KenL

Is there a trick to starting these bullets in the bore? I shot them for the first time last weekend, and I had to dang near stand on them with my short starter to get them started. Once they started they went down the bore fairly easy. So I am just wondering if it is me, or is there a trick, or are they just hard to get started?

roundball

Hornady GP bullets are what is called a "slip fit" design...tapered so the base drops into the bore ("slips") quite easily and the diameter gets larger and larger tapering up to the top of the bullet...this taper is designed to make loading easy and to align the bullet in the bore;

Then there's an "engraving band" around the shoulder of the bullet that comes to rest on top of the rifling at the muzzle as you're sliding the bullet into the muzzle with your fingers;

At this point, you need to sharply "punch" the conical down into the muzzle with a quick, sharp rap on a short starter so the rifling cuts through this engraving band cleanly...if you do it slowly with a ramrod, the rifling will usually wallow around a little and widen the cuts which can affect accuracy;

Then seat it down on the powder....45cal/285grn Hornady GP's in my .45cal TC Hawkens are tack drivers

Viking_hunter

I really like 385 grain Great Plains bullets in my 50 cal. T/C Whitemountain carbine for deer. It kills quick and clean. Just like it was described previously, you need to give them a sharp rap with your palm when using the short starter. This will get the rifling to engrave the bullet. I made my own short starter out of delrin and shaped the end to match the bullet to reduce the deformation of the bullet when starting it in the barrel.

Triple Se7en

==============================================


That bullet should not be difficult to load. Sounds like you have old buildup of something in your bore. Your patches may be coming out white during cleaning, but the bore may still be dirty.
It's possible you may be using "too weak" of a solvent. You also may be using a jag for patching instead of what works best.... bore brush! Also... most BP/ML solvents like T/C-13 are real weak... only good for powder fouling. Get a good one like
Birchwood-Casey Bore Scrubber Two In One or Butch's Bore Shine
You want one that says it removes ALL fouling like copper, lead, plastic, old lubes... etc. You don't need to use the stronger cleaners every shooting session using leaded conicals or roundballs unless bullet-leading occurs or your lube is not geting removed by the cleaner.

Tahquamenon

Roundball, about the most perfect description I've seen for how to load tapered concials.
Well spoken.
All they need is a little "whack" to get them engaged with the rifling.

KenL

Thanks for the input, By the way, I do use a bore brush, and T/C solvent. Maybe I will try one of the solvents that Tripple7 suggested. I think it was more of the quick wrap that I needed to employ. As I should have said, I am very green when it comes to M/L. Still learning the basics. You guys are a wealth of info. Thanks