Help Identifying 56-50 bullet

[El Supremo]

Hello,

I will send Two Flints photo's and dimensions of a 330gr, single lube groove, 56-50 bullet to attach to this Thread.

Please take a look and any help identifying it will be appreciated.
The bullet came from a N-SSA skirmisher who cannot recall details. 





Many thanks,
El Supremo/Kevin Tinny

[DJ]

Larry Romano used to cut a mold that looked a lot like that--he may still make it.

Accurate also has something similar: 51-320S

[El Supremo]

Thanks, Two Flints, for the photo posting.

Yes, and thanks DJ:

It is close to a Romano, but the Romano lube groove is approx. .175" wide.
The Accurate #51-320S is also close, but its lube groove width is greater at approx .130".
Larry likes a single wide lube groove.  My four moulds of his 315gr. 56-50 are that way.

Except for perhaps a couple designs (I know of one in .54) involving a custom design for a single customer, not me, that insisted it not be shown in the Catalog, all others are in Accurate's Catalog.  So my guess is that it is probably not from Accurate. 

To me, the narrow lube groove is the key. 
It seems to me that someone went to a lot of effort, yet used a narrow lube groove.

It took me years to piece together the Romano bullet mould story that includes Larry not making his Spencer or Maynard moulds. He designed the bullets and a fellow in Rochester, NY made the cherries and Romano stamped mould blocks for Larry.
That person has vanished, with Larry's equipment. 

Ballard Rifle Co. made some custom 50 Sharps moulds that are also close to Larry's, but also with the wider lube groove.

All the best.
El Supremo/Kevin Tinny
Edited for a typo. K

[mgmradio]

Kevin, the bullet on the right looks like a Maynard bullet, so it may be it will be found using that search term.

[El Supremo]

Yes, tx MGM; close:

The Maynard original bores, per CIVIL WAR CARBINES, John D. McAuley, 1991, page 64, indicates
.500" land, .010" grooves and .520" groove OD for the 1859 Ord. Dep"t. trials rifle.

Romano's 50 Maynard's are nominally .500" land, with a smaller, .514" groove OD.

So, unlikely for an original Maynard.

Romano 56-50 Spencer bores are .500" land/.510" groove. This would put the bullet in question with .515" OD as .005" over and usually too fat to size to .511" to be .001" "over".

Larry told me that there are posts which incorrectly indicate he told shooters to use his larger Maynard bullet in his Spencers.  He said it takes too much sizing and would not have said to do it for accuracy reasons.

I see a cutter stutter on the lower edge of the lube groove. 
I have never seen this on a modern bullet, yet this bullet has a flat tip for c-f use.
Maybe it is a single example. 
I have emailed my N-SSA friend to learn if he might now recall more.

This could be Covid related boredom.  Smiles.

El Supremo/Kevin Tinny

[mgmradio]

Kevin, my original 63 Maynard has a grove diameter of .518+ as do most of the other originals I've looked at, so yes it's to small for them, but the design if the bullet just screams Maynard to me.