changing to a slightly fatter ball and thinner patch my accuracy shot way up!!

[midland man]

yesterday I took out my traditions Kentucky flintlock rifle in 45 caliber and all this time I been using a .440dia ball with 18ths patch lubed right then using pillow ticking material and while my groups on cardboard were okay using 50gr goex 3f powder. I have a box of roundballs at .445dia and some 15ths pillow ticking material I hadn't used yet and so I decided to try this out using the same powder charge and wow! what a difference it made trying out this 5 thousandths bigger ball and 15ths patching material with my homemade lube the accuracy was super good! now I was putting groups cutting out the hole on the same group like it was a regular deer rifle so I was impressed! so I was wondering why or is it because the ball being closer to the bore making this more accurate or what made it become a tack driving accurate shooting rifle? I couldn't believe this made that much difference so guys what do ya'll think??

 

[rodwha]

Guess I need to find someone who casts 0.495" balls to try.

 

[243winxb]

The easier the ball seats, the less it gets deformed

Round balls fly truer.

 

[Crawdad1]

I would say that the 445 ball with 15 over patch is getting a better bite into the rifling in your barrel. I glad you experimented a bit and didn't stop at a given point like a lot of people do. These muzzleloaders can be and are extremely accurate.

 

[Armored farmer]

I found the same results when I switched to .445. I have a .440 mold and cast my own, but they load so easily that I decided to try a bag of .445.

I have seen top shooters literally hammering their patched balls down the barrel.

 

[Crawdad1]

So have I. All of them deadly 10x shooters also.

 

[Armored farmer]

In fact I procured about a dozen. 451 balls to see what happens.
I haven't tried them yet.

 

[midland man]

yep and whats funny is with this slightly fatter ball and slightly thinner patch it loads a little bit easier so I really like this even more so! plus I am gonna try in my 54 caliber rifle I been using .530 so soon i'm gonna try .535 as well as my traditions Kentucky pistol in 50 caliber as I use a .490 so gonna try a .495 as well! might as well get a box of balls to see how they perform, before buying a mold to cast my own!

 

[Cowhide Cliff]

I use a .445 446 ball in my 45's too with 15 pillow ticking.

 

[Armored farmer]

Your patch thickness is actually doubled across the diameter of the bore.

Just don't go too flimsy on the patch by using bigger balls.

Right now I'm using .445 ball, .020 patch.

 

[xXxplosive]

Forget the patch on those larger balls...........Rasp'em.

 

[midland man]

Your patch thickness is actually doubled across the diameter of the bore.

Just don't go too flimsy on the patch by using bigger balls.

Right now I'm using .445 ball, .020 patch.View attachment 232476

you know whats weird I tried some with the .445 ball using the 18ths patch but it didn't like that, groups opened back up but with the 15ths patch it tightened up like my everyday modern deer rifle!

 

[xXxplosive]

On larger caliber balls for my rifles, I use lubed cotton Bed Sheet material / very thin or as I mentioned just Rasp the balls, roll them between 2 Bastard Files until they look like golf balls......after all that design is there for a reason...increases the sectional density of the ball fitting down the Bbl. and no wad necessary.........very accurate.

 

[midland man]

On larger caliber balls for my rifles, I use lubed cotton Bed Sheet material / very thin or as I mentioned just Rasp the balls, roll them between 2 Bastard Files until they look like golf balls......after all that design is there for a reason...increases the sectional density of the ball fitting down the Bbl. and no wad necessary.........very accurate.

I never heard of that before pretty cool! so you not using a patch on those rasped balls?

 

[xXxplosive]

Get 2 heavy Flat bastard files.....lay one down on a table, put a ball on it and start sliding the other file on top while your holding it flat.....the ball will roll between the two files and you'll be creating a rough star like surface until the ball is completely covered.....Your ball after rasping should just rest inside the muzzle of your rifle bore before you push is down over the powder charge.....shoot away......it's my hunting load / for speed of reload and accurate as hell......No patch.

