I used the Lee conical mould for over a year when I first got the pistol. I thought I was shooting pretty good until I gave ball a try and straight away my average group size halved. I never went back to conical.
Thanks for the responses that have confirmed my suspicions that there would probably be no benefit from using a conical bullet rather than a round ball in the ROA.
Brian
Sure there is, IF you have the chambers opened out, as a lot of people over there have done, AND stuff that cylinder with 40gr of 3Fg, and need it to shoot hogs in the chest at ten feet or less.
Over here, though, killing paper, I've stuck to the ball except when a guest, who may have heard of a conical, wants to try. Usually just one shot is enough.
I've tried conicals in a Uberti Police and they move forwards out of the chamber with the recoil. I had to check them everytime after a couple of shots. They were tight to squeeze in and I did not expect them to move under the recoil. I find ball much easier to load, not as much strain on the loading lever, and they are more accurate.
No-one at my muzzle loading club who have tried conicals have had any success. The general view is that the twist rate suitable for a ball (typically 1 in 40") is just too low for a conical.
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TANSTAAFL
Thanks guys, well worth a discussion to clarify the reasons why ball is preferable to a conical bullet in the muzzle loading revolver.
Brian
Yup, the conical requires that maximum or almost maximum loads be used, there is, after all, a lot more surface engagement on the conical than there is with the 'belt' around the ball.
As for shooting it with a nitro load, I'm not sure about that, as I was always of the mind that the nitro conversion was designed to shoot ball, rather than conicals. You might like to talk to Mr Westlake about that, if he is the one who converted your ROA.