Could cast boolits solve the problem?

[dromia]

BP lead ball is fine, at least .375" diameter.

[Dougan]

Thanks - I should be able to get my hands on something suitable by the weekend.

[Dougan]

I must confess I've been having a little difficulty with the 'slugging the bore' business - the best 'slugs' I could get my hands on were some soft .38 wadcutters - After much cringing and breaking of dowel, I managed to get one down by whittling it into a better shape with a Stanley knife...

...the best I could get was a quarter inch section that gave a full impact of the bore - Then I wasn't sure how to measure it, as the groves were opposite the rifling; so difficult to get a perfect diameter of either...

...by taking lots of measurements around the circumference; I got a minimum of .308 and a maximum of .3125 ...is that good enough?...does it sound right?

I'm not very confident with my attempt or the measurements...are there some 'typical' cast bullets for SMLEs I could just try safely and see how they go...?

[Alpha1]

You need to use a pure lead slug lead is soft.
A .312 boolit is a good starting point.

[Blu]

Dougan, as I don't use cast bullets I bought a set of these and they work great. Each slug has a letter on it and the instructions tell you which lettered slug is for what calibre. The wooden dowels that came with it are crap and so I cut up a piece of steel I had into dowels. As usual they are twice the price in the UK as opposed to over here but they work great and are relatively easy to push through the barrel.

Have a look around and you may find someone in the UK that does them cheaper than Midway if you are interested. Here's the link.
http://www.midwayuk.com/epages/Midway_U ... 14141CD174

Blu

[Dougan]

Cheers Blu - that looks a natty kit, but I could buy a hundred boolits for the same price and just try them...

...is there any safety reason why I couldn't get some .312s (as Alpha suggests) and give then a go?

[dromia]

Man, you are really over thinking this.

All you need is a lump of soft lead over muzzle size, place it on the muzzle of a clean, lubed barrel and pound it in with a soft faced hammer. Once you have driven the lead in flush with the muzzle and there is a ring of lead to discard the push the slug through the barrel, feel for tight spots if any and then measure for effect.

[Dougan]

That's more or less what I've done - the tightest spot was the first 6" of the barrel (from the muzzle end), after that it pushed through easily...

...as I say my measurements (which, sorry, but I'm not 100% confident with) gave .308 on the rifling and .3125 in the groves...does that sound right to you...?

[dromia]

Tight at the muzzle end is good.

Five groove barrels are a bugger to measure, in saying that the throat size is the most important.

Those sizes look OK and I'd size my boolits to at least 0.314".

[Dougan]

OK I'll try .314s

I'll have a read up on boolit weights and loads, and if you don't mind, double check with you before testing...