Author Topic: Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?  (Read 1500 times)

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Offline BUTCHER45

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Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?
« on: July 30, 2007, 02:59:54 PM »
     Can you load Maxi-Balls and REALS into cap and ball revolvers or are they strictly ball only?

                                                                          BUTCHER
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Offline Will Bison

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Re: Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2007, 07:29:41 PM »
There are conicals just for C&B revolvers. Maxi balls and REALs are not the best choice.

Offline longcaribiner

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Re: Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2007, 08:17:43 AM »
The traditional conicals are very difficult to load without cocking them slightly.  As a result they are often not as accurate as roud balls.  There are a few exceptions.  In my Ruger old army, I have loaded 45-70 collar button bullets and some 220 grain 456 bullets from a 45 Webley mold.  Now understand that there is only so much room for powder in the chamber, and concials often take up more room that powder would occupy.  I found that the Ruger barks much louder with round balls than with conicals.  Additionally, the kick is slightly worse with the 456 conicals and not as accurate as the round balls.  I recently acquired an Ideal 457401 mold which is about a 195 grain wad cutter meant for the Webley.  I'll try those in the Ruger also.  But, just so you know, I keep coming back to the round balls.    The REAL bullets would probably be unsatisfactory anyway.  the lower driving bands are less than 45 cal diameter while the top, to be engraved band, is around 47 cal.  You'll probably end up with gas blow by and a cockeyed bullet.   Maxiballs are a little less than 45 bore diameter and may not seal the chamber.  May even slide back and forth when the next chamber is fired.  Last, those things are nearly 3/4 inch long, that only leaves room for about 10 grains of powder in the chamber. 

That being said, a "friend" has a 457 diameter hollow punch and several square feet of sheet lead.   He punched out several 457 discs about 1/16 inch thick and loaded 6 of them as a stack.   Flew around like lethal little frisbies.   At 25 yards some were almost ten feet over to the side. 

 

Offline Flint

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Re: Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2007, 05:27:39 PM »
I have shot both Speer and Hornady 200 gr 45ACP SWC bullets in the Remington, (they got under the rammer better than the Colt).  The revolver's rammer distorts the bullet nose a bit.  I have a loading stand now that loads the cylinder off the gun, so I can probably get the bullet started and seated better.  I'm going to try it next time I'm out at the plinking range.

The Maxi-ball is way too long for a revolver cylinder, except maybe the Walker.
Flint, SASS 976, NRA Life

Offline R.M.

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Re: Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2007, 06:55:11 PM »
Lee makes a conical mold just for the ROA. It's about 220gr and shoots just fine out of my Ruger.

YMMV
R.M.
The tree of liberty must be watered periodically with the blood of tyrants and patriots alike..........Thomas Jefferson

Offline BUTCHER45

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Re: Got a number on that ROA Lee Mold?
« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2007, 09:06:25 PM »
     I'd like more info on the ROA Lee Mold.  Also this is a design I really want to use in a ROA; Lyman #452389 (dis-continued) you can see the bullets if you scroll down.  They come out about 200 grains in dead-soft lead.  They are dead-accurate in my rifle; there's a picture of a three shot group at 25 meters using the 452389 in the slide show below.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ideal-4-Cavity-Bullet-Mold-for-45-acp-Wadcutter-452389_W0QQitemZ120148905376QQihZ002QQcategoryZ71118QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

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Offline dinger

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Re: Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?
« Reply #6 on: August 13, 2007, 02:12:59 PM »
this is off topic,but longcarabiner has rung a bell in this dusty old steeple! years ago in some shooting magazine i read an article about stacked projectiles in c/b revolvers. they looked like those chinese coolee hats with a flat rim around the outside. they stacked 5 or 6 in the chamber over a forgotten powder charge. they reportedly flew as a single unit to about 45/50 ft., then separated to give a 12 to 18 in. pattern at 75 ft. has any one else out there ever heard of such a thing? dinger.

Offline blhof

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Re: Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2007, 05:52:19 AM »
Haven't heard of the staked load, but have the Lee maxi mold for the ROA and with the off gun cylinder loader it's great and gets nice groups.  I usually run it with 30 grains of 4f powder for best groups. I still seem to get tighter groups with the ball though!!!

Offline Rebel-1

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Re: Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?
« Reply #8 on: August 21, 2007, 03:44:06 PM »
I got some of the Lee home cast conicals from a fella and tried them out today along with some rd balls in my Pietta '58 Remington. Here is a pic of the groups. These were bot fired using a 42 Gr equiv. load of Pyrodex P and then the conical, and #11 CCI magnum caps. They are all i have. Distance was about 20 yds and i rested over the hood of my Bronco II. This was the first time i had fired any conicals out of this revolver.

Offline Andrew Quigley

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Re: Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?
« Reply #9 on: September 19, 2007, 04:19:15 AM »
I use conicals in Navy Arms 1851 made by Uberti. Their faster to load cause their already lubed and they shoot better than round balls in these guns. Mine are 36 cal but in my 1860 44's I switched over to conicals and they seem to like them as well.
Andrew

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Offline BUTCHER45

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Re: Conicals in cap and ball revolvers?
« Reply #10 on: September 20, 2007, 03:58:56 PM »
     Has anyone had success with any loads in their ROA using the Lyman #452374?
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