Lee REAL in slow twist barrels

[richhodg66]

Has anyone tried the Lee 250 grain REAL in a 1 in 66" twist? They seem awfully short, just not sure if they are that short.

Bottom line, I've always shot various conicals in my .50s, recently got a 1 in 66" rifle I want to shoot. Thought I had a .490 ball mold around, but don't. I do have the REAL mold. It would be nice if this bullet would work.

[Rattus58]

Has anyone tried the Lee 250 grain REAL in a 1 in 66" twist? They seem awfully short, just not sure if they are that short.

Bottom line, I've always shot various conicals in my .50s, recently got a 1 in 66" rifle I want to shoot. Thought I had a .490 ball mold around, but don't. I do have the REAL mold. It would be nice if this bullet would work.I've not shot the real in my long twists, but the 250 might stabilize especially with slightly heavier loads. I'd try it at any rate. I size my REALS in 50 caliber to .503 in order that kids can more easily load them.

[nagantguy]

I do think there is a chance that the reals would work in a twist that long I cast the 250,real and they are short.

[Junior1942]

...... I size my REALS in 50 caliber to .504 in order that kids can more easily load them.With what?

[richhodg66]

Well, I have a .495 RB mold on the way and some patches. I've only ever really shot PRB from pistols, and I prefer the loading ease f the REALs. Guess I'll try both, if the REALs work, I'll have my hunting bullet.

[bubba.50]

the lee reals in the lighter weights are pretty much all I use in my roundball twist barrels. probably not "match" accurate but shoot good enough to suit me.

[richhodg66]

the lee reals in the lighter weights are pretty much all I use in my roundball twist barrels. probably not "match" accurate but shoot good enough to suit me.

"Minute of Bambi" is what I'm looking for. Thanks very much, I think I have some already cast up, I'll give them a try first.

[izzyjoe]

I've tried those in my older CVA hawken with the slow twist, at fifty yards they did ok, they were acurate enough to kill a deer, but I stayed with PRB. They do shoot better in my T/C hawken, that reminds me I've got to back on that one!

[Rattus58]

With what?a .503 sizing die that I got from Rapine bullet mold to size my .504 440 grain Rapine bullets for use in White Muzzleloaders. I've since changed my mind about sizing to .001 under bore size for hunting after I lost a bullet in hot temperatures. I erred on my first post with the .504.. it is actually .503 that I'm looking at as we speak.

[mooman76]

I shot the 200gr REAL in my 45 w/1-66. Didn't shoot great but good enough for deer. Seemed to have a flier one out of every 3 so I think it was on the edge of stability. Should work a little better in a 50 since it is a bigger caliber. Only firing will tell.

[triggerhappy243]

yee got nothin to lose but 4 oz. of lead and 400 gr. of powder. velocity is not near as important as good grouping.

[curator]

I use the 200 grain .45 REAL in my 1 in 60 twist rifle, and the 250 .50 REAL in my 1 in 66 rifles with good accuracy once I figured out the load. One thing I have found to be almost universal using the REAL bullet is that accuracy depends on using a wad under them. A 1/8 card wad or hard felt that seals the bore really helps in the accuracy department as does a uniform barrel condition. Over-lubing will result in fliers--use only enough to fill the bottom groove for best results. You don't have to push these real hard to get both accuracy and effectiveness.

[Fly]

Well what I get from the replies is the reals are not as accurate.Let say at 50 yards, how much
difference as to a prb?
Fly

[bubba.50]

if I had the confidence in my gun/load to shoot at a deer at 50 to 75 yds with a roundball i'd have the same confidence in a r.e.a.l. boolit. for what it's worth & have a good'en, bubba.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Virtually all of the shortest REAL type bullets work in appropriate diameter dimensioned slow twist M/L bores. Some by design, some can be patched up to size with paper or cloth patches, and some of the shorter pistol bullets do well to. The standard 38-40 WCF lead bullet works well in a modern 40 caliber M/L, or in a 40 S&W for example.

BvT

[richhodg66]

if I had the confidence in my gun/load to shoot at a deer at 50 to 75 yds with a roundball i'd have the same confidence in a r.e.a.l. boolit. for what it's worth & have a good'en, bubba.

That's pretty much what I need to know. I've got ten pounds of spent .177 air rifle pellets I'm going to cast into .495 RBs when I get a chance and I have some .50 cal REALs around here somewhere. It's gonna be a couple of weeks til I can get the rifle to a range and shoot it, but if the REALs work about as well as RBs then that's what I'll use.

[Good Cheer]

Glad yall brought this up. Reminded me that I been meaning to try the REAL with a short greased patch on the base in a 60" twist .58.
The bore is big enough that the REAL wallows around until the front ring gets some bite.

Question on the .50 REAL and the 66" twist...
Is that in a Great Plains Rifle? Does it need to be loaded hot enough to make it fill out the deep grooves?

