Taper design bullets (TC Maxi Type)

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What are the funnels for Lewis?

Powder Drop Tubes, I use them when Target/Bench Shooting. I made them from Full length Carbon Arrow Shafts, a Cheap Little Funnel, And a piece of Shrink Tubing :lewis:

To get rid of ANY Static so Powder won’t Stick to the Sides, drop a piece of Fishing Line through the Carbon Arrow Shaft, Then Tie a piece of Dryer Sheet on the end of the line, and pull it back through the Shaft, This gets rid of Static :lewis:

When Target shooting i Swab between shots, With a Drop tube such as these i made, The Powder is NOT in contact with the Bore, The Powder Free Falls through this CLEAN, DRY Tube, and lands in the Powder Chamber where it belongs. I have been using these from my Beginning in Muzzleloading, They make good sense to me :lewis: It takes me a WHOPPING extra Couple of Seconds to use these
 
What pound test line do you use?? :roll:

Whatever i have easy to get to :lewis: I use a little tiny Split Shot Lead Sinker for fishing that i Clamp on the one end so it will Drop through the Hollow Shaft. You can also push a Bunch of line inside the Tube and Simply Blow Hard through it, that will push the Loose end out as well. There is more than 1 way to Skin a Cat Ed, or a Skunk, Whichever you choose? 😁
 
I have only used Hornady GPR's in my Renegade, I experience exactly what Lew is talking about. They start firmly and require some decent pressure to get about 1/2 way down the bore, then they "give up" once the rifling is engraved and my 6 year old could easily push them the rest of the way down.
As much as I don't care for Bore Butter type lubes, I coat my clean barrel with some Natural Loob 1000 when loading up a GPB for hunting for the sole purpose of making the bore a bit sticky to help the bullet stay seated. I still check it often but haven't caught it not on the powder yet since I started doing this. There were a couple different times I caught it up off the powder before I started coating the bore with chap stick lube. Same thing has happened in my BIL's stainless inline he uses, we caught his one time at least 3" up off the powder. Definitely a concern to pay attention to when using engrave type soft lead conicals.
I too much prefer 10-24 with my muzzleloader. I bought a "cut to fit" Delrin rod and 10-24 end pieces to build my own ram rod since most of the pre-built rods come with a 10-24 on one end and an 8-32 on the other. I like both ends to be 10-24 and it makes it easy to just always buy 10-24 threaded attachments.

Lew, I was a DTV install Tech between jobs several years ago, I used an old 2512 aluminum arrow I had to make entry into houses from the outside or from the crawl space. The arrow would push right through insulation and then I just pushed the end of the cable through it to fish it into the house.
Probably still have some if you wanted to make a drop tube with aluminum. May not have anymore of the fat 2512's, but probably some 2213's still around. I shoot all carbon anymore and the old aluminum arrows are just collecting dust. Heaven forbid I throw them out though.
 
I have only used Hornady GPR's in my Renegade, I experience exactly what Lew is talking about. They start firmly and require some decent pressure to get about 1/2 way down the bore, then they "give up" once the rifling is engraved and my 6 year old could easily push them the rest of the way down.
As much as I don't care for Bore Butter type lubes, I coat my clean barrel with some Natural Loob 1000 when loading up a GPB for hunting for the sole purpose of making the bore a bit sticky to help the bullet stay seated. I still check it often but haven't caught it not on the powder yet since I started doing this. There were a couple different times I caught it up off the powder before I started coating the bore with chap stick lube. Same thing has happened in my BIL's stainless inline he uses, we caught his one time at least 3" up off the powder. Definitely a concern to pay attention to when using engrave type soft lead conicals.
I too much prefer 10-24 with my muzzleloader. I bought a "cut to fit" Delrin rod and 10-24 end pieces to build my own ram rod since most of the pre-built rods come with a 10-24 on one end and an 8-32 on the other. I like both ends to be 10-24 and it makes it easy to just always buy 10-24 threaded attachments.

Lew, I was a DTV install Tech between jobs several years ago, I used an old 2512 aluminum arrow I had to make entry into houses from the outside or from the crawl space. The arrow would push right through insulation and then I just pushed the end of the cable through it to fish it into the house.
Probably still have some if you wanted to make a drop tube with aluminum. May not have anymore of the fat 2512's, but probably some 2213's still around. I shoot all carbon anymore and the old aluminum arrows are just collecting dust. Heaven forbid I throw them out though.

