cartridge conversions

[Newton24b]

here is a question that has me stumped, when the percussion era ended, the us military had developed conical bullets with the same overall profile as a ww2 fmj for a garand. But yet tho the style is hard to load, they do sell them online at dixie gunworks.

my main thing is, why hasnt anyone ever loaded these styles up for brass cartridges?

also this, the british for the main part were fond of using center fire cartridges that utilized an expansion plug in the hollow base of both rifle and pistol bullets. Im wonderingwhy no one does that NOW? really does kill any issue of "do i use .429 bullets in my 44 colt conversion of a army revolver, or do i use a hollow based .429 or do i try to go the original method and use a heeled .452 bullet loaded in?"

 

[hoof hearted]

Heeled is the way to go and I know where you can get everything you might need!

By the way the first heeled conversion loads do look like conicals in a case.......

 

[Newton24b]

thats one of the funny things. You can buy the original conical picket ball for the colt dragoon from dixie. its real pointed and doesnt seem to load correctly unless you machine the rammer according to old posts from MEC.

what i dont understand is that no one has, then or now, put those pointy slugs into a cartridge.

 

[Gbro]

Newt;

also this, the british for the main part were fond of using center fire cartridges that utilized an expansion plug in the hollow base of both rifle and pistol bullets. Im wonderingwhy no one does that NOW?

The French were to my knowledge the 1st ones to use a hollow base ball. The rifle for this ball (bullet) had a cone in the bottom end of the barrel and was intended to be able to expand the base of the bullet upon being hammered into the bottom of the barrel. This idea looked good, the bullet would be easily loaded and then tightened when hammered home,but the fouling buildup made this impractical.
Then Capt. Minnie improved upon this by putting a steel cone into the bullet base. That change became known as a Minnie ball.
Now this bullet was used used in this county but without the cone plug that was to expand the bullet base so that the bullet engaged the rifling's, and was referred to as an Americanized Minnie ball.
BUT this is a Norton Ball (bullet).
Captain John Norton developed the hollow base bullet way before Capt. Claude Minnie and presented it to his superior officers of the British Army but they were not interested.
So your hollow base bullet without a cone plug is actually a Norton Ball and the pressure of the gas from the burning gun powder expands the bullet into the rifling's.