I have question for anyone who has used hollow base conicals. What is the pro’s and cons of them and is there anything you should be careful of like not going over 90 or 100 grains of powder? Also how is the accuracy for anyone who has used them? Thanks.
Hollow base conicals?
- Thread starter Smj66
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probably more like not going over 80 gr, seems it would be pretty easy to blow the base out with hotter loads.. don't know though never shot them.
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Smj66
I have never liked the hollow base conicals because they will lead your barrel qiickly because they are not designed to be used with a wad. And it is a pain in the rump to scrub lead out of a barrel the wad is used to seal off the flame and hot gases from exscapeing around your bullet and melting the skirt of the bullet .
The skirt is what fair's out to seal the bore and the hot gases behind the bullet . I and most prefer flat base conicals .
I have never liked the hollow base conicals because they will lead your barrel qiickly because they are not designed to be used with a wad. And it is a pain in the rump to scrub lead out of a barrel the wad is used to seal off the flame and hot gases from exscapeing around your bullet and melting the skirt of the bullet .
The skirt is what fair's out to seal the bore and the hot gases behind the bullet . I and most prefer flat base conicals .
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Also if you try to push conicals to fast they just have no real accuracy as they just strip over the riflings and don't in Gage the riflings I have never found any reason to go over 80gr of powder and most of the time not over 70-75gr.
Try that bills lube i read about in the casting forum here . Its like nothing at all on there and boy does it work !!! Shot my 410 super 91 just the other day with a pp swedged 400gr bullet hb bought at .408 and i knurled it up over bore sized with 90 gr of T7 !!! Never been able to do that before with that much powder !!! Best i could do before was 80gr of pyro p (@ 1313 according to Doc White) and have any accuracy at all with a fb conical . . T7 3f seems quite a bit hotter especially in that .410 bore !!! No leading and awesome accuracy !!!! Its a keeper !!! You make that stuff too . Its watery , dries and boy does it work !!! Cf giys use it with no leading i guess to like 2500fps !!! Something like that anyway . I got 1 in 16 twist too !!! Dumb luck maybe i dunno !!! Big lead is still pretty new to me with that .410 . Its been kinda finicky for me , hard to get really good accuracy . 80 gr of pyro p was THE LIMIT .
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The minie is a combat projectile. While it is very effective on critters too, their heavy weight and velocity limitations and resulting mortar like trajectories, make them an extreme challenge.
There are things like the Hornady Great Plains bullets. Hollow base, but nowhere near minie type. They are very well thought of.
I've never had leading with minies, or any other full caliber lead bullet. Lube is critical. Many formulas out there, but lately I've had good luck with SPG.
Critical to minie success is:
Good casts. Not the easiest to achieve due to the 3 piece mold.
Ideally .001, but not more than .002 under bore diameter for best accuracy
Good lube.
Unless designed for heavy charges, keep it under 80 of 2f or 70 of 3. The skirt can separate in the bore ( called a lunette) or wind up looking like a badminton birdy.
Most minies are .577 or .58. I'm going to try a Lee 500-360 in my 50 calibers.
With all the challenges, I must say I really do like the minie ball. 20 years as a reenactor and casting/ shooting them from my Enfield, got 4 Yankee deer too, gives me a certain fondness...
There are things like the Hornady Great Plains bullets. Hollow base, but nowhere near minie type. They are very well thought of.
I've never had leading with minies, or any other full caliber lead bullet. Lube is critical. Many formulas out there, but lately I've had good luck with SPG.
Critical to minie success is:
Good casts. Not the easiest to achieve due to the 3 piece mold.
Ideally .001, but not more than .002 under bore diameter for best accuracy
Good lube.
Unless designed for heavy charges, keep it under 80 of 2f or 70 of 3. The skirt can separate in the bore ( called a lunette) or wind up looking like a badminton birdy.
Most minies are .577 or .58. I'm going to try a Lee 500-360 in my 50 calibers.
With all the challenges, I must say I really do like the minie ball. 20 years as a reenactor and casting/ shooting them from my Enfield, got 4 Yankee deer too, gives me a certain fondness...
Lol !!! 4 huh , thats funny stuff !!!! They do taste better ya know !!!!
Yea i can hardly believe the improvement i got !!! Mine only got a small hollow base with kinda thick walls too . Like half a pea size hollow . Man i like them things !!! They shot GREAT for me . I think the knurling up to 412 really helped alot . My bore is .410 too , well .4097/10ths actually . That BLL lube is about some awesome stuff too !!! Im still all wound up about this . Can ya tell !!! Lol pure lead ta boot !!! Hope the deer dont care its got no metplat though......its pure lead so i HOPE it expands on em .
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Keep it up guys. I am adsorbing all this knowledge from everyone. Good stuff.
DL
DL
I download ALOT !!! Ya see i happen to " know me " !!! Lol
is that Harold and Deans bullet
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I cast the Lyman 542622 and 533476. The 533476 has had the driving bands opened up to .541" when it drops from the mold. Both these bullets have thick skirts and can take heavier charges of black powder. I've shot them at 120 gr. of Goex red can 2Fg with no problems but generally use 100gr. Goex red can 3Fg or 90gr. Swiss 2Fg for the much cleaner burn. The 542622 is a traditional Minie shape and is the only bullet that will shoot accurately in every .54 I own (Rem 700ML, Lyman GPR Hunter, T/C Renegade, Knight LK-93). In fact in my T/C .54 (which I only shoot PRB's out of anymore) it is the only bullet that doesn't spray 5-6" groups at 50 yards and I've tried them all. Lyman says the 542622 was designed for heavy charges in 1-48" twist barrels. My Rem 700ML (rebored from .50 to .54 with 1-26", .540" x .548") is my only ML'er that wears a scope and it will make three shots touch at 100 yards with that bullet.
Nice !!!
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Yes. My mold, copied their base design.