Thank you for the kind offer on the Aluminum Arrow Shaft my friend, But I already have one. In my photo, From left to right, it is the Largest Diameter one farthest to the Right (2415s I believe they were?) I found some Brand New Full length Aluminum Arrow Shafts in a Pawn Shop Bin, I bought 2 of them, I Made Myself one, and one for my Dad :lewis: I also Shoot Carbon Arrows through my Mathews Z7 Bow, and have Shot Carbon Arrows for MANY years now, The Old Aluminum’s are about Obsolete these Days :)
 
Whatever i have easy to get to :lewis: I use a little tiny Split Shot Lead Sinker for fishing that i Clamp on the one end so it will Drop through the Hollow Shaft. You can also push a Bunch of line inside the Tube and Simply Blow Hard through it, that will push the Loose end out as well. There is more than 1 way to Skin a Cat Ed, or a Skunk, Whichever you choose? 😁
I was curious as to how you got the line down the shaft. :)
 
Just figured i would share something i witnessed yesterday. First off REMEMBER bullet fit comes down to a Per Bore Basis, What fits good and tight in 1 bore Might not in another, or could even be tighter in another rifle. Again, not all bores are the same, KNOW YOUR BORE :yeah:

My Dad has been hunting with his TC Renegade in .54 Cal Trying to fill his Doe Tag, He is Using my Lyman Plains bullets from my Mold, Lubed and sized to .542 (they shoot LIGHTS OUT good in his Stock .54, all the way out to 200 yards) The bullets start good in his Bore, They Hold the Bore good and Snug til about 3/4 of the Way down, then they get a bit “Mooshy” and go easy the rest of the way, this is even using my 1-40 Alloy. But Remember the Lyman Plains Bullet is a Tapered design just like a TC Maxi ball, The bottom Bands are underbore size for ease in loading And the Top band is slightly overbore to engage the Rifling, So only the Top band is Holding the Bore (What is happening is The Top “Driving Band” is breaking down from being pushed down the Bore, the Softer the Lead, the worse this will be) I was out cutting a load of firewood yesterday and i Ran in to my Dad on my way off the Hill, he was done hunting and had decided to Discharge his Rifle so he could go home and Clean it (his gun has been loaded and Carried for a Week) I decided to do a Quick test before he Fired it, i checked the bullet with the Rifles Ramrod to make sure the Bullet had NOT Backed off of the powder Charge? It HAD! It was off the powder about 2” or So. I pushed the Bullet back Down Tight against the Powder, Then took my Rubber floor matt out of my Truck and flopped it on the Ground, I took his rifle and gave it a “Bump” Test, about a 10-12” Drop on to the Rubber Matt, and then Checked it again, this time the Bullet slid nearly halfway up the Bore, NOT GOOD!!

Some may remember I started a thread here back when I joined this forum asking how to correct a Soft Lead bullet that Loosens up about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way down the Bore? I got a few responses, but NOBODY on here had a Solution? Me being me, i set out to Correct this problem, I was able Correct this By Using a Little harder Alloy (1-40 Alloy to be exact) But this is with my Custom GG bullets from Molds i had made with ALL oversize bands (YEP, they were loosening as well with Pure soft lead!) By going to the 1-40 Alloy i FULLY Corrected the Problem above, All of My Bullets are Lubed and sized per Bore, with 1-40 Alloy They Start GOOD AND SNUG and Stay that way all the way to the powder, They will NOT budge until you pull the trigger! But i have not played around much with the Taper designed Bullets such as this Lyman Plains, and the TC Maxi balls, But I do remember they held ok in my Old Stainless .50, and a few others. Again, this really comes down to a “Per Bore” Basis as I mentioned in the Start of the Thread. This might not happen in your Particular Bore? But be aware, it CAN

Moral of the Story, If you are using Tapered design bullets such as the TC Maxi Ball, Lee R.E.A.L., and this Lyman Plains, You might want to check your bullet now and then :yeah: they can DEFINITELY slide off of the Powder Charge. So far Every rifle i have Tested (SEVERAL) With a Soft lead Taper design bullet has gotten “Mooshy” About 1/2 to 3/4 of the Way down the Bore. Something to ponder
Bob Parker makes those he gave me some way back to test they are very accurate and easy to load but I was only shooting at the range but I always check to make sure the bullet stays in place when I hunt I think I started doing it because I'm shooting white rifles (not always) and as the name slip fit implies you want to periodically check but don't crush your powder !
 
I just ordered the Lyman plains bullet mold. I have a set of handles that fit the RCBS molds will they fit the Lyman mold?
 

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