 

[uncmrkhd]

Get 2 heavy Flat bastard files.....lay one down on a table, put a ball on it and start sliding the other file on top while your holding it flat.....the ball will roll between the two files and you'll be creating a rough star like surface until the ball is completely covered.....Your ball after rasping should just rest inside the muzzle of your rifle bore before you push is down over the powder charge.....shoot away......it's my hunting load / for speed of reload and accurate as hell......No patch.

I've heard of folks doing the file thing for use in smooth bores , like the dimples on a golf ball are suppose to help ball fly truer , If it works it works,heck if rolling balls in duck poop helped I'd look for a duck

 

[xXxplosive]

Works both in Smoothbores and Rifles...............been huntin' that way for the last 26 yrs.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

It's been found in smooth bores to work the best when the ball is very close to the diameter of the bore, and the rasping raises small points on the ball surface that actually touch the interior barrel wall. What it gives is a ball that is centered every time, and I suspect that rasping a rifle ball ends up with tiny points that center the ball on the lands. Although they may look like golf balls, I've seen folks that have tested rasped ball on smooth barrels with the ball not fitting tight, and no advantage in accuracy was found..., so probably not the same situation as an actual golf ball in flight.



LD

 

[xXxplosive]

....after Rasping, the ball should fit, sitting about 1/3 of the ball above the muzzle or so as a guide line.....then it should ease down the Bbl. with the ramrod. Now to address your last comment.....I have a .62Cal smoothbore that only likes a loose fitting ball.....meaning if I patch it the most I could use would be lubed bedsheet material....it's one reason why I've opted over the years for Rasped ball other than the obvious....speed of reloading while hunting.
Some fellas years back would load Rifle with a powder charge then Cream Of Wheat for a buffer then the ball.....over the years I've found the buffer was never necessary as accuracy was and is deadly with the right oversize rasped ball.

For...
.62 Cal. / 20ga. I use a .610 rasped ball.
.72 Cal. / 12ga. I use a .715 rasped ball.

I'm givin' away some tips.........try it.


NRA Certified Muzzleloading Instructor, Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun.....26 yrs.

 

[BCRider]

So what, if anything, do you folks that are rasping the balls use for a bore lube?

 

[xXxplosive]

No lube necessary...............just place the rasped ball in the muzzle and ease down with the ramrod over the powder charge......shoot away.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

.I have a .62Cal smoothbore that only likes a loose fitting ball.....meaning if I patch it the most I could use would be lubed bedsheet material

Actually, that's a pretty tight ball. what I mean is that folks with say your 20 gauge, using a .600 ball or a .590 (which are often found with cartridges), if they used a "bare ball" and rasped it..., = no help with accuracy. Also, a lot of the smooth bore shooters that I know that shoot very well, don't patch the ball. The inconsistent folding in the fabric from shot to shot lends itself to inaccuracy. They used unrasped, bare ball, or cartridges.

LD

 

[xXxplosive]

Bare ball for me are just Flyers.....nothing.....I won't use heavy patch material either for many reasons. When I have to load fast and accurate / on the run after a downed animal it's a Rasped ball always.

 

[Hanshi]

The .440" ball is normally what I use in my .45s along with a .020" to .022" mattress ticking patch. I ran this load over the chronograph along with some .445" from my Lyman mold. Something of a surprise when velocities were identical. Recently I've been working with 10oz - 12oz denim (.025"). It's a tight load in my .50 but I could still seat it with the wood underbarrel rod without undue force. In rifles the tighter the prb the higher the velocity and increased accuracy. If you smooth the rifle crown down to where there's no sharp edge to the lands but rather a smooth, gradual taper into the muzzle, You can use an even thicker patch. But it does appear you've got an accurate load already.

My smoothbore has a tight bore, .610", and I can thin patch .600" lead balls. But I prefer to cast them from WW which increases the dia. to .606". Too difficult to patch but by placing the ball on top of a lubed fiber wad or a felt wad and seating the whole thing together, I get consistent 50 yard groups of about 4" average. Patched ball is more accurate but about 1 in 5 shots (or more) is a flier.