Hi all,
I have been shooting black powder for a few years now mainly a revolver and a .45 ML rifle. I have decided that I want to push the boat out a bit further and have splashed out on a .577 Parker Hale 2 band muzzle loader.

Having looked through this site I see that the preferred minie size is about 510 to 566. The only ones I have currently been able to obtain are heavier than that at about 620g. I was planning to try these with a load of 65g of medium black powder. Does that sound like a good starting point?

I suspect that most of you gents cast your own bullets, something I am considering as the minie’s are not cheap!! Where is the best place to obtain a suitable mould? I believe the Lyman mould is recommended? I assume the 575213PH or the575213?
Are these available to purchase in the UK (I have not found any to date) or do I need to go to the States? Will I also need a sizing die? If so where can I get one of those?

Finally does any one shoot a patched ball out of these? If so how does that compare to the minie?

Many Thanks
Lansdown (Bob)