rifled muzzle loading martial musket

I would stay away from the Lee Minie mold. The center plug is supported by a thin metal plate that is easily bent and difficult to get lined back up.

IronHand

I had a Zoli made Zouave years ago. It was a good shooter. I wish I kept it. I also had a Lyman brand one that had rifling that was no more than a spiral scratch down the bore. It always keyholed. Sold it to a guy that wanted to shoot round balls. He was happy with it. I have at least 4 minie molds. The only one that seems to work for me is a Lyman Parker Hale version. It has a shallow base cavity. It works well in my Enfields. My original Springfield's bore is too rough and most bullets keyhole.

The Pedersoli would be a good choice with it's 1:72 twist. Most repros have a 1:48 twist. I have a Lyman minie ball mold. That would be my suggestion if you can find one.

The Pedersoli is a decent gun, but if you search, an old Zoli can shoot just as well at a much lower cost.

Since I shoot minies in competition, let's review what it takes to get a minie shooting well-
1 real lead minie
2 sized to .001 under bore size you may need a sizer die
3 know ACTUAL bore size, not what you think or what somebody said, measure it
4 use real black powder, 2 or 3f, I prefer Swiss
5 use good caps- RWS or Schuetzen
6 use natural based lube like lard, tallow or crisco

It's really as simple as these steps. If you must purchase minies, the ONLY source I trust is Lodgewood. PRB places like Track and others are centered around PRB and are not minie experts. I have seen bullets from online sources that "said" they were pure, but were hard, like 8Brn hard and those will never, ever shoot well. My guess is wheel weight scrap used in those. Molds- just cuz Lee is cheap, don't assume it will shoot in your gun. I have only one Lee mold that shoots acceptably. If you're going to cast, get it hot, pour it fast and you'll have less trouble in casting. A rough bore isn't necessarily going to preclude shooting an original. You will however, have to clean and wipe it between shots. If the bore is in decent shape, a well balanced minie load can be run till you run out of ammo, shoulder or daylight.

Molds- I highly recommend that the new minie shooter not purchase a mold right off. Get an assortment of minies from Lodgewood to test first and find what bullet design shoots best following the steps I've outlined, then buy that mold. It will save you lots of headache and money.

Get it right and a minie can be very accurate-
Parker Hale 1st gen, .576 Hogdon, 40g 3f Old E, RWS caps, lard/beeswax lube

W/Vickers1938 said:

I would like to acquire a replica Springfield or Remington Zouave. Would the offerings from Pedersoli be a good place to start?

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The Pedersoli '61 Springfield is apparently made on the same machinery used to make the Euroarms Springfield. That makes it second in authenticity (after the Miroku) among Springfield repros, and way ahead of the Armi Sport (Chiappa) version.

The Zouave is a light, handy rifle, but bear in mind that it was never actually used in the Civil War. That means that you won't be able to use it in a reenactment, unless you want to be branded a "farb."

If you want a light, handy rifle that you can use in a reenactment, get an M1841 "Mississippi" repro, either in .54 or the updated .58 caliber. But of course that would depend on the unit you were portraying.

Also consider an M1842 Springfield repro, ether smoothbore or rifled, .69 caliber. There, the Armi Sport really shines. It's practically indistinguishable from an original.

AlexanderA said:

But of course that would depend on the unit you were portraying.

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A friend goes around lecturing on the arms and equipment correct for unit, time, and place. There is a lot to know.