what kind of groups can be shot with these smoke poles???

[maillemaker]

thanks for the replies guys... did you find the "average" gun capable of those kinds of groups??? did you have futz with the grains of powder to get tighter groups, or do you feel it's more the tight fit of the ball & patch or the consistent weight of the balls ( weigh them ??? ) & or loading routine???

For maximum accuracy, you will have to work up a load for your gun and bullet.

For competition, I size my minie balls quite tightly, and I weigh them and discard any outside of +/- .5% of average weight.

Steve

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

thanks... what kind of twist rate do you think you need to shoot Minnie balls???

I planned on weighing the round balls for next years competition to try to tighten up things

 

[Pahoo]

1:48, is working for me !!

what kind of twist rate do you think you need to shoot Minnie balls???

I'm shooting the standard or typical 1:48 and getting very nice groups but have to admit that it's still a work in progress. I will stick to the 1:48. The Minnie-Ball I'm working with, is a Lyman 240grs. .45-Cal. ....

kwhi43@kc.rr.com
That is some exceptional shooting and thanks for sharing. .....

Be Safe !!!

 

[SIGSHR]

Don't forget the other factors such as wood to barrel fit, action to stock fit, etc.

 

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

You might consider two different rifles to accommodate your purposes. One having a 1-70 or 1-66 twist and another having 1-28 or 1-30 twist.

Just for the sake of conversation. Two of my rifles are equipped having more than one barrel available. And one of those same rifles has four drop-in barrels fitted to its stock. {All having different twist rates.}And one of those barrels changes the configuration of the rifle entirely. Cap locks> 1-66 another in 1-48 again another ones twist is 1-28 and the last one is a 50 cal flint barrel with its twist of 1-48.
From the above info. You can see T/C Hawken rifles are very accommodating to their owner with just a little imagination applied and a few spare Benjamins for the variety purpose.

 

[B.L.E.]

what kind of twist rate do you think you need to shoot Minnie balls???

Minié balls actually don't want a super fast twist because the hollow base moves the bullet's center of mass forward, which is stabilizing. Some will even fly nose first when shot out of a smoothbore. You can see this for yourself by shooting hollow base .177 caliber pellets out of a smoothbore BB gun.
The original .58 caliber rifled muskets made for Minié balls actually had a very slow twist. One turn in 78 inches for a 1861 Springfield rifled musket.

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

thanks for the info guys...