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Thread: Minie Ball, Act One, Scene One

  1. #21
    Boolit Master
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    Did you cook the legs to feed to the dogs ?
    And did you cook them as much as you would for people to eat .

  2. #22
    Boolit Master
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    This looks like a perfect situation for a paper cartridge. Just use a longer piece of paper. Roll the bullet, twist the end and stuff it in the hollow base. At the other end add the powder. Twist the 'top' to contain it all. To load, tear off the top, dump the powder in the barrel. Insert the bullet. When just inside the bore rip off the extra paper. Ram bullet. Fire.

  3. #23
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by indian joe View Post
    city people eat em - taste goes toward lean beef

    I used to take the back legs for dog food and often get these big white worms living in the major blood vessels - kinda put me off
    Reminds me of Mic Dundee sayin eatable but tastes like SHEET

  4. #24
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by LAGS View Post
    Did you cook the legs to feed to the dogs ?
    And did you cook them as much as you would for people to eat .
    nah fed em to dogs raw - all this needs a permit cuz they native -- one bloke got fined 10K for doin it - said if thats the price of a roo then I am gonna be a millionaire - just need to find some city slicker that will pay the price and he can have this place .

  5. #25
    Boolit Grand Master Good Cheer's Avatar
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    armoredman,
    Has big are those boolits?
    Don't you need a bigger diameter minie?

  6. #26
    Boolit Master armoredman's Avatar
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    OK, so, after quite a while, I was able to get back to this. The holidays suck, BTW, just sayin'.
    So LAGS very kindly made me some rolling rods, some premade tubes and some paper to make my own. I used the glue stick in my Guns of the West paper cartridge kit for my 44. NOW is the time for all experts to come share your words of wisdom as I step off into uncharted waters, but hold the wailing and gnashing of the teeth until I get my hearing protection on, OK?

    First, the beeswax used was actually a 90% beeswax mix, from melting wax bullets gifted to me that I never got around to using. Yes, the stove top is a little dirty - I had no idea it would show up so bad, I do usually try to keep it clean. Just on the side, if anyone knows a GREAT cleaner for glass top stoves that will clean them sparling, now would be a good time to mention it. Oh, yes, the wife saw me doing this and as long as I clean up, I am good to go. I do most of the cooking anyway.



    Whilst that is melting, lets play with these tubes, shall we? There's one of the Minie balls.



    Seven premade tubes from LAGS, all with balls seated point down, paper folded over.



    Anyone feel like a swim?



    DUNK!



    Seven little cylinders.



    Needs something - meet tonight's guest star!



    Old friend set at 70 to start



    Dump powder, twist paper - this does NOT seem that hard...must be doing something wrong. Note powder charge weight written on the side - no the top one does NOT say "infinity", it's sideways...


  7. #27
    Boolit Master armoredman's Avatar
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    So, I tried it with LAGS paper;



    Say, while we're here, is THIS a paper patched boolit? Glued on and tail shoved in base.







    Or is it this, with no glue?





    In any case, I set these boolits so part of the lead itself caught the wax to hold it in place. These look REALLY weird.





    So, there they are, ready to try out, MAYBE tomorrow if we're lucky.
    Thoughts?

  8. #28
    Boolit Master
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    Good work.
    I am glad to see you playing with that stuff.
    Now I need to give you some stuff to Nitrate that paper or those coffee filters that you are using.

  9. #29
    Boolit Master armoredman's Avatar
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    Amigo, you already did - my fault being too dadgum busy to nitrite the stuff the way it should be.

  10. #30
    Boolit Buddy
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    Might want to try hair curling papers, 2000 of them in a box for about 2.00 dollars. They burn completely and are remarkably tough. Been using them for the last year and really like them.

  11. #31
    Boolit Master armoredman's Avatar
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    Sooooo, that didn't go well. No, nothing wrong with the paper cartridge, or powder, or bullet, rifle, no, nothing like that...

    The range was rented. The Dusty Bunch and the Gathering of the Posses had the entire place locked down for the whole weekend. I hate it when they do that because A) I can't use the only range within easy driving distance, and B) they fire so many rounds at steel targets that actual trenches are dug along the range.
    Mildly annoying, but there is always next week.

