I've been useing bore butter for lube....and yes they go down easy ofter a 4 inches in

cayugad, thanks for the reply, are you useing them hunting and if so what are you useing as a bulletstarter...I've hunted with tc maxi hunters and they don't give me any problems starting....I was hitting my bulletstarter with a 2x4 to seat the real's in my buddy poured them said they were soft lead

I use just a standard wooden ball starter to get them going. If they are pure lead they will slip in somewhat hard at first.. it takes a good strike with the flat of the hand, but I have never had to use a chunk of wood. Normally the bottom two ridges can be pushed in the crown with your thumb. Then I just line that short starter ball up and hit it with my hand. And like you said, about three to four inches in, they have the rifling engraved, and then they spin down the bore pretty easy.

I use a homemade lube, but for years I have used bore butter. Friends and I hunted deer for years with REAL conical bullets. In fact one friend of mine that shoots a T/C .54 caliber Hawkins shoots the 300 grains I cast with 70 grains of powder. It is all he will hunt deer with and he's flattened some nice bucks with it. One other guy that got to be a problem ... he hunted with an old .54 caliber CVA inline. He couldn't get nothing to shoot out of it, so I gave him some REAL conical bullets in 380 grain and he was shocked at how accurate they were. He got to be a pain because he kept hitting me up for more conical bullets. I finally told him to get his own mold.

When I got the mold, did you see the instructions for the recommended powder charges.. 50-70 grains of powder. You don't have to push these things hard for a deer at moderate ranges. One thing I have discovered. After about 75 yards, the accuracy falls off. But I attribute that more to open sights and my eyes. Where I hunt 50 yards is a long shot. You place that REAL behind the shoulder, 99% of the time you get a full pass through, and a excellent wound channel. Just be sure they are made of pure lead. If they are made of pure lead, you can scratch them with a fingernail normally.

Some people get scrap lead. I know I do. I have found that all scrap lead is not equal. Right now I lucked out because a person that works for the city road crew had to replace old water lines.. the water lines had lead knuckle joints. So he collected all of them and gave them to me, in return for casting rights with my molds.

thanks again I didn't see the powder charge rateing I've been useing 90, I'll drop it down and I'll get pure lead myself and pour some and see if its easyser, I too don't shoot over 50 yards in the woods here in rhode island thanks ed

I found a couple of inexpensive .50 bullet sizers at a gun show. I never used them but IIRC they measure around .505 - .507 at the mouth. A bullet would need to be pushed through one to determine its inside diameter measurement.
The rifling grooves on most TC sidelocks must be at least around .006 deep or so per side which would make the groove to groove bore measurement about .512.
I doubt if a flat base bullet will obturate in the same fashion or as easily as a hollow base or minie type of bullet.
Nonetheless, if rapid reloading is too difficult in the field then I recommend using a patched round ball for more rapid reloading for a follow up shot. Or a loose fitting conical like a Buffalo Ballet will fill the same bill.
The main problem with loose fitting conicals is that if the muzzle is carried pointing downward then there's a risk of the conical creeping up the bore and coming off the powder charge.
I suggest carrying the gun's muzzle in an upright position through the woods to help prevent ringing or bulging the barrel that could result.
That goes for all conicals really since once they're engraved and rammed they do tend to loosen up.
Another option would be to stuff an over powder card on top of the conical to help keep it down on top of the powder. A ball of newspaper can be tamped down and compressed to serve the same purpose too. But then that loading variation would need to be tested to insure that it doesn't alter the accuracy of the bullet.
The last suggestion is to use a wooden mallet to gently tap tight fitting conicals down the bore. By the time they're part way down the bore they become easier to ram.