50 Bore pistol

[daveh]

Hi All I'm new to breach loaders and have a question. I now have a 50 bore percussion pistol supplied with a bag of shot .40" diameter. the bore of the pistol is .48", Am I missing something. Any help would be appreciated. Regards Daveh.

[Turnup]

40 thou patch?

[daveh]

Sorry please read "muzzle" for breach

[daveh]

Hi Turnup, thanks for the info, its easy when you know how! Regards Daveh

[tacfoley]

Is it rifled or smooth-bored?

Your answer matters.

A lot.

tac

[daveh]

Smooth bore, Why? Daveh

[Turnup]

c'mon Tac.....drop the other shoe. In was hoping to learn summat here.

[tacfoley]

The load for a smooth-bore pistol differs dramatically from that of a rifled gun.

That's all I'm saying until my question is answered.

Oh, and advising the OP to get ahold of the Lyman BP manual.

tac

[daveh]

Hi Tac , I said smooth a few days ago, Regards Daveh

[tacfoley]

Hi Tac , I said smooth a few days ago, Regards Daveh

My response was really a resplone to a post asking why I'd made a point of it, not ignoring your post advising us of the kind of pistol it was.

A smooth-bore pistol requires a considerably heavier charge to shoot accurately than a rifled gun - THAT was my point.

A fifty or sixty grain load of FFg in a rifled pistol is going to be lot less fun than the same load in a smooth-bore - maybe you don't mind excessive recoil?

tac

[waterford103]

Is it 0.50" bore size or is it a 50 bore ? If it's 50 bore the the ball size is determined by the number of lead balls of bore size in 1 pound of lead ,i.e. if 50 the balls you were supplied with weigh 1 pound then it's 50 bore . It's the same with 12 bore , 16 bore , 20 bore shotguns , also smoothbore but not a .410 " .A .410 actually measures .410 " as it was adopted and made after the old system was superceded .Fun this shooting game innit - eh ?

[tacfoley]

Is it 0.50" bore size or is it a 50 bore ? If it's 50 bore the the ball size is determined by the number of lead balls of bore size in 1 pound of lead ,i.e. if 50 the balls you were supplied with weigh 1 pound then it's 50 bore . It's the same with 12 bore , 16 bore , 20 bore shotguns , also smoothbore but not a .410 " .A .410 actually measures .410 " as it was adopted and made after the old system was superceded .Fun this shooting game innit - eh ?

Agreed. 'spose I ought to have mentioned it before, but as you note, .50cal is a good deal different than 50 bore. A fifty-BORE designation implies that the gun is pre-1890, when English-made muzzle-loading guns of all kinds were referred to in this manner.

This also needs to be sorted out - are we looking at an original, possibly a martial pistol like a dragoon or sea-service pistol, or has the OP got a modern .50" calibre replication?

Details are very sparse right now.

tac

PS - 50 BORE would shoot a ball of about .415" diameter - a special-order custom mould being required for this unusual diameter.

[daveh]

The pistol has a bore of 0.48"So I assume that the gun is a 50 bore. does anyone have a 0.418 bullet mould. By the way the pistol is inscribed with "Hewson" as the maker, one of my ancestors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards Daveh
Not a replica but a 1840/50"Travelling Pistol" overall length 11.5" with a 6" Damascus barrel[came boxed with all the other goodies]

[tacfoley]

The pistol has a bore of 0.48"So I assume that the gun is a 50 bore. does anyone have a 0.418 bullet mould. By the way the pistol is inscribed with "Hewson" as the maker, one of my ancestors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards Daveh
Not a replica but a 1840/50"Travelling Pistol" overall length 11.5" with a 6" Damascus barrel[came boxed with all the other goodies]

Jeff Tanner will make you a ball mould to any size you want, but according to the usual documentation, a so-called 50 bore pistol would shoot a ball in the region of .415", as I noted.

The following figures might help you decide what it is that you need in terms of ball diameter, allowing for 15 - 18 thou patching, that is - YOU do the math -

.480" bore = 166.54gr ball measuring 42.03 to the pound.

According to the tables, a 50 gauge/bore pistol or long gun shoots a 11.4mm diameter 108gr ball - that's a .46" diameter ball, BTW. Take off 15 - 18 thou for patching leaves you a diameter of 0.424".

Hope this is not unhelpful.

tac

PS - This IS a Section 1 firearm if you are going to shoot it, right?

[daveh]

Hi Tac, thanks for the interest and all the info. Theres no intention to shoot the pistol and theres no approved range close to me. It will be a "wallhanger" Regards Daveh