.58 Bullet Sizer?

[swan hunter]

I have a friend shooting a Mississippi Rifle and he is having trouble starting bullets down barrell...They load fine in his other .58 cal rifle. He thought Dixie Gun Works used to make a simple sizing device that mounted in a vice.

Anyone know how to size these bullets down a bit?

He is an experienced BP shooter.

thanks

 

[arcticap]

I have 2 of these type of simple bullet sizers in .50 caliber that were purchased on eBay. Both came with a hand written label attached that states "CVA", ".502" or ".508".
In essence, they are much like a heavy duty shotgun choke tube that gently steps down in dimension to squeeze the bullet to the desired diameter as it's pushed through the chamber. There's also a steel rammer to ram the bullet through with.
Short of finding a sizing die of some sort with the proper dimension, the only way that I can think of to duplicate such a device would be to take a short section of a rifle barrel and then to have someone hone it to the proper dimension required. Most muzzle loading barrel makers/gun builders probably have surplus short sections of barrel and could do the honing, or even an inexpensive pistol barrel from some parts outfit like Numrich might not cost too much if he knows someone who could do the honing.
Maybe there's a way to take each bullet down individually by using hand methods? Other's have mentioned doing it for revolver bullet experimentation. I suppose a dremel tool with a wool, bullet shaped buffing tip attached, and with an application of a fine polishing grit might be able to polish the bullet to fit. Or using some kind of buffing wheel or super fine sand paper?
But it would be a tedious task and subject to some dimensional trial and error.
How about a rock tumbler (or rock polishing drum)? They sell those at hobby stores to polish rocks along with the right polishing medium. Come to think of it, some people put their home cast lead balls in a bucket filled with fine sand and drive around with it rolling around in their trunk until the balls are nice and smooth and the sprues are gone. But then they're used with patches to make up for any diameter loss.
That's all I could come up with for now.

 

[DaveP (UK)]

Well, your friend has two .58 cal rifles that are different sizes. Wouldn't it be a good idea to try to measure the bore and find out what size bullet the gun needs? I'm thinking that it might turn out to be less trouble at the end of the day to get/cast the right size, or to go a bit smaller and paper patch.
If he can remove the breech plug then the lazy mans slugging technique might help - get a bullet or ball started into the barrel and then upset it with a metal rod from each end so that it really grips the bore. Then carefully drive it out of the muzzle. If you have a good print of the rifling then this slug is easier to measure than the bore itself.
I can see a problem with improvising a sizer from a barrel offcut, namely that this will produce an engraved bullet which might not fit the main barrel well. Target muzzle loaders were sometimes loaded via a false muzzle, an extra piece of barrel, but these were made from the same tube and carefully fitted so the bullet slid straight in.
Its probably going to be easiest and cheapest to look for the right size!

 

[TGeorge]

You are right about different caliber size

Not only is it possible they don't fit, but if they DO fit that STILL doesn't mean they are the BEST caliber for that musket.

Your friend should go to a gun store that sells pre-cast minies in different calibers with the containers clearly marked down to the thousandth.

These muskets can take balls from around .574 to .580 or so.

He should try shooting from a rest at a target about 50 yards away and find WHICH size minie shoots the tightest group in each barrel. Then buy that mold and cast his own. That's what we did in the NSSA with our guns.

Its even possible to have two muskets of the SAME make from the SAME manufacturer perform best using different caliber balls.

Only trial and error will demonstrate the correct size.

My suggestion is to find the right size ball and dump the sizer. You can deform a minie ball using it, adversely impacting the performance of the ball.

This isn't just me talking. I was coached by NSSA shooters, took their advice and used it with my Enfield 2 banded Naval Musket by Parker Hale.

They were right. When I was able to get the proper caliber ball and cast my own, performance when up substanitially.

.58 caliber is just a general approximation of bore size. The average Civil War soldier wasn't a marksman. He used mass produced swaged ball from lead wire. My guess is the snipers did what I just suggested.

 

[jackinil]

Lodgewood in Whitewater,WI[262-473-5444]carries sizing dies that fit Lyman Lubrisizers. They come in varying sizes from .360 to.802. My Euroarms Enfield shoots a .576 round,the original 1861 Springfield a .580. North East Trade Co. in PA [570-546-2061]carries sizing dies you punch the Minie through by hand with a dowel. It takes a little experimenting to find the right size for each musket but when you find it.........!

 

[bonza]

I bought some sizing dies & a little press from Rapine Bullet Moulds some years back to size my Minies. I have a .577" & a .580" for my Musketoon & Zouave repros respectively, & a .545" for my original M.1858 Podewils. It works very well, but the dies are quite simple & could easily be made if you have access to a lathe. Also, the press isn't really necessary as you could use a drill press with a dowel in the chuck to push the bullets through the die.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r317/arquebus1523/Dies005.jpg