Modern bullets in a smokepole?

[WestKentucky]

I just so happen to have a short section of .308 rifled barrel at my disposal. If i were to drill it, make a breechplug, and mate that up to the rest of the bits and pieces to make a functional caplock pistol barrel, is there any reason not to use a .312 soft lead bullet made for 32swl in it, or a light lead bullet for 30-30? Probably a HBWC or waxed round nose bullet as I have those in stock for reloading for my wheelguns, but I'm also going to be stocking the rifle lead too. Just trying to figure out why not to do this before I do any of the work. This is a short small piece of barrel, would make for a fun little pocket gun.

Similarly I am likely to have a .357 barrel at my disposal soon and would like to do the same with. 38 bullets.

I do have the capability to size down slightly to make it fit better.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Read The Muzzle-Loading Cap Lock Rifle by Ned Roberts.

You will quickly learn that there were tons and tons of conicals and other "modern" bullets used in muzzleloaders. It is not a new thing and no, they did not use round balls exclusively as some believe.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

How do you plan to get the bullet to engage the rifling? In a modern barrel the bullet is larger than the interior of the barrel, and the bullet is then forced onto the lands of the barrel, and fills the grooves, thus sealing the expanding gasses behind the projectile to get efficient use of the gasses for acceleration. The twisting of the grooves then imparts the stabilizing spin. While conicals style bullets have been used for more than 2 centuries in muzzle loading rifles and such, either they forced the rear portion of the bullet onto the lands of the barrel due to obduration, or..., they used a paper patch or linen patch around the bullet to snug it up. In fact in the book referenced by Cooldill, the barrel was a few thousandths tighter at the bore than at the breech, so that the bullet has some space to obdurate (squish itself a little larger when the explosion from the powder hits it in the arse) and then when the bullet hits the portion that is tighter, a seal is ensured.

LD

 

[Erwan]

IMHO, if that were my problem I'll forget it.

Torsion rate is too short and the soft lead bullet jump over the the rifling (~ 1:10 on average) also with a very light charge and you can't use a round ball. This implicate the use of a false muzzle with a pretty long bullet and in hard lead, but also a bullet in hard lead can't expand itself in case of using a compression bullet and, so in the same way you can't use a little bullet style Minié because it will not expand but explode at the coming out of the barrel if it is un hard lead.

The only way I can see in this case could be (perhaps but I don't believe it one second) a long paper patched bullet and in very hard lead (lead style Linotype)......... a little bit too much for that kind of operation...
It's what I think for a little bit of internal mecanic but you gonna have to deal with Mister Greenhill and Mr. Miller if you wil get something really accurate.
But at the base the twist rate is too short and you can't do anything good or just for playing and make noise

You will also have to follow what say Cooldill and Loyalist Dave: what they say is right....

Forget it or get a short a short piece in a real B.P barrel and do it.

I'm sorry and if you don't understand what I'm saying (I'm not american) put it in a translator...

Have a nice day.

 

[PapaG]

You might consider taking a short piece of the barrel, threading it 7/8-14 to fit your loading press, put a short taper on one end inside and "swage" your projectiles to fit your bore by pushing them through. Kind of like the fitted slugs used in a couple of Civil War rifles.
Shouldn't take much work and a good card wad on top of the powder will help seal somewhat.

 

[Erwan]

You might consider taking a short piece of the barrel, threading it 7/8-14 to fit your loading press, put a short taper on one end inside and "swage" your projectiles to fit your bore by pushing them through. Kind of like the fitted slugs used in a couple of Civil War rifles.

You mean something as to make a bullet a bit like a Withworth bullet or so ? That can be a good idea but the twist rate stays always a bit shorter I think...
I'm takink this idea for a test one time: I've enough parts of Mauser of WW2 and more time than I really need.
Yep I'll try it one time in one short part barrel I have cutted long time ago...

Look, a mini tanzutsu in small cal. made from a Mauser tube, it would be great...