Anyone shoot a Lee REAL bullet?

[MCgunner]

I cast several dozen up last night to try in my two new rifles, both CVAs, one a 1:28 twist, the other a 1:48. Lee says that you can load this thing over and over and maintain accuracy without swabbing the bore between shots. Is this true? I'll find out for myself as soon as I can get some time to get to the range and if it'll ever stop raining...:banghead:

 

[Pulp]

My T/C Hawkin absolutely hated them. But it hates everything except patched round balls and Maxi-Balls.

 

[MCgunner]

I bought the mold for my Investarms Hawken Hunter Carbine (1:24 twist). It hated 'em, too, much prefers the 360 grain improved Minie or Hornady's 385 great plains or their 240 grain sabots. I have two new front loaders, a 1:28 twist and a 1:48 twist. I'm hoping one of those will like these bullets and that Lee's claims are right about not scrubbing the bore. Even thought they're a little tougher to start down the bore than a Minie, I like the concept better. A ball starter works well with 'em.

 

[Pulp]

My brother bought a mold and we made up a bunch. I was hoping for a bit less recoil as they're lighter weight than the MaxiBall. I went out to a dump ground to try mine, painted a red spot on a refridgerator about 60 yards from the truck. My first shot cut a small tree about 10 feet to the left of the 'fridge. Second shot barked a tree about 6 feet to the right. Third shot hit the ground about 30 feet in front of me. I then proceeded to put three MaxiBalls into the little paint spot.

I like the theory behind the REAL bullet, but unfortunately my gun didn't care much for the theory. I can see where each properly lubed bullet would clean fouling from the previous shot.

My gun doesn't shoot saboted pistol bullets worth a flip either.

 

[kanook]

OK, I'll be the odd man in the crowd. All of my Rugers like the REAL over 90grns of Shockeys gold. I use a little of TC pine scent bore butter on the grooves even though it says not needed. I found it helps in the loading a lot and probably helps a bunch in the cleaning.

I bought the REAL because of plastic fouling from the sabots I was using. I had to brush after every shot to get the next shot to load. Lost a good sized hog because I couldn't get the next round (sabot) seated all the way down onto the powder.

When I first used the REAL I didn't use the bore butter and didn't have any leading. I decided to use it to help ease the loading only.

Gonna give 777 a try this year, don't know if that will cause any leading or not.

 

[scrat]

Very good luck i bought one for my cva 50 buckhorn. Lubed it with bore butter. The accuracy is pretty desent and clean up is pretty easy as well. overall i have been pretty happy with it. seems way better than using plastic sabots

 

[robhof]

Been using a .454 in my ROA and got very good accuracy, but some seem to cast small and will recoil forward, have since measured all my keepers and keep only 454 and above.

 

[denster]

I use them all the time in my Kodiac double rifles. 50 cal 1/48 twist. They shoot really well.

 

[Bluehawk]

Have used them in my T/C Seneca .45 cal rifle and after 3 or so shots they settled in ...5 shots around an inch or so at 50 yards! As far as not having to swab between shots...after three or four shots I found I did have to "swab" the barrel with just a dry nylon bore brush but that's all. Eventually you will have to swab it with wet patches no matter what Lee says!

 

[MCgunner]

Been using a .454 in my ROA and got very good accuracy, but some seem to cast small and will recoil forward, have since measured all my keepers and keep only 454 and above.

I shoot the Lee conicals in my ROA, too. I have a .454 for my .51 Navy, the Lee takes a .457. I have two .457s, one's a hollowpoint. I shoot that one mostly just so I can discern it from the .454s I cast for the 51 Navy. I can see how a .454 would work forward. I'd caution you to get a .457" mold to avoid possible chain fire.

As far as not having to swab between shots...after three or four shots I found I did have to "swab" the barrel with just a dry nylon bore brush but that's all. Eventually you will have to swab it with wet patches no matter what Lee says!

Now, that's what I was wondering. THANKS! I reckon maybe a wet brush and dry patch every 3 rounds would work. At least that's better than every shot. I usually can get 3 rounds off with other bullets before the go to heck, but I normally swab every shot. It's such a pain. Of course, there's always the patched ball, well, at least for the 1:48 twist.

 

[MCgunner]

Range trip this afternoon. I shot my two newish CVAs, a Wolf inline and a used Plainsman which was it's first outing. I also put some rounds through the tried and true Investarms Hawken Hunter Carbine. Funny about that Investarms gun, it's a 1:24 twist, it does NOT like either APP or 777, just shoots Pyrodex and shoots it very well. It likes a 240 grain Hornady XTP sabot or a Hornady Great Plains bullet and if I can find pure lead, a Lee 360 grain improved Minie. It shoots the 240 sabots into 2" at 100 yards and with iron sights.

