Conicals & 1-48 Barrels?

[Bayouman]

Curious what conicals you all shoot out of your 1-48 50 caliber bbls? (and dont say rbs ;D)

I always shot the 370 TC maxi's but got minimal expansion on deer. A very accurate conical though.

Last year tried the 295 grain Powerbelt Aerotip out of my TC 50 cal. Firestorm & was impressed on the accuracy and results on deer.

[slipshod]

I have shot heavy conicals in my Thompson Center Hawkins 1 in 48 barrel.I have used Parker Hydracons in 495 grain weight.I used 100 grains of Goex FF powder and a wonder wad.At 50 yards I could get 1 inch groups.Velocity was low,about 1100 fps.I think my barrel is a little oversize because bullets would migrate away from the powder with a clean bore.I shot one deer with this bullet and I must say that the 4 inch exit wound was devestating.I also shot No Excuses 495 grain bullets and they were extremely accurate.

[Triple Se7en]

Slipshod

You made me finch thinking about that pointed Hawkens buttstock against my shoulder - then squeezing-off 100 grains with a 495 gr bullet.... ouch!

I like Loggy's Powerbelt better myself. That's (295) the optimum grain size for 50s with 1-48". The only other two suggestions I have are switching to copper HPs instead of ATs and trying the 350 Maxi-Hunter with a wad instead of the 370 Maxi-Ball you were using. The Hunters are better expanders - just need a wad alot of times to get them to fly as straight as the Maxi-Balls.

Oops.. forgot to mention my favorite.... Buffalo Maxi-Ballet HPs in 270 grain. Perfectly sized bullet & terrific expansion for deer-sized game. I feel Buffalo makes the best ML bullets period-quotation point They have the most equalized roundballs & best performing, loading leaded sabots too .. ie.. Buffalo S.S.Bs.

[TKO]

295 grain PowerBelt HP's for me. . . but you already knew that

[slipshod]

I did forget to mention the pain inflicted by the TC butt plate.I had planned to cut the stock off and glue a shotgun recoil pad on it,but I purchased a 1 in 28 twist Green Mountain barrel instead.This is a lot softer shooting and it saved me from butchering my stock.

[Bayouman]

slipshod, I have some 460 grain No Excuses I shoot out of my White Super 91 .504 (1-24 bbl)and they are a great bullet. You got me thinkin maybe I should try them in my 1-48 flinter and see how they shoot.

Ever kill anything with the 495 No Excuses and how tight are they in your bbl??

[Slipshod]

I have never hunted with the No Excuses,but I did shoot a small doe with a Parker Hydracon that was about 495 grains.The bullet left a 4 inch exit wound.The Hydracon is a quality bullet that shoots with extreme accuracy.AS I said before the crescent buttplate on the TC causes extreme pain after a few shots.I have since gone to a 1 in 28 Green Mt. barrel which I shoot 250 to 300 grain sabot loadings.

[Bayouman]

Slipshod, how tight were those No Excuses in your TC barrel?

[slipshod]

I don't recall for sure how tight that they were but I think that my barrel is slightly oversize.I used this as a round ball gun in Pa. for many years.I purchased this gun in 1978 and I soon found out that I needed a .020 patch with a .490 ball to get accuracy.You will have to try them in your own gun to be sure.

[Triple Se7en]

Bayouman
No Excuses come in two different 50-cal diameters. When you email the owner, just mention what gun you need the bullets for. He has charts on all ML manufacturers. Another method to ensure getting the right size is going to that OTHER ML FORUM where all the White Rifle shooters like to converse. There's a few T/C shooters there who use the No Excuse bullet.

Tell the boys there I said hi. That ML forum house has taken a serious downturn in topics/replies/lack of newbie learning since I was dismissed for making a grown-up cry repeatedly. Too bad... that once-was a nice hangout for learning things about MLs. Now it's all about shooting heavy conicals... something very few ML users want to do in this light sabot age.

[Bayouman]

Thanks T-7. I didnt realize he made different sized No Excuses. The ones I bought for my Super 91 .504 Cal were marked "Sized Diamater: .503." I went to Daves site and as you said found this... Undersized bullets in 50 caliber (.500) are available on demand.

No Excuse site: www.muzzleloading-bullets.com/page3.html

[MarkKw]

Only ones that will shoot in my Lyman are the 320 gr Lee REAL's and at that I had to crank them up over 120gr of 2F goex. Also use a 3/8" lubed fiber wad between powder and bullet. They'll touch or (just about touch) holes at 50 yds and hold about 2.75 at 75 yds. Two out of three 50 yd three shot groups off the bench you could cover with a 50 cent piece, the thrid group had a flier opening the group to about 1.25" c-c. These don't expand well enough for my liking so I dimple the nose with a 3/16" drill bit.

[Douglas Blair]

MarkKw, I will have to agree with you, but not a traditional conical the Lee REAL bullets do shoot well especially out of a T/C barrel, and the price is right if you make your own. ;D