[Rattus58]

Well what I get from the replies is the reals are not as accurate.Let say at 50 yards, how much
difference as to a prb?
FlyYou experience may vary, but a patched round ball in my experience is one of the most accurate projectiles out there... especially to 50 yards.

Aloha.. :cool:

[triggerhappy243]

I have started to experiment with the 250 gr. 50 cal. real. accuracy is promising in my 1-48 twist. so far my best is 2.5 inches with 1 jerk flinch flyer. age is catchin up. 70 gr. pyrodex rs.

[blackhawk44]

The 250gr REAL is the most accurate round in my old CVA mountain rifle as long as I use a greased felt wad beneath it. Charges can vary as long as I use the felt wad. I have never been able to equal it with a PRB.

[triggerhappy243]

educate me about this felt wad. what are they and where do i find them?

[fouronesix]

Most use a "hard" felt of about 1/8". Then get a punch @ bore diameter or slightly larger. Use a mallet arch punch or rotary punch or press mounted punch.

Link to bulk felt that many shooters use Durofelt... (good "Mom and Pop" company): http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html

[MarkP]

The 54 REAL's shot fairly well in my slow twist 54 cal.

[AviatorTroy]

I realize this is a very old thread but I’ve been experimenting so hopefully a data point is helpful…

I wanted to take my .45 cal on a mule deer hunt this fall, but Colorado has some specific projectile requirements, off the top of my head it’s .45 cal minimum and 180 gr minimum which obviously would require a conical bullet in .45. My rifle is 1:66 twist and shoots patched round balls great. I decided to try to work up a load for the Lee 200gr real bullet. Results were as follows..

40-60gr of Schutzen FFFG, the lower charges were accurate with a caveat, above about 55gr the accuracy started to rapidly deteriorate.

About 50gr seemed to be the best, but results were really strange. Out to 50 yards, I could get 3 shot cloverleaf groups nearly every time up to 55gr of charge. But, at 75 yards, the groups were more like a foot and usually not even on the paper. Clearly this bullet is very marginally stabilized at this twist rate.

All loads were shot with a felt wad or a wad punched out of milk carton cardboard, no discernible difference between the 2 in terms of accuracy

I ended up not taking this rifle hunting this year which saddened me, but I am going to build a Colorado specific muzzleloader for next fall. Id like it to be .54 caliber with a fairly tight twist so I can shoot as heavy a conical as I want and not worry about stability. Looks like many more barrel choices in .50 caliber, we shall see where this project takes me.

[triggerhappy243]

i realize this is a very old thread but i’ve been experimenting so hopefully a data point is helpful…

i wanted to take my .45 cal on a mule deer hunt this fall, but colorado has some specific projectile requirements, off the top of my head it’s .45 cal minimum and 180 gr minimum which obviously would require a conical bullet in .45. My rifle is 1:66 twist and shoots patched round balls great. I decided to try to work up a load for the lee 200gr real bullet. Results were as follows..

40-60gr of schutzen fffg, the lower charges were accurate with a caveat, above about 55gr the accuracy started to rapidly deteriorate.

About 50gr seemed to be the best, but results were really strange. Out to 50 yards, i could get 3 shot cloverleaf groups nearly every time up to 55gr of charge. But, at 75 yards, the groups were more like a foot and usually not even on the paper. Clearly this bullet is very marginally stabilized at this twist rate.

All loads were shot with a felt wad or a wad punched out of milk carton cardboard, no discernible difference between the 2 in terms of accuracy

i ended up not taking this rifle hunting this year which saddened me, but i am going to build a colorado specific muzzleloader for next fall. Id like it to be .54 caliber with a fairly tight twist so i can shoot as heavy a conical as i want and not worry about stability. Looks like many more barrel choices in .50 caliber, we shall see where this project takes me.

yes, colo. Has really given the muzzleloader guys the chingas. With that being said, the 54 cal. Would be a perfect choice. See attached picture. This is 3 shots from my t/c renegade. 435 gr. Hand cast t/c maxi-balls on top of 90 gr. Pyrodex, shot off a bench at 100 yards. Iron sights.

[gumbo333]

TH243 do you lube those bad looking puppies? Use a wad under them? Peep sight? Mighty impressive I have to say, great shooting. I love it when somebody does something really right!

[LAGS]

I no longer have my .54 R.E.A.L bullet mold.
I sold it with a rifle that I had.
It shot as good as the Maxi Balls you used.
But only if well lubed and with an over powder wad.
But I only tested them out to 50 yards.

[triggerhappy243]

TH243 do you lube those bad looking puppies? Use a wad under them? Peep sight? Mighty impressive I have to say, great shooting. I love it when somebody does something really right!

I do lube them with bore butter. No wad underneath, but I did experiment with what groove i placed the lube. the sights were stock t/c bead style iron sights,