Casting Round Balls

[burch]

I hope i`m in the right topic for this question so here goes. I have some casting experience with my pistol bullets and have been buying a few molds for round balls. I have Lee molds and plenty of pure lead. So my questions are :  What temp should I be using for my melt and any tips on using the Lee molds would be very appreciated. Up until now i`ve just been buying my balls but since I cast bullets and have the equipment anyhow why not. I cast the old hillbilly way with grill,pot and ladle. Never really had the money for all the fancy stuff.

             Burch  

[jbullard1]

I cast the same way, on a propane fish cooker and a cast iron pot, Sometimes my roundballs are frosted sometimes they are not, after they cool I throw all of them in a vibratory case polisher and let them run for about an hour or so. The targets don't seem to mind

[burch]

I cast the same way, on a propane fish cooker and a cast iron pot, Sometimes my roundballs are frosted sometimes they are not, after they cool I throw all of them in a vibratory case polisher and let them run for about an hour or so. The targets don't seem to mind

   I`ve heard of some folks using their case tumbler. Does it really make `em round and how long do you leave `em in their ?

[R.M.]

I like my ball alloy (pure) at about 800º or even a bit higher. It helps get rid of the wrinkles you get without any tin.
Lee molds can be a pain at times, but the price overcomes it, at least for me. Probably the biggest thing is the galling you get on the top surface. I use a product called Bullplate lube on the sprue-plate, and it stops lead smear, which will start the galling. All it is I think is a high temp oil. Trust me, a little goes a long ways. As you might know, any oil in the cavities will cause bad balls, so you need to be careful. I've heard that you can use a spray graphite on the sprue-plate, but haven't tried it myself.
When I get a new Lee mold, I'll go over it and get rid of all the sharp edges that aren't part of the molding surface. They don't de-burr anything they don't have to.
You also need to clean the cavities really good. Brake cleaner, acetone, whatever. The cavities need to be very clean, and the cutting oils they use are left on. They don't clean any more than they have to either.
Balls cast a bit different than bullets, but if you know how to cast one, the other won't be a problem.

[jbullard1]

I cast the same way, on a propane fish cooker and a cast iron pot, Sometimes my roundballs are frosted sometimes they are not, after they cool I throw all of them in a vibratory case polisher and let them run for about an hour or so. The targets don't seem to mind

   I`ve heard of some folks using their case tumbler. Does it really make `em round and how long do you leave `em in their ?

It peens the sprue down so you dont have to pay attention to it
I only run 50-75 at a time and for 1 to 1 1/2 hours
I smoke my Lee molds over a rich kerosene flame

[Three Hawks]

I've been casting RB's since the mid 70's in Lee molds mostly.  I do have one Lyman in .285".   Never had a problem,  I used to worry about voids and such until I tried an experiment.  I weighed two hundred .490 balls I cast in my oooold Lee single mold, compared 'em to a box of swaged .490's I bought when they were less than $5.   The cast ball weights were all over the place.  The swaged balls all weighed the same within 1/10 grain.

I then took fifty cast balls chosen at random to the range and shot ten 5 shot strings from my T-C Hawken and ten 5 shot strings of the swaged balls.  I wiped the bore with el-cheapo windshield washer fluid on a cotton flannel rag between each 5-shot string.

All shots were 60 gr Dupont 3F in flannel patches greased with generic veg shortening.  As my cast balls had no protruding sprue, I placed them on the muzzle randomly.   All shots were from the bench at 50 yards.

All twenty of the five shot groups were, for all practical purposes, identical in size and placement.  

So that is what I shoot today 30 years later, 60 gr 3F Goex and cotton patches greased with greasy crap: lard, crisco, generic shortening, 1000 WL, whatever is at hand.   I can tell no difference.  

I have graduated from cotton flannel to .015" cotton pillow ticking.  A yard of it lasts many years.  I toss new ticking into the wash to get rid of the sizing.

If a round ball comes out of the mold as a recognizeable round ball, it goes into my shooting pouch, then into my rifle.

Your mileage, as always, may and probably will vary.    

Widely.

Three Hawks

[jbullard1]

I like your style Three Hawks

[wwpete52]

I really like Lee molds (and everything else they make).  The mold heats up fast and will not rust.  I also like the fact that they come with handles.  Their complete molds are less expensive than other companies charge for their handles alone.

[burch]

I've been casting RB's since the mid 70's in Lee molds mostly.  I do have one Lyman in .285".   Never had a problem,  I used to worry about voids and such until I tried an experiment.  I weighed two hundred .490 balls I cast in my oooold Lee single mold, compared 'em to a box of swaged .490's I bought when they were less than $5.   The cast ball weights were all over the place.  The swaged balls all weighed the same within 1/10 grain.

I then took fifty cast balls chosen at random to the range and shot ten 5 shot strings from my T-C Hawken and ten 5 shot strings of the swaged balls.  I wiped the bore with el-cheapo windshield washer fluid on a cotton flannel rag between each 5-shot string.

All shots were 60 gr Dupont 3F in flannel patches greased with generic veg shortening.  As my cast balls had no protruding sprue, I placed them on the muzzle randomly.   All shots were from the bench at 50 yards.

All twenty of the five shot groups were, for all practical purposes, identical in size and placement.  

So that is what I shoot today 30 years later, 60 gr 3F Goex and cotton patches greased with greasy crap: lard, crisco, generic shortening, 1000 WL, whatever is at hand.   I can tell no difference.  

I have graduated from cotton flannel to .015" cotton pillow ticking.  A yard of it lasts many years.  I toss new ticking into the wash to get rid of the sizing.

If a round ball comes out of the mold as a recognizeable round ball, it goes into my shooting pouch, then into my rifle.

Your mileage, as always, may and probably will vary.    

Widely.

Three Hawks

  Spoken like a true Mountain Man. Good info and thanks for the reply Three Hawks.
           Burch

[burch]

I really like Lee molds (and everything else they make).  The mold heats up fast and will not rust.  I also like the fact that they come with handles.  Their complete molds are less expensive than other companies charge for their handles alone.

 I hear ya Pete. The prices for a set of Lyman handles ( average $35.00 + shipping )are way off base and not to mension they`re nothing but crap. I have a couple double cavity Lyman molds that the handles just fell apart on and I replaced `em with Lee 6 cavity handles at $15.00 a set. The Lee`s have longer handles and the nose is also longer. A much better option.  I really like the prices of Lee molds.  

[Three Hawks]

I have looked and have yet to find an exhaustive test and comparison of conicals in muzzleloaders.

I shoot cast boolets in my britch loaders and the laissez faire treatment I give roundballs make for huge, irregular patterns with cast boolits shot from my M94 Win., 158 Topper, 03A3 and Krag.  

At muzzleloader velocities and spin rates I wonder what would happen shooting noticeably imperfect maxis, or other conicals?  

It is a puzzlement.

Three Hawks