.58 Petersoli Enfield Question

[Captain Midnight]

My last post was 5/09... So hello guys. Thanks for still being here as I would "peek in" once in a while.
Buckshot, glad to see that Toby is still on your picture.

12 years ago my son bought the above mention rifle for Civil War re-enacting using his paper route money. Thus this rifle is very important to him. He had a great time and with it we bought a Lee Modern Mine' mold and cast some lead bullets. He only fired it with powder only loads while "in action" with his 21st Virginia unit. Since no ball was loaded, the ramrod was only used for cleaning. The crown does not show damage that I can see. The rifling does not seem deep on this rifle.
After a hitch in the Regular Army, 4 years of college, getting married, and a year of teaching welding, we got the rifle, pure lead bullets, also 12 years old, Emmert's Lube, Triple Seven, and went to the range.
The Enfield at 50 yards put 2 into one hole 2" high and then put about 20 more 2 feet high and to the right at 2 o'clock. 100 yards was just the same only worse.
The is NO windage adjustment on either front or rear sight. We patched with paper and then cloth. Using the brass knob on the end of the powder measure, we flared the skirt on the Mine' until it was just loadable using the ramrod. We did not bring a ball starter. Nothing helped.
I am thinking of casting new projectiles using salvaged sheet lead I have and some lead pipe.
We used 60gr. of 777 and then 50gr. No difference in grouping.
Suggestion are needed. He would like to ambush a PA Whitetail this fall using this rifle, but with this group, his bayonet might be a better choice.
Thanks in advance
Captain

[Andy Mac]

Hi Captain

It sounds like you don't have the right bullet.If it is an Enfield it would be a .577.The best mould for a .577 is RCBS Minie Ball (.58-500-M) BULLET MOULD #82103 sized to .001 under so it slides down a clean barrel with some soft ish grease in the grooves.I only use 55gn of swiss #2 at 50 and 100 yards.

Good luck

Andy

[oldhickory]

When shooting N-SSA compitition I never used anything other than Goex FFFg, between 45 and 55 gr with an Ideal/Lyman 575213OS and a mixture of crisco and bees wax for lube, sized to .001-.002 under bore dia., (land dia.).

As for your sights, the easiest way to adjust for elevation is to instal a taller front sight. File the existing blade down even with it's base, cut a slot in the base and solder a taller sight blade in. If windage isn't too bad you can off-set the slot in the front sight base, If you don't think that'll work, remove the rear sight, (origionals were soft soldered, I never messed with re-pops, they may have a screw). You can smooth and tin the under side of the rear sight and solder it back on adjusted for windage.

I would first try some Goex FFg or FFFg and size the bullets to match the bore closely though. Make sure the tang screw is good and snug as well as the band screws, most skirmishers also glass bed at least the tang and about 2" of the breech as the re-pops aren't fit very well.

[Hellgate]

You need dead soft lead. The minie may be too small for the bore especially if you have to flare the skirt to get a tighter fit. I have never worked up a target load for my rifled muskets as i use them for deer & elk. I shoot a heavy skirted Lyman 577611 or 575213-OS with 90grs of Goex FFg (Euroarms Musketoon) or FFFg (Zoli Zouave). My lube is 50/50 beeswax and olive oil or lard. If your modern minie has a thin skirt you will need to use light charges to get decent accuracy. A very slightly harder alloy with a thin skirt might work with heavier loads but I have found that pure soft lead is best for the heavy hunting loads and thick skirts.

[Boz330]

I had to go to an oversize Minnie for my 2 band. But the Lee REAL gives the best accuracy.

Bob

[Buckshot]

...............Captain Midnight, Yup ole Toby is still there You don't say but I suspect your Enfield repro is the 3 band version? The only 58 cal musket they still list is the M61 Springfield. In any event it probably has a 72" twist with 3 wide lands and grooves. Also if authentic to the Enfield the grooves will be of progressive depth (deeper at the breech).

BTW you mention patching? What were you patching, RB's? With the right sized ball and patch you should be able to get about 1600 fps with VG accuracy. For a Minie' the first thing you need is a slug that fits the bore as others mentioned. It should fairly guide on the lands. There are a couple outfits offering moulds dropping various oversized Minie' bullets if that's what is needed. It's tough with 3 lands and grooves but you can get close is you have a dial or vernier caliper.

Measure the barrel OD as close to the muzzle as possible. Now with one jaw on a land and the other on the OD of the barrel (again, close to the muzzle) take this measurement, double it and then subtract it from the barrel OD you took first. This will give you a close idea of the land diameter. It will probably be close to .580".


The above is my Parker-Hale P58 2 Band Enfield. Once I determined what it liked it pretty much does everything except give milk



LEFT This was a quick lube test of 5 rounds each starting with a clean barrel and then 5 rounds fired. RIGHT I was working with some heavier loads and the Lyman thick skirted 575611 Minie'.



LEFT These 2 five shot groups were done at 50 yards using the modified Lyman 575611 @ 624 grains. Please forgive the Pyrodex try . I was GIVEN a pound of the stuff. Check out the charge weight and velocity differences! RIGHT The modified Lyman 575611 and a regular one.

You should see if you can round up some real BP and give that fake stuff a rest

.................Buckshot

[StrawHat]

Buckshot,

In the picture of the muzzle and front sight, what is the "top hat" looking thing on the ramrod?

[mooman76]

It's a guide for the ramrod to keep it centered to prevent muzzle wear.