.300 Weatherby Mag
New member
I have this .44 lyman pistol.. What size roundball do I need?? On the barrel it says .44 cal... I do not have a manual and I cannot find one other than the ones for the .50 and .54 cal models... Thanks
Lyman .44 pistol round ball size??
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Fingers McGee
New member
Generally, for patched round ball, you go with a ball ,010 smaller than bore diameter. In the case of a 44 single shot, you'd use a .430 roundball and .010 patch to start and adjust patch thickness and ball diameter combinations to dial it in for best accuracy. Fot my Pedersoli .54 Tryon rifle and Pedersoli .54 Kentucky I started with a .530 ball and .010 patch. After a few years of shooting and trying various combinations, I found that they both favor a .535 roundball with .005 lubed patch.
Track of the Wolf has a selection of cast round balls:
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(y5...es/tableList.aspx?catID=2&subID=25&styleID=58
The best ball & patch combination to use is based on the actual bore diameter and depth of the rifling.
A .433 round ball and a .005 or .007 lubed patch could work.
And a .429 round ball and .010 lubed patch could be just about right, but if it's too tight or lose than use a thinner or thicker patch.
A .424 round ball and a .015 lubed patch is another option.
And the next thicker patch size is .018 pillow ticking.
The thicker the patch and larger the ball, the harder it will be to load.
Always use a short ball starter.
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(y5...es/tableList.aspx?catID=2&subID=25&styleID=58
The best ball & patch combination to use is based on the actual bore diameter and depth of the rifling.
A .433 round ball and a .005 or .007 lubed patch could work.
And a .429 round ball and .010 lubed patch could be just about right, but if it's too tight or lose than use a thinner or thicker patch.
A .424 round ball and a .015 lubed patch is another option.
And the next thicker patch size is .018 pillow ticking.
The thicker the patch and larger the ball, the harder it will be to load.
Always use a short ball starter.
Last edited:
Always use a short ball starter.
OK if no one is going to explain what that means to the novas black powder shooter I will.
A ball starter is a round wooden ball about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. A good one will have two brass rods sticking out of the ball.
The shorter one which is 1/2 inch long is used to start the patched ball just deep enough to cut the patch if you’re not using pre-cut patches. The other rod is normaly 4 to 6 inches and is used to get the bullet and patch started down the barrel deeper and it saves wear on your wooden reamer. They just make loading a muzzle loader much easier.
OK if no one is going to explain what that means to the novas black powder shooter I will.
A ball starter is a round wooden ball about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. A good one will have two brass rods sticking out of the ball.
The shorter one which is 1/2 inch long is used to start the patched ball just deep enough to cut the patch if you’re not using pre-cut patches. The other rod is normaly 4 to 6 inches and is used to get the bullet and patch started down the barrel deeper and it saves wear on your wooden reamer. They just make loading a muzzle loader much easier.
lexington1
New member
I had the rifle version of that pistol several years ago and I had to use a .429 sized ball and really thin patch.
laserman187
Inactive
Lyman 44 cal
I have a weapon that looks exactly like your picture. I received it about 25 years ago. There is a USA quarter embeded in the butt. What can you tell me about thes weapon? How old is it? The barrel appears to be about 10" and is chrome.
Any help would be appreciated.
I have a weapon that looks exactly like your picture. I received it about 25 years ago. There is a USA quarter embeded in the butt. What can you tell me about thes weapon? How old is it? The barrel appears to be about 10" and is chrome.
Any help would be appreciated.