Looking at a used Navy Arms Buffalo Hunter, 58 cal. It seems the twist rates are all over the place when looking at an old rifle. I'm assuming Zoli. If it is 48" twist, which minie would shoot best? If it is 66", same question. Short bullet for slow twist, long bullet for fast? Sheesh!

Mini's are nose heavy, center of gravity is set forward so the bulk of the bullet mass leads. The skirt expands to seal the bore on firing but once it clears the muzzle the skirt is the air drag to help stabilize flight just like the stick on a bottle rocket does.

The faster the twist, the longer/heavier the bullet you can stabilize but also with shorter/lighter bullets, if the twist is too fast you'll have to reduce the velocity to keep from over-spinning them. If you exceed the amount of RPM's required for stabilization, the minor flaws that the spin is supposed to compensate for will amplify and cause the bullet to become unstabil again.

Pardon the pun but finding the most accurate mini can be a hit or miss endeavor. Most important is to find one that loads with enough resistance to prevent it from sliding off the powder charge and leaving a dangerous air gap that can cause catastrophic failure of the gun.

SAFETY FIRST!!!

What Mark said about having to find the right load sure is the truth. I've shot everything from a slow twist Lyman great plains rifle 1 in 66 to a Remington 1 in 28 and one of the best shooters in the Remington was a round ball. Muzzle loader is one of the few guns that seem to simply defy the rules at times.

Thanks guys. I'l experiment!