# bullets and balls



## shawn sand (Oct 31, 2006)

I have a .44 cal revolver and was wondering if I could shoot a bullet rather than a ball? I can't hit the target @ 20yds and I am shooting at a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Ok i did hit it but I had to aim at the bottom left corner of sheet to hit somewhere in the center. I think a bullet would be a little bit more stable.

thanks


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Cap and ball revolvers were designed to hit high. Bullets in mine are no more accurate than balls.

I remember reading somewhere that they were designed to hit POA at 75 yards or so.
This was to compensate for the tendency to shoot high when shooting under duress, while in combat. (most of these remember were designed for the military).

I have a repro 1860 Colt Army (.44 cal) that shoots about a foot high at 20 yards. No big deal if you compensate for it. And in fact, this actually makes shooting "off the hip" more accurate.
As far as windage issues, make sure your not resting the frame on your trigger finger. This will cause you to torque the pistol. You want your trigger finger to contact only the trigger, if its contacting the frame in any way, youll most likely not shoot accurately.

Make sure your shooting the right size balls. You want to shave a ring of lead off the ball when you load em. Also, the closer to the front of the cylinder you can get the ball, the more accurate it will be. I load my Army with 22 grains of FFFG, than top off with cornmeal (cant remember how much off the top of my head) and a lubed felt wad, than the ball. This brings the ball close to the front of the cylinder (mind you, you dont want it protruding). The shorter the distance the ball has to travel before it enters the barrel, and rifling, the more accurate it will be.


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## shawn sand (Oct 31, 2006)

so what your are saying is just use round balls not bullets. That didn't really answer my question, but thanks for the info.


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## darkgael (Feb 10, 2006)

OK. Can you use bullets? As implied in the earlier response - yes.
Related idea: will they work better, be more accurate, shoot closer to POA? Probably not.
Bullets are a bit harder to load. Getting them to seat straight may be a chore.
Pete


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

shawn sand said:


> so what your are saying is just use round balls not bullets. That didn't really answer my question, but thanks for the info.


How did it not?



barebackjack said:


> Bullets in mine are no more accurate than balls.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

I have both!! :sniper:


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## shawn sand (Oct 31, 2006)

Sorry I missed your info. jack. I was hoping for more info. on bullets, style, size. I have seen the bullets in the reloading sections from cabela's, and was willing to try but just didn't have the knowledge in size to order. I think there are a couple of different #'s for the 44. A little help.


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## darkgael (Feb 10, 2006)

Shawn:


> Ok i did hit it but I had to aim at the bottom left corner of sheet to hit somewhere in the center. I think a bullet would be a little bit more stable.


At 20 yards, you don't have to worry about stability with the round balls that you were using. The accuracy or lack thereof is more probably related to the sights or the load.
What was the load that you were using? What loads have you tried?
How does the gun shoot at, say, five yards, ten yards? Have you benched it to determine where the sights are pointed?
The point of my questions is that if it doesn't shoot straight with round balls it's not gonna do so with conicals.
Pete


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