Black Powder Question

[Hogdaddy]

Quick question: can I use lead round balls in my rifled barrel? Any drawbacks, special loading, etc? I've been using sabots but have a box of 100 Hornady #6050 balls.
Thanks

 

[Ratdog68]

I see no reason to avoid lead round ball. It's 95% of my use with mine. Now, let me qualify, I use side locks (percussion cap), old school.

 

[Hogdaddy]

I'm using a TC Encore .45 barrel with TC muzzleloader primers. My only concern is the rifling getting leaded up. But I do use TC bore butter.

 

[Ratdog68]

Now, don't forget... when you use round ball, slightly undersized ball with a cloth patch (lubed with bore butter) is your ball/bore buffer to keep it from leading up.

 

[Hogdaddy]

The ball size is .445 so I push ball with buttered patch into bore until it touches powder. That protects rifling from leading and takes up the .005 gap. Appreciate your help Ratdog

 

[Ratdog68]

Looks to me like you have the bases covered.

Love my little T/C Cherokee in .45. Great little deer carbine side lock. Have a couple of .50 Hawkens, and a .54 Renegade for bigger bruisers. Shooting a smoke pole is relaxing, slower paced, methodical in task.

 

[Hogdaddy]

Haven't used it in awhile but looking forward to it. Especially w/o sabot. Thanks again.

 

[Drift]

I think the litiney for 400 years went 'Powder patch and ball, or it will not shoot at all".
As an aside, the patch used to be kept wet in the mouth and hence the term "spit wad" . And when under attack, when you had shot up all your ball ammo and the enemy way closing to melee range you just rammed the cotton patch down the barrel and shot that at close range. This was known as
'shooting your wad"
For me, there is no better hunting then closing to black powder range to make the kill.