Muzzleldrs The right Minie ball for my Armisport/Chiappa 1862 Richmond Rifle

ShortSeb

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Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Location
Vienna/AUSTRIA
Hi, folks!

I recently got my Armisport/Chiappa 1862 Richmond Rifle. I have a good experience with muzzleloader shooting but just with patch & roundballs.

So, the manual for the rifle says, that it shoots .585 Minies. My first thought: "Ah, I don't think so."
The Richmond is a .58 bore so what I know the Minie must be under the bore size diameter. For example .575 up to 579. Could this be a printing mistake from Armisport/Chiappa?
I can't imagine that it really needs .585 Minnies.
 
Hi, folks!

I recently got my Armisport/Chiappa 1862 Richmond Rifle. I have a good experience with muzzleloader shooting but just with patch & roundballs.

So, the manual for the rifle says, that it shoots .585 Minies. My first thought: "Ah, I don't think so."
The Richmond is a .58 bore so what I know the Minie must be under the bore size diameter. For example .575 up to 579. Could this be a printing mistake from Armisport/Chiappa?
I can't imagine that it really needs .585 Minnies.

First off, don't EVER assume that the bore is what they say it is. Second, I have seen bores that took up to 584 minies that were supposed to be 577. You will have to measure it or have it measured at a machine shop. Search for "pin gauge".

We shoot these guns in North South Skirmish competition. Find out what your bore size actually is. Then get your minie to .001 or so under that figure. For best accuracy, use 3f real black powder at about 60% of service charge. Finally, use a good quality lube. I use beeswax/lard in my P53 and it shoots sub 2moa but different guns respond to different lubes, just don't use anything petroleum based.

Use only good caps. CCI reenactor ones are garbage.

For the most fun you can have with live rounds and a musket, come shoot with us at the North South Skirmish Association.
 
So Vaseline that Armisport/Chiappa recomend is a NoNo?

Yup, unless you like scrubbing. Stick with natural lubes for best results. Not like I'm a black powder competitor or NRA Muzzleloading Instructor or anything.........:smile coffee: with a P53, 62 Colt, 42 Macon, 63 Sharps, 58 Smith, 63 Remington, and 58 Remington in my competition locker. More seriously, I've shot black powder for over 40 years and made some missteps in my time. I've found that it's best to avoid mixing any petroleum product with black powder. They often make the fouling quite hard and a problem to clean and it screws up subsequent shots. The only exception I've found to this is using full synthetic Mobil1 motor oil as part of the bullet lube. For some reason, it doesn't have adverse reactions to black powder. I would avoid Pyrodex or any sub. The fouling from Pyrodex can set up hard in short order and is highly corrosive. I have a ruined barrel on a 1858 Remington that was not cleaned the day we shot it. It WAS cleaned the next morning, but the damage was done.

Sure! I just have to travel 4652 miles before. 🤪

We'll see just how dedicated you are mate! :D
 
I am not a fan of Pyrodex either. Stick to the historic original, I am saying. The smell, the smoke... blackpowder will be blackpowder. Just the good ol' Swiss #2 or #3 for me. :smile:

By the way: Which size and grains had the original Minies made by the Confederates?
 
Grüß Gott! The service charge was originally 60 grains of FFg but later went up to 65 grains. The Johnnies preferred Enfield type cartridges with 68-70 grains of FFg after establishing that this was a mighty nice paper cartridge system. Minié/Burton balls will do great with a smaller FFFg charge. Many skirmishers I "compete" against (as if I'm competition?) use 40 to 45 grains. The best Minié shooting I ever did at a skirmish was with a loaned/borrowed .54. I am using a .685 "wadcutter" Minié in a re-lined original .69 rifled and sighted Model 1842. The bullet is over 500 grains (but less than the 730-gr. original!) and I'm using about 55-grains of FFFg with it. I dip lube the bullets in my own mixture in a double-boiler: half mutton tallow and half bees wax with a few drops of olive oil.

The Civil War lubricant mixtures were made for campaigning in the hot, humid, muggy southern states. These are far too sticky, in my opinion. And I'm skirmishing in Texas! ("Land of two summers!"). There in Österreich I'm thinking a 50/50 might be for the best, even if it is not utterly authentic.
 
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