Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Side hammer vs. Inline

Always swore I would never have one of those new fangeled corntrapcions, and would stick to my guns till the cows come home. Well I've been hearing a lot of mooing lately on the hill behind the house!!!
In the event I do relent and go inline, a few questions I want to ask. I would want to shoot my own cast bullets, what I am using now are 250gr REEL bullets they stabelize and shoot well in my 1:48 twist I know most inlines are pretty fast twist. Hopfully some of you have tried 250 reels or maybe maxieballs,or something cast and can advise me what to look for or what to avoid.
My reason for insisting on cast is I like shooting and practicing a lot and don't want to have the expense of sabotts or powerbelts. I would be satisfied with 3-4 in. accuracy off bags at 100 yds.
I'll wait to see what ya'll have to say and maybe have more questions. thanks in advance.

Last year my Brother gave me an inline and it does shoot self cast darn well.

Don't know what they weigh off hand but i have 3 molds for the 50 cal.

Even tried some American Pioneer Powder and it shoots good and its not real ashey.

The R.E.A.L.shoot exelent if not push by 150 gr of powder. About a 100 gr. right with all calibre I would say

The R.E.A.L.shoot exelent if not push by 150 gr of powder. About a 100 gr. right with all calibre I would say

70 to 100gr with the real. I use a wad as well to get any kind of accuracy. Without it,may as well throw a rock at the target.

Best way to find out is to try it. You may have to buy a different mold, but an inline will shoot cast conicals fine. It's a matter of matching up the bullet with the rifling twist. A R.E.A.L. (Rifling Engraved At Loading) 250 grain conical is pretty light in fast twist .50 cal. There's not alot of mass there to obturate properly to seal the bore, which is why they shoot better with a wad. I'm from the "less powder, more lead" group. My .45 fast twist inlines (1 in 20") are happiest with bullets in the 400-500 grain range and 70-90 grains powder. My .50s (1 in 24-28") do well with 400-600 grain bullets with the same charge. I size the bullets to bore diameter or slightly under for easy loading. With that much mass, they bump up (obturate) to grove diameter with moderate charges of powder. There are a number of molds available for the .500 S&W that throw a bullet pretty close to .50 cal bore diameter, around .500" depending on the barrel. It's all part of the fun, finding the right combination for your particular rifle.

Thanks for the input so far. Sounds like, as I expected, fast twist inlines might prefer long heavy lead slugs. Are most inline 50's 1:24- 1:28 twist, or are some slower?

This company has a good reputation for a good lead bullet, I'll be trying their .52 caliber this year.

http://parker-productions-llc.myshopify.com/collections/hydra-con/products/50-cal-440-gr-hydra-con

I've used this bullet for a number of years in a TC Hawken (1:48?) with good results, well under 4 inches, closer to 2-3 inches.

http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/55...let-mold-500-360m-500-diameter-360-grain

It's not that they won't shoot light bullets well....the stubby 245 gr Power Belt does well, but it has its own wad. A patched round ball may also work well with light charges as the patch fills the grooves at loading. As mentioned, your R.E.A.L. may do well with a wad behind it. A bare bullet though, needs enough mass to work well. There are hollow base designs also, but I don't have much experience with them in a fast twist gun.
I think most .50s now are 1 in 28". This is a list I pulled off Doug's Message Boards listing twist rates. Probably a little out dated.



