Thank you,
Daryl. I was hoping you would share your considerable smarts on this
subject. I've looked on the Tanner website and wonder how his moulds
attach to the handles. Do they work best with one type of handle? i.e.,
Lyman, RCBS? Does one cut the sprue with side cutters?
Also, do you have similar info for the best ball/patch combination for
large bore unrifled...smooth...barrels? There's a 6 bore I. Hollis
caplock that needs shooting, but I've not had a clue regarding the ball
diameter/patch thickness combo that might shoot well. This Hollis is a
single shot...not double...and has rifle sights. I'm a fan of the
"wonderlube" type patch lube and have had best results in rifled
barrels with .020" patches and balls that are tight yet allow a second
shot to be loaded without a wet patch first. I'm completely
inexperienced with smooth bores shooting round balls.
BTW, pure lead balls have always killed like lightning for me.
Especially with larger bores, what advantage would there be to shooting
a hardened ball...e.g., WW? Velocity wise, my goal is to attain a
muzzle velocity that provides a trajectory which allows 100-125 yard
hits on the intended game. I've not been able to notice any increase in
terminal performance on game by using heavy charges with round balls. I
would probably be happy with a .72 cal RB at 1000-1100fps...for
elk/moose...with a pure lead ball. That velocity level should be
attainable with recoil that doesn't rattle your teeth and acceptable
fouling to allow a second reload in the field. Like most, I guess, I
started out trying for all the velocity possible. What I got was burnt
patches resulting in wild shots, usually with a big buck in my
sights...and so much fouling I had to pound down the next shot. When I
dropped velocity to 1200-1300 fps, groups shrank, game fell, and I
learned to ignore the puny energy figures my round balls were
achieving.
Otto