.36 cal 1-24” inline

Well I finally got my hands on a Knight lk-36. Neat little rifle. I haven’t shot it yet but I did fine that it shares the same plunger and breech plug as my .54 mk-85 wich surprised me but all the better that they share parts. I plan to try round balls with lower powder charges and also sabots with different weight .32 bullets as well..what I’d really like is a 36 caliber conical or even sabotless projectile..I know the maxi ball is an option but now heavy do you think I could go with a lead conical with a good 1-24” twist? I would think I could get a 180-200 grain projectile to stabilize..your thoughts?

Congrats on the new gun. I’m not so sure I’d try round balls only because that’s a really tight twist for a round balls, they typically like really slow twists, like 1:60, 1:48 is usually but not always the fastest you can get away with, as far as the bullets I think they'd do fine I’m not too familiar with the 36’s I shoot 50’s and 54’s. Good lick with it enjoy it and let us know how it goes

I just sold a brand new .36 Maxi Bullet Mold.

1:24 Twist huh? Here is a quick stability sample, 180 Grain Bullet at .71 Long. It is in the Green The closer you can get to 1.5 the better (as you can see this one is 2.193) 1.5 is the Military standard for Stability

This is the Bullet i plugged in the Calculator

I’ve got a lk93 36 cal , just got it this fall so it’s still a new game for me. It does shoot 100 gr 32 cal hp in the grey sabot on top of 35 grs pyrodex P and #11 cap. Best groups so far.

HC wrote:I’ve got a lk93 36 cal , just got it this fall so it’s still a new game for me. It does shoot 100 gr 32 cal hp in the grey sabot on top of 35 grs pyrodex P and #11 cap. Best groups so far.

I remember you getting it! You bought it from ShawnT

I picked mine up from a fellow member in the moderns muzzleloader site. I think I’m going to order up that mold form accurate and give it a try. I want to order a mold for my .54 mk anyways..that’s a whole mother story as I’m undecided on that as well

You might want to slug the bore on the .36 cal before ordering a mold. Mine is a wee bit over sized, about .002 the best I can tell.

Thank you..I’ve never actually slugged the bore of a rifle..any tips on doing so would be appreciated

Utube has several videos about slugging a bore. Hope this helps.

Steelheader32 wrote:I picked mine up from a fellow member in the moderns muzzleloader site. I think I’m going to order up that mold form accurate and give it a try. I want to order a mold for my .54 mk anyways..that’s a whole mother story as I’m undecided on that as well

If you need any Help/Advice on a good Bullet for that MK 85, .54 Cal, I can help ya

Yea actually I’d like to hear opinions..I’d like to make it my dedicated heavy lead rifle. For thick timber hunting..I plan to leave the standard rifle sights on it for hunting so shots will be under 100 yards

Steelheader32 wrote:Yea actually I’d like to hear opinions..I’d like to make it my dedicated heavy lead rifle. For thick timber hunting..I plan to leave the standard rifle sights on it for hunting so shots will be under 100 yards

Either of these Bullets, They are my TOP DOG’S in .54 Cal

Accurate Molds #54-510M, I had mine made with a Flat base instead of a Bevel base


And Accurate Molds #54-485i, My .54 Cal i Bullet

On your GG bullets what do you do to make sure they stay seated on the powder while hunting, how tight of a fit are you looking for?

EasternOregon .50cal GPR wrote:On your GG bullets what do you do to make sure they stay seated on the powder while hunting, how tight of a fit are you looking for?

With a Hunting Bullet, i like them about .002 Larger than the Bore. Example being, if i have a .50 Cal with a Bore Diameter of .501, i would like a Hunting Bullet to be .503 for this particular bore

Every now and then you come across some REALLY soft Lead that just don’t “Hold” the Bore Good n tight, or maybe a Bore that is not perfectly concentric, Rough Etc. In these cases i use 40-1 Alloy, When Cast of 40-1 Alloy they will Hold the Bore GOOD N TIGHT

This was something else I was going to ask as well..being 500 plus grains I’m trying to get I want to make sure it holds tight in the barrel..don’t get me wrong it only takes a second to check with ramrod once in to my stand..but if I jump up a nice whitetail on my way to the stand I wanna be darn sure that bullet didn’t fall off the powder. I’m gonna give it a go and try and slug the bore of both the .36 and the mk in .54 cal..I heard some guys actually use a ladle and pour a bit of hot lead down the bore and when hits hardened they push it out..I can see this giving you a good idea if bore size but what would you use to “plug” or “seal” the barrel to get the lead to stay in place..

I know lead shrinks when it cools this could throw off your bore measurement. Not sure of how much or if it matter but something to think about. I think swagging a piece of lead would be the best bet for measuring bore diameter

Ok guys gonna order your a few molds and I noticed Accurate’s website asks a few questions..one being what type of alloy…well I haven’t really decided yet..so does it really matter? Thanks

i am perty sure different alloys shink to different sizes when they cool someone else that knows more about this might chive in as I don't know much about the different Alloys.
I do know when I cast round balls out of wheel weights they are a different size than when I cast them of pure lead

Steelheader32 wrote:Ok guys gonna order your a few molds and I noticed Accurate’s website asks a few questions..one being what type of alloy…well I haven’t really decided yet..so does it really matter? Thanks

From PURE Lead to 40-1 (even 20-1) there really isn’t that much difference (a lot has to do with Casting Tecnique) There is a “Notes” part when you order an Accurate Bullet Mold, Simply ad in the Notes what you plan to Shoot (Example:  I plan to shoot mostly PURE Lead, up to 40-1 Alloy)

This would get Critical if you were ordering the Mold to EXACTLY what you need. I ordered my Accurate Molds to throw .001-.002 Larger than i need, This way i can simply Size to each Bore i plan to Shoot them in, I have several different Rifles/Barrels that i work with, With Bore Diameters varying .002 or so, it would get Quite expensive if I ordered Molds to fit each Barrel EXACTLY

If you are buying the Mold for 1 Rifle, I would get the Mold as Close as you can to what you need. The less you have to Size the better off you are. I don’t like to Size more than about .003

Thanks guys..I don’t have a sizer..yet at least..honestly the only casting I have done much of is for 20 gauge slugs

idaholewis can you show us your set up for sizing bullet setup?

EasternOregon .50cal GPR wrote:idaholewis can you show us your set up for sizing bullet setup?

I can do that  Maybe a video of how i go about Bullet sizing?

Just wondering what kind of trajectory path you get with that 500 grain bullet. What zero you use. Can you show us that with the particulars, powder kind, charge, sub base, 11 cap, ect. As i too have the .54 and am very interested as i have seen you shoot it at 1,000 yds.