Should I buy that bullet mould?

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Usually, Minie bullets are used in rifles or single-shot pistols. This wouldn't work in a revolver, and might not shoot very accurately in a pistol. Minie bullets are more for hunting rifles.
 
I'm assuming the Ardesa pistol you are intending to buy is a single shot. If so, then the mold might be a good one to try if you can find out the actual bore diameter of the pistol. Minies need to be smaller than bore size by a few thousandths of an inch. This one at .450 might make loading it into a .450 bore problematic unless the bore was absolutely squeaky clean.There are any number of other styles of bullets designed to be used without a patch, some which are supposed to be engraved with the rifling as you load, meaning they are a little over bore size, so maybe if those work, this one would, too. I bet it would shoot very, very well once loaded, also.

I can't tell what the mold costs and even if I could, I have no notion how much that would be in USD. If it isn't TOO expensive, I would buy it if I was in your position, but I also have sizing dies in .446, .447, .448 and .449, so I'm confident I could make it work for me. I'm kind of a mold junkie, though, kind of like that Marcos dame was with shoes, so my advice is probably tainted.
 
Watch the price Lee moulds are not that expensive and ebay can get over priced very quick.
 
Katigrosak,

You don't say which Ardesia pistol you are going to buy. They seem to have all single shot pistols in varying configurations. Regardless, a hollow-base Minnie bullet is probably not the best choise for any of them. Most single shot muzzle loading pistols shoot best with patched round ball. Once you get your handgun, you need to accurately measure the bore diameter (land and groove diameters) to determine the best diameter of the bullet you will shoot.
 
scrat: what you see in the mold is the base pin that lets you make a hollow base or minie-type skirt.

Katigroszek: I don't know if you have access to Factory Sales, but theu're the place to go to check Lee prices. By the way, I use the .50 version for much of my rifle shooting. These bullets are far too heavy and long for revolvers and most pistols.

Good luck!
 
I'm from Poland and have very limited access to bullet moulds at all. This mould is the only mould on the e-bay kind of the web portal and is about $40 ($1 = 2,50 zl). I found other moulds for colt revolvers for $60-$80 (the kind Pietta is making - brass or wooden handles).

I'm going to buy single shot Ardesa .45 muzzleloder pistol (they make it for german Hege Arms and call it Pioneer - good name for me, as I'm new to blackpowder).

I'm thinking of making a lathe-made shims for the bottom of the mould to reduce bullet weight, make it shorter and make flat or nearly flat bottomed bullets that could be used for making .45 LC bullets (I'll probably need a sizing die for it, someone said).
 
Round balls like slow twist rifling. So do Minie bullets. Minies don't require a whole lot of stabilization due to their weight forward design. They are sensitive to powder volume and will start shooting all over if you try to load them too heavily. Ditto if you load them too light. They have to have just the right charge to flare the skirt into the rifling but not so much that they strip through the rifling.

Any muzzle loading firearm, rifle or pistol, which is rifled with a slow twist should shoot minies just fine as long as they are loaded on top of the correct charge of powder. There's no reason I can think of not to try these from a pistol, especially since Katigroszek has limited access to molds.
 
That's the Lee Improved .45 Minie that's not listed as "oversized" which is probably better "raw bullet material" to use in a pistol for easier loading. I have the similar but discontinued Lee Modern Target .45 Minie mold.

See all of the Lee mold designs here:
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1208404639.150=/html/catalog/blackpow.html

My Modern .45 Minie is designed to weigh 300 grains and casts about .451 in diameter.
Here's a picture to show you the length of the bullet and the depth of the base (about 1/4 inch).

attachment.php


I know someone that shoots Lee 250 grain cast REAL bullets from his Ardessa .45 Trapper pistol and he's said that they shoot very well. He cuts out over powder wads from the wax board material of milk or juice cartons to act as a gas check.
I think that it's a good idea to cut off the hollow base portion of the bullet, and too experiment with sizing the bullet to obtain the length and weight that's the most accurate in your gun(s). The trick would be to trim them as consistently as possible. Even if the bullet ended up being 200 grains, that's the size of another Lee .45 REAL cast bullet designed for pistols.

Go for it & good luck! :)
 

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Thank You very much for the info.

So I think I'll buy the mold today and see what I can do with it. Choices are limited, and if it will not be a sitisfactory I'll probably be able to sell without loosing money.
 
