250Gr. Lee Real Bullet.

[willyp]

I read a lot  of guys saying it is a good bullet to try so i bought the mould.  Just another thing to play with!
Also bought some felt wads for behind the bullets. I have a lot of pure lead to use.
I have 3 guns to play with. 2 in lines and a new Traditions flint lock.  I also have a Lee 320 real bullet and some Lyman 370 Maxi's but have never tried any of them .
What do you think?

[davet]

I shoot a 50 caliber T\C Hawken with a Green Mt barrel. I'm currently in the process of building a second rifle in 50 cal. This will be a Lehman style flintlock. I previously built a 50 caliber flintlock pistol with a 12" DeHass barrel. I shoot the Hornady "Pa. Conical" from my existing rifle and pistol, and will likely do the same from my new build. No button, just powder and load the bullet. I do clean off the excess lube that Hornady puts on them as I don't think that much is required. I get great accuracy from these, great deer kills, and they are cheap!! I linked the page as they make 'em in 50 and 54 caliber.

FWIW

Dave

[zimmerstutzen]

the idea behind the Lee REAL, is that it has several rings that go from narrow to a little over size at the nose of the bullet. They are made for a variety to bore sizes in the same caliber. For instance a 50 caliber could be anything from .495 to .515. So if you have a tight 50 caliber, you may be bruising your palm to get the thing started down the barrel. Also, they can slip forward off the powder charge if the gun is carried pointed down. This makes for a dangerous air gap between powder and bullet in a black powder gun. I tried them once and did not like the results, some like them. Depends on your gun and rifling.

[Loggy]

I agree with Zimmie........nothing to fool around with. Most rifle barrels are manufactured with somewhat broad industrial tolerances, with most muzzleloading barrels being no exception. Those listed as .50 caliber by various manufacturers often vary from .495 through .505 caliber, although hopefully far closer than that. This fact greatly complicates the selection of a proper bullet.

In the past, the shooter had to search for a bullet that was reasonably easy to load, yet reasonably accurate by purchasing representative brands in the approximate caliber and giving them a try. If they didn’t fit, buy some others and try again until you got it right.

I own a custom built White rifles Super 91 .504 caliber. The "slip fit" White Rifle Loading System narrows that critical variance by identifying land to land diameter in three numbers rather then the traditional two. The three number system narrows the spread by a factor of ten. A barrel marked .504 will measure somewhere between .5035 and .5045, a much narrower spread, giving the shooter a much better idea of what he is looking for. I wish all barrel-makers would do it but unfortunately they don't.
My White Super 91 .504 which shoots the .503 460 grain No Excuses very well. They fit perfectly snug over the load. It has a Wilson 1-20 twist bbl. All bbls are different.

If you really want to know what the barrel’s true measurements are, you will have to "slug" the barrel with a soft lead plug (thumping in a greased lead round ball works well) then measure with a micrometer. This is really a very good idea with any barrel. Then you know the land and groove diameter for sure.

Best of luck and look fwd to your shooting reports!!

[willyp]

I fully understand that these will or may be tight to get down the barrel and may come off the powder charge?
As i have said it is just a new thing to play with.
Read about making over the bullet plugs to hold them in place? These were made from circles cut from egg cartons!

[Loggy]

I know with my White Super 91 .504 I regularly check with ramrod to ensure bullet is seated. Never had one come off the charge but its a good safety step with ANY muzzleloader.