Mini balls and Hornady Plains Bullets

[Ridge runner]

Just got back from a shooting session,both Mini balls and Plains bullets grouped well from my Prarie Hawkin,50 cal, the only thing is the plains loaded harder than the hand made mini balls,with 70 grains of goex 3f,the swiss 3f is hotter powder,groups almost 3 inches higher.over all happy with both.shot mostly my molded bullets.

 

[Idaholewis]

I have only Shot the Store Bought Hornady Great Plains Bullets a Few times, They Shot good, I don’t remember them being tough to load? My Lyman Plains (Home Cast) Are also a Tapered Design, they load fine for me as well, All Cast of Certified PURE Lead

 

[Dave951]

Just got back from a shooting session,both Mini balls and Plains bullets grouped well from my Prarie Hawkin,50 cal, the only thing is the plains loaded harder than the hand made mini balls,with 70 grains of goex 3f,the swiss 3f is hotter powder,groups almost 3 inches higher.over all happy with both.shot mostly my molded bullets.

Before coming to the conclusion that a group 3in higher is solely due to hotter powder, a heavier bullet will also group higher at a fixed range in testing. Reason is the bullet is in the barrel longer and the gun is deeper into the recoil movement before the bullet leaves the barrel, making the heavier bullet hit a bit higher.

I like 3f Swiss for most purposes. Its a great powder.

 

[sdporter]

The dirtier my barrel gets, the higher the bullets hit. I wonder if the increased fouling increases the pressure, thus increasing the velocity, or does it increase the friction and recoil causing the gun to be more into the recoil movement before the bullet exits the bore.
I was talking to an old guy I used to work with about this, and mentioned I wish I had a chronograph to check velocity differences between clean and fouled bore shots. I went over to his house today to change out his air conditioner and after he got my bill, he handed me a bag and said “I thought you might like this, after our conversation the other day”. It contained a brand new chronograph. Can’t wait to use it, so I can end the speculation.
This target was shot with two clean barrel shots, two “one shot” fouled barrel shots. The two fouled barrel shots hit higher, not a lot, but higher.
I think your tighter fitting bullets are gonna hit higher than the looser ones. That’s my experience anyway...