What is the best ammo for an Armi Sport 1861 Sprinfield rifle? I am thinking a .580 diameter in .58 Caliber? Or would a .585 Minie in .58 caliber be best for accuracy? I appreciate your suggestions as I just ordered this rifle and wanted to get the right ammo. Thanks.
best Minie for Armi Sport .58 cal. 1861 Springfield?
- Thread starter DavidB2
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A .575 dia round ball and .017 thick patching and 50-90 grs Goex FFF
Black Powder would be a winner. A .570 dia would work just about as well.
The heavy minies 550 grs and so work well with 60 grs FF. Lee makes a
good mould styled like the original.
Black Powder would be a winner. A .570 dia would work just about as well.
The heavy minies 550 grs and so work well with 60 grs FF. Lee makes a
good mould styled like the original.
sharps59
Member
first these guns are ment to shot minnies. you need to slug the bore to first 2 ways to do it. 1 find a machinest w/bore gages. 2nd find a few minnies that are over sized start iy in the bore w/ enough out to get pliers on it. turn it 1/4 turn remove and due it w/ several other minnies. then mike them. your minnie needs to be 001 to .002 under bore dia. get a mold that is largered than u need then size them down several types of sizers are avalable. S & S firearmes and northeast trade co. are 2 i can think of right now.
pm me w/ an address can send you several diffrent sizes mold I use is the rcbs hodgens w/ the deeper base. can send you 576. 580 maybe 577 if i still have that sizer. can send 584 unsized.
pm me w/ an address can send you several diffrent sizes mold I use is the rcbs hodgens w/ the deeper base. can send you 576. 580 maybe 577 if i still have that sizer. can send 584 unsized.
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Phantom Captain
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Honestly,
I've had nothing but good luck and shot pretty much nothing but .575 minies thrown from a Lyman mold. I've cast and shot a couple thousand of them too. Rifles used are a Pedersoli 1861 Springfield (my main shooter), Armi Sport 1855 Springfield, Armi Sport 1862 Richmond rifle and an Armi Sport 2-band Enfield.
Performance is pretty uniform from all of them. I always cast with pure soft lead and never load over 60 grains as pressure gets too high and apparently you will blow the skirt. My settled on load, and what I preload all my cartridges with, is 55 grains of Goex 2f. I use SPG lube as well. I also have vinyl speed load tubes from Dixie that I load with powder, insert the Minie ball tip down into the tube leaving the grease rings exposed. I melt a stick of SPG in the microwave and simply dip the minies to lube them. Works great and the air pocket in the hollow base actually keeps the lube almost completely outside in the rings.
Almost all of the store bought minies I tried ages ago before casting my own really sucked. I don't shoot round ball through any of these rifles either as they were made for minie balls. I'm a Civil War reenactor so keeping to tradition and only shooting minies is kinda the point for me.
I've had nothing but good luck and shot pretty much nothing but .575 minies thrown from a Lyman mold. I've cast and shot a couple thousand of them too. Rifles used are a Pedersoli 1861 Springfield (my main shooter), Armi Sport 1855 Springfield, Armi Sport 1862 Richmond rifle and an Armi Sport 2-band Enfield.
Performance is pretty uniform from all of them. I always cast with pure soft lead and never load over 60 grains as pressure gets too high and apparently you will blow the skirt. My settled on load, and what I preload all my cartridges with, is 55 grains of Goex 2f. I use SPG lube as well. I also have vinyl speed load tubes from Dixie that I load with powder, insert the Minie ball tip down into the tube leaving the grease rings exposed. I melt a stick of SPG in the microwave and simply dip the minies to lube them. Works great and the air pocket in the hollow base actually keeps the lube almost completely outside in the rings.
Almost all of the store bought minies I tried ages ago before casting my own really sucked. I don't shoot round ball through any of these rifles either as they were made for minie balls. I'm a Civil War reenactor so keeping to tradition and only shooting minies is kinda the point for me.
mb3
Member
I have an Armisports CS Richmond, basically the same rifle with different markings. I have shot 575-213 and 577-611 minnies out of mine with 55gr of 2f 777 or 60gr of 2f Goex. My rifle seems to shoot better with the 577-611's, but either minnie ball will work. In regard to patched round ball a .570 round ball with either a .010 or .015 lubed patch will work, with around a 50gr 2f BP charge.
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