked nice in "cased sets" but otherwise, weren't of much use. There may be some good ones out there though. There's nothing wrong with a brass mold - the alignment and roundness of the bullet cavities is the most important thing to consider though.

Maybe some one who has had some luck with one of the repro molds will come along and they can make a recommendation on a brand, etc. You might also get on the NSSA (North South Skirmish Association) site and do some looking around. S & S firearms, Lodgewood, etc. may be able to help you out in terms of what you're looking for.

Good luck to you!