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I'm glad Jeff is replacing the mould. He's a good man. Although I agree the shot is too hard for the oblong ball, it should be OK for a bore that large (over .726") with a ball .710". .705" should require at least a .025" patch with a .730" bore.
Do the math - measure the groove diameter and the bore diameter to find rifling depth.
Measure the ball and patch thickness. The ball shold be about .010 to .015" smaller than the bore for shooting hard lead.
Ball diameter plus 2 times the patch thickness should come to about .005" LARGER than the GROOVE diameter for shooting a hard ball. This allows for compression of the patch material and to give sufficient scraping action to wipe the bore clean each time you load it.

Muzzleloader shooting has a learning curve - longer than learning to shoot any other form of rifle or handgun.

The use of a 'range' rod will help with the learning of: proper load combinations - amount of lube needed - types of lube needed & the reason is a 'range rod' is heavier, thicker, less break-prone. The range rod should be 1/2" Hickory or 5/8" Ramin and 4 or 5" longer than your barrels. The range rod should have a brass end, which is drilled and tapped for either 8x32 or 10x32 threads to fit normal rod attachments, like screw-type ball pullers and jags for cleaning and worms for patch retrieval or for holding towe for cleaning, the old way. These are normal accouterments that should be carried in a small leather bag in a pocket inside the hunting (possibles) bag.

For starters and working up a load & learning to shoot the muzzleloader at the range, I'd go with a wet, water based lube. These keep the fouling soft and are easy loading for a number of shots - IF the patches are wet. Damp doesn't work. No, they won't spoil the charge over a couple minutes - which is longer than one would be leaving it loaded when actively shooting.
one of the best lubes for range shooting and the one I'm currently shooting, is windshield washer fluid (windex window cleaner will also work well) with the addition of a soap - Iuse liquid hand soap - couple squirts in a quart of cleaner. The soap helps slow the evapouration of the water/alcohol based cleaner - I think. I lube patches the night before going shooting, put them in the patch container - small metal box and put that in my bag. The next day, they're perfectly lubed and don't dry out that day.

You can use an oil, like neetsfoot oil or mink oil, or bear oil, but don't use a petrolium based lube or oil - petrolium does not mix with black powder. The oils won't give as clean shooting as a water based lube, but are necessary for a hunting situation. You cannot use a water based lube for hunting.

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Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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