  12. #32
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by armoredman View Post
    I mentioned to everyone here that I cast up some of the Lee 410gr .533 Minie Balls, incidentally the first time I had gotten my lead pot working since the divorce and move. It took some time to knock the rust of the pot and me, but I got a few.



    Yes, none of them look really great, but I consoled myself that the ones cast around firepits during The War Between The States probably didn't look all that much better!

    So, after some adventures in mundane activity, (I tweaked my ankle doing laundry. How stupid is that?), we finally made it out to the firing line!



    Da Boys customized left handed Kit Carson ready to go.



    My T/C Renegade with sling.



    Note - NONE of the pics are of me. Why? Nobody took pictures of me shooting. Simple enough.

    So, let's get started. Clearing caps fired, and loading up with the 78/100 FFG powder from a great buddy. First load of 60 grains, or roughly 45 grains of regular powder. Why? We really didn't have a clear starting point, so that seemed like a good one. BTW, LOADING these things was unreal - with a generous helping of Bore Butter they literally slid down inside the bore. Only two between the two of us needed any help. I saw that paper patching idea, might do that next time. That Bore Butter is some weird grease...



    Um...oops...



    Is rifle? Is not rifle...



    Well, it seems that the boolit drop at 50 yards with that powder equivalent was...astounding. I did a dead center hold on the target and the boollit dropped right at the target's feet. Might need to bring that up a skosh. OK, so 70 grains.



    A HIT!



    That would be great if it was the start of something wonderful and grand...but alas, it was not. We switched off, he fired one, I fired one, and between the two of us we fired ten slugs before calling it a day. We hit the target once. I tried playing with my adjustable sights and Da Boy tried adjusting the charge, from 70 t 80 and back. I was consistently over the top, so it's not the powder charge this time. No problem, I have the paper target stand, we'll just put up some paper at 25 yards and...I forgot the backing. Double whops. I blame it on my laundry ankle. I consoled myself with some shots from a 4 inch Smith...and hit the steel 5 out of 6 times with iron sights at 50 yards...gee, what does THAT say?
    Like I told the kid - a bad day at the range beats a GREAT day at work, and he enthusiastically agreed. Hah, what does HE know about work? Hah, I say. But we both have that fighting spirit, and we will come back down and we will make this work.
    BTW, so how DO you paper patch...?

    Say tuned for "Act One, Scene Two", or, "Big Honking Boolit Misses Steel Again!"
    I gave that mold away couldn't hit the side of a barn locked inside/Ed

  13. #33
    Boolit Master armoredman's Avatar
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    That's why we are experimenting - I hate to waste a mold if I can make it work. On the other hand, what Minie ball mold did you get to work in your rifle?
    Last edited by armoredman; 01-28-2023 at 05:49 PM.

  14. #34
    Boolit Buddy rickt300's Avatar
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    I have a 542622 Lyman mold that has been an easy to load, shoot and gives good accuracy. Been thinking about trying it powder coated to get rid of the mess grease makes.

  15. #35
    Boolit Master
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    The PC will keep the lead from sticking to the barrel.
    But the Lube helps keep the powder fouling from getting hard and building up.
    But if you swab the barrel between shots , the PC Boolits will work good

  16. #36
    Boolit Master armoredman's Avatar
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    Nifty idea

  17. #37
    Boolit Buddy
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    I experimented quite a bit with PC on minies and the end result- no change in accuracy, not worth the time and expense. The minie was designed to work in a certain power range with a moderate charge and so long as you're in that range, it will work just fine without the need for PC. Lube, bullet sizing, and type/amount of powder are far, far more important.

    FWIW, I have yet to find a Lee minie that shoots well out of my competition guns other than the discontinued "trashcan" style and it's not like I haven't tried.

    100yd group Parker Hale Enfield musketoon. RCBS Hogdon minie
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Our team was on Position 59 at Nationals this time. The firing line goes up to Position 70.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    A man cannot have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check