Help with black powder rifle

Hi can anyone help, I have a black powder muzzle loading rifle which has been built by a Canadian police armourer, problem is that it has been built using a .308 inch barrel from a 30/30 rifle ,my problem is I have no bullet mould to use with this rifle and I’m having trouble finding anyone that can give me information on what mould I could use as this is not common as a black powder calibre , yes I did know I would have trouble when I brought the rifle but it was such a great little rifle I thought I would give it a go, any help or advice would be great

:useless::yarr:

I looked at it several times but the caliber put me off. I like barrels I can poke my finger down.I will look in some BP loading books for a mould.

Yes my other black powder rifles are 58cal and the barrel of this one looks so small but it’s such a nice little rifle I thought I would give it a crack, thanks for help

Just get a projectile close and size it, And use a patch to fit to barrel. Upper Hutt gun shop would be the guy to talk to. Slug the barrel to get accurate measurements.

cheers

Take it your shooting ball?

At this stage im looking at anything that may work it has been suggested to try buckshot ball with patch

It will bump up to fit when fired, problem will be residue in the barrel after a few shots

I'd follow Maca's advice, he knows his stuff.

A slug in .301 PP'd up to .308/.309 works great in my 308win with smokeless, might be a place to start.

Cheers for that any idea where i could get a mold of that size

That's were it gets interesting. For smokeless PP the rule of thumb is bullet should be about .001 over bore and PP about .001 over groove. A custom mold would be ideal but I've just been using a Lee C312-185-1R as it throws a .301 nose and used a lathe to take the ribs down to size. A .301 sizer may also work but that would probably need to be custom too.

Slugging the barrel would be good before investing in molds etc. Firing a couple of 30 cal casts through may reveal a few things too.

Cheers

Try to get a Lyman mould cheap as chips, email or ring Upper Hutt as found him really helpful

Sorry make that a Lee mould, a Minnie would be good but think that cal maybe a little small. Easy mould to make if you have a good machist or the equipment.

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Originally Posted by hollowpoint

At this stage im looking at anything that may work it has been suggested to try buckshot ball with patch

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When you fire a ball it will no longer be a round ball as the pressure will bump it to the bore size so will become sorta oval

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Originally Posted by Chupacabra

I'd follow Maca's advice, he knows his stuff.

A slug in .301 PP'd up to .308/.309 works great in my 308win with smokeless, might be a place to start.

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Thanks for that but I really know bugger all! I have a guy I get info from and he has a library that is jus amazing. I think with BP you can experiment without killing yourself , within reason. It is relatively easy to load and shoot a rifle that's in good nick.

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Originally Posted by Maca49

Thanks for that but I really know bugger all! I have a guy I get info from and he has a library that is jus amazing. I think with BP you can experiment without killing yourself , within reason. It is relatively easy to load and shoot a rifle that's in good nick.

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I could sniff BP all day, reminds me of Guy Fawkes :thumbsup:

A bud once caught me yoinking a long string connected to an old 303 (he had sold me) mounted in sandbags, he complained that I could trust the gun and I told him I couldn't trust the load I was putting through it hehe :D

Just did the same with an old sleeved 12 guage, gave me the confidence to hold to my shoulder after about 5 shots.
My 577/450 loaded with 85 grains of ffg is a handful but awesome fun. Better when the smoke from that drifts down the range and into the nostriles of the others.love shooting my 45/70s

Attachment 11348

Excuse the state of my office,

That's your .50 cal?

Hi no thats the 30cal

Nice looking rifle, has it never been fired?

I brought the rifle while on holiday in Rotorua it was at the local hunting and fishing store ,I was told that it had come from a deceased estate and that the wife of the previous owner had brought it in with other bits and pieces that she wanted to get rid of, they did say that it had been fired but they had no idea on how one of the guys there did seem to know quite a bit about the rifle as in who made it and told me to contact people at the local black powder club here in whanagarei for help which in its self is a bit of a challenge as I’m finding it hard to find contacts for BP shooting in whangarei.
If it proves too hard to get sorted I’m still not too worried as it’s a real cracker little rifle and good conversation piece.

I'll see what my mate has in the way of moulds, but later in the week

Thank for all your help

No listings in my books but I would get an old Lee mould in a smaller caliber then get someone to ream it out to the shape and size you want, simple job.

Hi.guys, yes I think your best bet is a lee mold, 170/80g, but cast with wheel weights or lino type, the 3030 has a fast twist rifling and soft lead could lead up the barrel . All so a round ball needs a slow twist, 1 in 48", but mite be ok with a light load of 30/40 grs of fffg, Still be hard to get the bullets in, good luck, Homebrew.357.

Hi.guys, yes I think your best bet is a lee mold, 170/80g, but cast with wheel weights or lino type, the 3030 has a fast twist rifling and soft lead could lead up the barrel . All so a round ball needs a slow twist, 1 in 48", but mite be ok with a light load of 30/40 grs of fffg, Still be hard to get the bullets in, good luck, Homebrew.357.