Originally Posted by
bronko22000
Using other than pure lead for a full bore conical or PRB is setting yourself up for problems. I recently discovered this personally. You can alloy the lead if you are going to use a sabot or, as at least one of our forum members uses, a paper patched bullet with good results. The problem with using too hard a bullet is that the lack of expansion at the lower velocities. This is one of the reasons why saboted pistol bullets are used a lot. Because they are designed for similar velocities.
Bronko22000,
And the use of modern pistol bullets to replace the roundball is exactly what I am suggesting, for improved terminal performance. I don't know where this roundball thing came from. The first standardized US military rifle was the 1803 Harper's Ferry rifle, and it had a 1-49 twist. Obviously it was intended to be used with conicals. Running a conical, just below the speed of sound, decreases wind drift. You want to avoid the sonic barrier for best accuracy. If you can't keep your speed above the speed of sound all the way to your target, then you start your bullet below the speed of sound. They knew all of this well over 200 years ago. This is why I asked the question of why anyone is still using a roundball. Other than in a smoothbore of, say, .600 or above, it makes no sense. Most of the subsequent posts offer no reasoning other than, "That's the way we've always done it."
OldBob