Now, I tried the REAL bullets in the two CVA guns. The Wolf LOVES 'em! However, if you don't scrub the bore after the second shot, you ain't gonna hit paper. Keep the bore clean and you'll be cutting bulls at 100 yards, amazing. I'm thinking I'll hunt with this bullet. It shoots to the same POA as the 385 grain great plains bullet. I'm impressed. These bullets load easy and they're NOT pure lead, either. I do use a ball starter with 'em.

The Plainsman shot the REAL bullets to the same POA as patched round ball at 50 yards, but they dropped off at 100. The patched ball in this gun is spot on at 100 yards. Danged thing don't fit me very well, bangs up my cheek bone, but I have a slip on recoil pad I can put on it next trip to give it a little more length of pull which will get the drop at comb down a little. If that ain't enough, I guess I'll get the sanding wheel out and take some wood of the comb. I need to refinish the stock, anyway. The round ball is accurate to about 2.5-3" at 100 yards in this gun even with the crude sights. This is what I was wanting when I bought it, something that would shoot round ball. It has a 1:48 twist, the other two guns are 1:28 and 1:24. So, this range trip was a 100 percent success! One little problem was some hangfires after the nipple got crudded up in the Plainsman, but I have a nipple pick and cleaning it out after every couple of shots seems to help this problem.

 

[arcticap]

I can REALly smell the bacon cooking already!

 

[Curator]

The "trick" to getting the REAL bullet to shoot accurately at reasonable velocity is to first make good quality castings. I use pure lead with about 1/2% tin added and cast hot (750-800 degrees) to get perfect fillout. I have found that two 1/8 inch felt wads over the powder charge also helps in the accuracy department as does working up an accurate load 5 grains at a time off a stable bench rest. the .45, .50, & .54 R.E.A. L. moulds come in two weights. The lighter weight in all calibers will work best in round-ball twist barrels. The heaver weight will usually work fine in the 1 in 48 or 1 in 36 or even faster twist barrels. Best accuracy has been found in my rifles at 1500-1600 fps. Where felt wads are difficult to find or too expensive, a half charge (by measure) of cream of wheat on top of the powder works as good or better. I lube my REALs with a 50/50 bee's wax/lard lube which keeps powder fouling soft and does not melt too bad at Florida hunting temperatures. I also use real black powder (Goex) rather than the fake stuff

 

[Armored farmer]

I have the mould for my .54 Hawken but have never tried it. I need to find some lead softer than ww for the r.e.a.l. don't I??

 

[MCgunner]

I'm not sure what I cast mine out of, it was scrap from a scrap drum scale they trashed at work. I don't see that it needs to be pure lead, though, and I don't think what I used was pure because it didn't work with my 360 grain Minie, tried it. Those Minies work great with pure lead. I do need to get a hardness tester.

But, as there's no skirt to expand, I don't see that it has to be quite so soft as a Minie does. These things were tack drivers on my CVA Wolf (1:28 twist). I'm quite happy with that as when I bought the mold, I tried 'em in my 1:24 Hawken Hunter Carbine and they didn't work for crap. I haven't tried a filler over it, never thought to, but in that rifle, I don't think I need it.

That Hawken Hunter Carbine is real picky. It won't shoot 777 or especially APP worth a toot, but works great with Pyrodex. Go figure. It likes the sabots and the Hornady Great Plains Minies and those Lee 360 grain Minies if I can find pure lead for 'em. The CVA Wolf seems to be much more amiable to various loads and bullets. It likes the 777 load, 80 grains. I really like 777 because it has no sulfur. I understand it's still corrosive, but it's easy to clean up compared to pyrodex. I can't easily get true BP anywhere within 200 miles I've looked. I could order it, but I will stick with the subs. I really like the 777 and I see very little difference in Pyrodex and BP as far as how they perform and smell and everything else. I don't understand the hatred of Pyrodex by the purists. Give me a gun loaded with Pyrodex and one loaded with BP and I couldn't tell the difference. The ONE thing BP does best is it's easier to ignite. If I could get it, i'd probably prefer to shoot it in my Plainsman with the number 11 percussion caps. I get a hang fire now and then with 777. If I keep the nipple clean, it works well, though.

From what I can see, every gun is an entity unto itself. It's hard to predict what will work in one gun or the other, just have to shoot it and see. I can make rough predictions like 1:66 won't shoot a conical or 1:28 won't shoot a patched ball, but beyond that all bets are off.