Round ball question

[Xetron]

A buddy of mine asked me this question and being that I am fairly new to muzzle loading I did not have an answer for him. So I figured I would toss this up to the experts.
Can you shoot round ball in an in line muzzle loader such as a Thompson Center Omega or equivalent? What would be the benefits and/or negatives of doing so?
Thanks up front.

[msbcomputer]

Patched round ball will shoot from any gun but the faster rate of twist barrels will not shoot it as well. Any barrell under 1 in 48 twist should be using more modern loads.

[russianblood]

You can shoot round balls in an inline but you'll have to greatly reduce the powder charge to keep the patch round ball from stripping the rifling. The only advantage I can think of would be if he wanted to small game hunt with it. Otherwise, it would be best to stick with sabot rounds or lead bullets such as the Hornady Great Plains bullets or T/C Maxi-Balls.

[45/70fan]

You can shoot anything out of a muzzle loader as long as it will go down the barrel it will come out upon firing. Accuracy is another matter, it all depends on what the demons are doing on the leading surface of said flying matter.

[msbcomputer]

I found this............

Black Powder Muzzleloading Rifle / Barrel Twist Rates.
The rate of twist in a muzzleloader barrel determines the optimum projectile length and speed of the projectile by applying the proper spin on the projectile to prevent it from yawing and pitching. Expressed in terms of the number of revolutions per inch of barrel length, this ratio is commonly expressed by designations such as 1:28, 1/28 or 1 in 28 twist, the 1 represents 1 twist, the 28 represents inches of barrel length.

How do you know what is right? A good rule of thumb is that the heavier and longer a projectile is, the faster the twist rate needs to be and therefore a lighter shorter projectile needs a slower twist rate to give proper spin for correct flight.

Usually rifle barrels with a;
1 turn in 66" rifling will do best with round ball,
1 turn in 48" round ball, ball-ets, short conical bullet and saboted pistol bullet,
1 turn in 28" conical bullet and saboted bullet.

Always keep in mind that by adjusting powder charges up or down you will find a charge that most likely will work for the projectile you are shooting because speed and rifling twist work in conjunction for projectile stabilization.

[sullyxlh]

Usually rifle barrels with a;
1 turn in 66" rifling will do best with round ball,
1 turn in 48" round ball, ball-ets, short conical bullet and saboted pistol bullet,
1 turn in 28" conical bullet and saboted bullet.
Right
If I'm not mistaken,the old Kentucky era rifles were a 1:66 twist
and I think the Revolutionary era ML's were upwards to a 1:72 twist rate

There's a wealth of info here for the Muzzleloaders
http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2h.muzzleloader.htm

[russianblood]

Early German Jeager rifles had a fast 1:24 twist and they date from the 17th century and used a round ball projectile. It's all about finding the proper loading to go with the rifling.

And here's a great site for Traditional Muzzleloaders:
http://www.traditionalmuzzleloadingassociation.com/forum/phpbb2/index.php

[ro2]

I have done it to use up old round balls layin around. used a 50 gr charge for the kids also so as to not damage the rifling. The accuracy really leaves much to be desired but for plinkin its ok. Anything else just use modern rounds.

[Xetron]

Thanks for the feed back.