I think a single shot pistol have a very fast twist for a miniè!
Usually the pistol twist rate is fast for the way to shot a round ball with a very small admount of BP for target shooting!
A .45 pistol is normally loaded with 10-12 grains of FFFg, the half of the volume of semola weath and a patched round ball, the Pedersoli bore like .450 or .447 round ball with a .25mm patch, the fact of a fast twist and a small admount of powder is for get a slow speed of the bullet and a correct stabilization (a round ball need a little spin to flight right)
A minie ball give his best in a long rifle, with a 1:35 to 1:60 rate of rifling twist, and loaded with 37 to 50 grains of FFFg (for the .45 caliber)
More fast twist is for long flat base bullet, a Gibbs rifle have a 1:18" twist and shoot very well a 540 grains flat base bullet!
The heavy miniè in a pistol give an impressive recoil, not confortable to shoot for long time :(

ciao
Rusty
 
One more thing - would a .45 200 gr REAL bullet be apropriate for a short barreled BP pistol with a slow twist rate? I came along the Lee double bullet mould (it's number is 90390 I think-it's the first REAL bullet from the top in the REAL bullets list on their web site) and considering purchase.
 
The twist rate shouldn't matter very much out of a short barrel. The RPM's (revolutions per minute) of the bullet can be increased by loading more powder to help stabilize it if shooting at a longer distance.
But pistols are designed more for short range shooting anyway.
The 180 grain .45 Buffalo ball-et is a very short conical, so the similar 200 grain Lee shouldn't really require a fast twist because that will be relatively short too.
These are only my opinions, but I think that they will shoot just fine for what they are. Then afterward you can compare how the REAL shoots against a 133 grain patched round ball.
By the way, lubing the bullets and using an overpowder wad underneath them may be something worth trying.:)
 
So I made arrangements to buy the .200gr .45 Lee mould on monday and see how it works.

That milk cartoon wads sound like a good idea. I haven't seen anybody using it here yet.
 
Katigroszek.
I think that you could/need avoid this mold.
I've just checked Ardesa site, it confirm my tought. Extract from load tables:
Pioneer .45-Perc. 21 grains FFF Round .440 (11,18mm)
It will be very difficult to seat the bullet due to the diameter.

Try to find a sperical mould, that the best for a pistol. And for a beginner it would be best to avoid experiment for a while.
 
Katigroszek

Pascalp is correct, that mould will be too large.

One thought for all you folks outside the US is Dixie Gun Works. They are on the web at www.dixiegunworks.com They will ship outside the US and following is a quote from the catalog.

"Maximum length for parcel post shipping is 42 inches. Shipments that cannot move parcel post can be shipped AIR FREIGHT, with shipping charges collect. Foreign buyers are charged actual amount of shipping plus $10.00 surcharge. State whether preference is Surface, Air Mail or Air Freight."

US Parcel Post is fairly inexpensive. I send items to Australia quite often and the cost is reasonable.

Good luck
 
I hope that articap is right and pascalp and Red Flynt are not as ... i have already paid for that mould yesterday :(

I think that smaller ball diameter is advised because there is a room needed fo a patch. So without a patch a .450 REAL properly lubbed bullet will fit into the bore. If not - I will have to sell another mould :(

Articap - can You tell me how exactly does Your friend use the milk cartoon wads - what diameter he cuts it and how he loads it?
 
Articap is right (I think).
I've slugged a 45 cal derringer from Ardesa, caliper said something like .452 .454
Your 450 REAL will fit, easily even pure lead, I'm not sure.
Don't forget grease, hand lubbing will do the trick at a low cost, pan lubbing would be a step better.

I always think that following manufacturer advices is good specially at the beginning. Round ball are accurate, patch could be home made and greased too.
 
The stiff, dense wool wad bore buttons that we buy are cut to just about the bore's groove diameter, maybe just a hair larger so that there is enough friction to keep it straight in the bore as it is started and then gently rammed down on top of the powder. The closer that you can cut them to bore diameter (or even slightly larger) the better, so that the rifling lands provide the friction. Too small and it may turn sideways in the barrel, so a little larger should be better.
The just lay the carton wad on the muzzle and gently push start it in with the starter or a piece of almost bore size wooden dowel to press fit it in if it's a little too large. The edges of the wad will bend up which should keep it straight.
Another inexpensive overpowder wad can be made with a small ball of crumpled up newspaper. Simply stick it into the bore and compress it really tight once it's down in the breech. These may smolder on the ground after firing so be careful about the fire hazard.
Or try to construct a homemade "gasket" punch by sharpening the edges of some pipe to the right diameter.
Lastly, try tracing circles into the carton material using a (wood) coin or a homemade stencil, and carefully cut each one out with precision scissors or a razor knife while watching TV. Now that does sound easy! :D
 
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Wool wads and carton wads sound right for me. I think my father has some tools used to cut circles in different materials - I'll look and see if he has one that has a right diameter for me (I'm on a metric soil, You know, but perhaps a 12mm would be just the thing). Should be easier than the scissors thing.

Thanks very much for the advice to all of You!
 
OK, but be patient! It'll be after a little while, since I'm a father since yesterday :) Baby was 10 weeks early, and there is a lot to do, so shooting range time will be very limited
 
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