One is a modern barrel, and I think is set up for paper patch. I've never messed with it, although I gave about 40 bullets, .45 cal and paper patched.
The other is a Norman Brockway picket rifle, probably made in the early 1870s, maybe even right after the Civil War. It is set up for cloth patches. Very short bullets, .43 caliber, maybe 200 grains. It's a back burner muzzle loader, with the load chamber behind the percussion cap & nipple, so the powder charge is critical.
Both barrels have 22" twists.
The bullet I have for some other Ballard rifles I breech seat for is a tapered, or step design. Base band is .002" over the groove diameter of this rifle, and wider. The next three bands and the nose each step down .001" so it's easy to ML too. I lubed one up, and after the initial push with the starter it went down the rest of the bore without a huge effort.
I use the old Ideal Doc Hudson bullet in my Schoyen-Ballard .38-55, and it feels about the same resistance ML a bullet in it. I think this should work out well and hope the accuracy is good. I'm going to take some to the range loaded as fixed ammo also, just to see how the two methods compare for accuracy.
