Tight .58 Bore

[Jerry]

Would like to know of those who own a .58 rifle, has anyone found there bore tight for .58? If so, what size ball have you found to work. I tried .562 diameter round balls with a.016 thick patch, but accuracy was not good. I’m shootinfmg a .570 round ball with a .016 patch with excellent accuracy, but hard to seat. Thanks, Jerry

[smylee grouch]

I have several 58s from at least three different barrel makers so bore dimensions vary. If you can " slug " your barrel it will give you some good  info.

[Daryl]

Rifling depth, dimensions and ball size dictates what patch to use.
In my last .58 which had a .574" bore, I used a .562" ball and a .021" denim patch. Once into the muzzle and down 6" with the starter, they went down easily.
With it's 24" bl. and military sights, I was able to make 3" 5 shot groups at 100 meters off the bench. I was happy with that accuracy as with the 200yard setting of the rear zight  I was able to repearably smack the 14" x 16" AR500 plate at 200 meters repeatably, standing with a rest against the building support post, shot after shot. I used 85gr. 2F GOEX which produced 1,430fps. The rifle was an 1861 Musketoon.

[rich pierce]

Maybe lap it. Hard to ram could mean “not smooth enough.”

[alacran]

I have a .58 Rice barrel it shoots .570 balls very well with JoAnn's cotton drill 40. I prefer to use .565 ball with .024 tightly woven canvas and bear oil.
It is extremely accurate with that combo.

[flatsguide]

Alacran, what’s the thickness of that cotton drill 40?
Thanks Richard

[alacran]

It is .016 compressed in the caliper jaws.

[flatsguide]

Thanks alacran!
Richard

[Bob Roller]

The last round ball rifle I made was a 58 caliber flintlock with a GM barrel and I used the 575 ball cast from pure very soft lead and the patch was striped pillow material.It loaded tight but was very accurate.I also  bought some .562 balls from Log Cabin and it loaded easier and it shot well.In the last 15 years I have shot no black powder and neither one of our sons had any interest in muzzle loaders but the oldest one did like BPCR and the shoots at Ralph Marcum's years ago.He joined the Air Force and for 20 years was a military police officer.
The youngest son shot a revolver at Ralph's and it was a  44 Russian with black powder and seemed to like it.He does destructive testing on bolts and screws in a big shop here that is furnishing all these that are going into a fleet of new Nuclear Subs being built now for our Navy..

Bob Roller

[Steeltrap]

.....He does destructive testing on bolts and screws in a big shop here that is furnishing all these that are going into a fleet of new Nuclear Subs being built now for our Navy..

Bob Roller

A job a kid has dreamt of since they were ten years old!!! Intentionally breaking stuff!!!   Who knew they would actually pay a person to do this!!

[Daryl]

I have found a deeply(1" or more) coned muzzle is more difficult to load a tight combination than the very much shorter 1/8" smoothly radiused crowned muzzle many of us use.
The reason is the longer "friction" surface of a gradual cone shape. This was evident in a couple of rifles one of our club members had, whose rifle's muzzles had 1 1/2" long cones. 
He could not load the same combinations I easily loaded in my rifle of the same caliber.

[Daryl]

Corbin, the die and press making company who made not only swaging dies (smaller to larger sized projectiles) but also drawing dies, which reduced larger sizes to smaller ones. They published the shape needed for just this principle of reducing larger sizes to smaller ones. That shape mirrors the radiused crown I have been crowing about for many years. It allows very tight combinations to be easily loaded into your rifles. All that needs to be done, is follow the crowning instructions as published here on numerous occasions. I would fo this again, however I do not have access to that material at this time. The search engine might help you. My 120 pound wife loads a .445" ball into a .450" bore with a .022" denim patch without ANY problem  shot, after shot  after shot. You cannot convince me a mallet is needed. That's nonsense. 
One of them shoots a .50, with .495" balls and the same 10 ounce, .021" denim patch.
They all shoot 25 yo 30 shots without having to "swab" or "wipe" or otherwise clean their bores at any time on the trail. They are there to shoot, not to wipe their bores.