RIFLE MODEL CAL. TWIST RIFLE
CVA Apollo Carbelite 50/54 1:32
CVA Apollo Shadow 50/54 1:32
CVA Apollo Shadow SS 50/54 1:32
CVA Apollo Sporter 50 1:32
CVA Bobcat Rifle 50/54 1:48
CVA Bushwacker 50 1:48
CVA Colorado MusketMag 50 1:32
CVA Eclipse 209 Mag 45/50 1:28
CVA Elipse 50 1:32
CVA Firebolt 209 UltraMag 45/50 1:32
CVA Frontier Carbine 50 1:48
CVA Frontier Hunter 50 1:32
CVA Hunterbolt 209 UltrMag 45/50 1:28
CVA Mountain Hunter 50 1:48
CVA Optima Pro 209 45/50 1:28
CVA Panther Carbine 50/54 1:32
CVA Plainsman 50 1:48
CVA St. Louis Hawken 50/54 1:48
CVA Stag Horn 209 Mag 50 1:32
CVA Stalker Carbine 50/54 1:32
CVA Stalker Rifle 50 1:32
CVA Tracker Carbine 50 1:32
CVA Trophy Carbine 50/54 1:32
CVA Woodsman 50 1:48
CVA Youth Hunter 50 1:48
Traditions Buck Hunter 50 1:32
Traditions Buck Hunter 54 1:48
Traditions Buck Hunter Pro 50 1:32
Traditions Buckskinner Carbine 50 1:48
Traditions Crockett Rifle 50 1:48
Traditions Deer Hunter 50/54 1:48
Traditions E-Bolt 209 45 1:20
Traditions E-Bolt 209 45 1:20
Traditions E-Bolt 209 50 1:28
Traditions Evolution 50 1:28
Traditions Evolution 54 1:48
Traditions Evolution LD 45 1:20
Traditions Evolution LD 50 1:28
Traditions Evolution Premier 50 1:28
Traditions Hawken Mag Rifle 50 1:48
Traditions Hawken Rifle 50 1:48
Traditions Hawken Woodsman 50/54 1:48
Traditions Lighting Lightweight 50 1:28
Traditions Lightning 45 LD 45 1:20
Traditions Lightning Bolt Action 50 1:28
Traditions Lightning Bolt Action 54 1:48
Traditions Lightning Fire Sidelock 50 1:32
Traditions Magnum Plains 50 1:32
Traditions Panther Rifle 50/54 1:48
Traditions Pioneer 50 1:32
Traditions Pursuit (All Models) 50 1:28
Traditions Thunder Bolt-Action 45 1:20
Traditions Thunder Bolt-Action 50 1:28
Traditions Thunder Magnum 50 1:32
Traditions Tracker 209 45 1:20
Traditions Tracker 209 50 1:28
Knight American Knight 50 1:28
Knight Big Horn 50 1:28
Knight DISC Elite 45 1:30
Knight DISC Elite 50 1:28
Knight DISC Extreme 45 1:30
Knight DISC Extreme 50 1:28
Knight MHS DISC Extreme 45 1:30
Knight MHS DISC Extreme 50 1:28
Knight MK85 50/54 1:28
Knight Revolution 50 1:28
Knight T-Bolt 50 1:28
Knight Wolverine 50/54 1:28
Knight Wolverine 209 50 1:28
Knight Wolverine II 50/54 1:28
Lyman Cougar Rifle 50/54 1:24
Lyman Deerstalker Rifle 50/54 1:48
Lyman Great Plains Hunter 50/54 1:32
Lyman Great Plains Rifle 50/54 1:60
Lyman Trade Rifle 50/54 1:48
Ruger 77/50 Rifle 50 1:28
T/C Woods 50 1:28
T/C Big Boar 58 1:48
T/C Black Diamond 50 1:28
T/C Black Diamond XR 45/50 1:28
T/C Black Mountain Magnum 50 1:28
T/C Encore 290x45 Magnum 45 1:20
T/C Encore 290x45 Magnum 45 1:28
T/C Encore 290x50 Magnum 50 1:28
T/C Fire Storm 50 1:48
T/C G2 (.45 cal only) Contender 209x45ML 45 1:28
T/C Hawken 50/54 1:48
T/C Impact 1:28
T/C New Englander 50/54 1:48
T/C Omega 45/50 1:28
T/C Renegade 50 1:48
T/C Scout Carbine 50/54 1:20
T/C Thunderhawk 50/54 1:38
T/C White Mountain 50/54 1:20
Savage 10ML (All Models) 50 1:24
Winchester X-150 Magnum 209 45 1:28
Winchester X-150 Magnum 209 50 1:28
Remington 700 ML/MLS Rifle 45/50/54 1:28
Winchester Apex Magnum 45/50 1:28
White .451 1:20 .504 1:24

Mine is 1 in 28 twist.

The slugs were 370 and 354 grains.

They were shot with 100 grains of powder.

Thanks for the list, looks like some may be as slow as 1:48 something like that would maybe be fine for the 250 Real. Anything faster maybe better with 3-400gr. slugs.

I've mostly found the 1:48's to be a compromise that don't do as well as faster rates with conicals

Lots of people use 240's and 250's in a 1:28 with excellent results.

I've shot a lot of patched round balls in my inlines and they grouped nicely.

My 1-in-48 Hawken always shot Hornady Great Plains bullets in 385 and 410 very well.

Did you state your intended use, range, hunting? Of course State M-L regs come into play for hunting. For lower cost shooting you can also shoot lead pistol bullets held in an appropriate size sabot, reducing the powder charge too.

If planned for hunting I would get as much as the regs allow, then just shoot lower cost options for most range shooting.

mitch ,
concerning the CVA bobcat rifles that doug lists the twist on . they also cam in a 1 in 60 and a 1-32 .
i sold them

Main concern is hunting, but I have my own 100yd range and tend to shoot for group and for practice quite a bit.I like the idea of hunting with the same bullet I practice with. Primairly woods hunting with over 100yd shots rare. I realize lead bullets would limit me to aprox. 100yd. Where the high tech high bc expensive bullets can extend range to 200yd +.
Because of this being hill country 300yd from hill to hill even in the woods are possible but vety rare. Different story on open farm land I sometimes hunt. wanna shoot a mile? No problem.

What do the regulations in your state have in place for front stuffers? That could limit your choices. Some states have different reg's that limit you.

Our laws are pretty liberal (hate to use that word). Single barrel, front stuffer over I think 36 cal. Bullet does'nt matter, nor does the powder. I use 777.

If you shoot anything other than a patched roundball over holy black powder ignited by flint you will not go to heaven.