.54 cal bullets?

[jtoews80]

I recently started shooting a .54 cal. Can I use a mould made for a 50-90 to make a .514" 500 grn conical with lube grooves if I use a patch to make up the difference in diameter. Essentially, it's the same as a ball, as long as runout isn't an issue or am I missing something?

JT

 

[ben hunchak]

Why wouldn't you just get a .54 cal. mould? The Lyman Plains .54 cal. mold is perfect size and very accurate in my Lyman ML, I have compared it to a Maxi, R.e.a.l., and round ball, none come close to the Lyman bullet for accuracy. Paper patch bullets usually start out about .010" undersize for best results.

 

[jtoews80]

Ok, good to know. The only reason I thought to try the 50 mould is that it's on hand and I haven't made it to Edmonton since november due to life being busy. I have a lot of wheel weights, no pure lead, so patching may end up being a good option. I test myast alloy at 12-15 brinell.

 

[Ol' Flinter]

You didn't mention the rate of twist in your barrel. If slow like 1:66" for a round ball then you may find conicals will not stabilize and will tumble. If the twist is 1:48 or faster then conicals will likely stabilize okay. Strongly suggest getting a proper mold rather than improvising - Lee molds aren't much more than $20.