Shooting Traditional Firearms and Weapons > General Interest

Running Balls

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prairie dog:
And my balls shoot true because they have X-ray vision.

Uncle Russ:
Do I enjoy casting? Absolutely!
I also believe that safety should be foremost in everyone's mind when doing this....this can't be overstressed.
I have been casting for a bit over six decades, and I have been witness to several ugly mishaps that could have been prevented.

I cast for every gun I own, and I also own a few modern guns, along with all my Muzzleloaders.
Casting is a hobby all on its own, having the guns to shoot all the stuff in is nothing short of a blessing.
As I have so often said, "It adds a whole 'nother dimension to your shootin game'.

Here is a picture of just some of my molds.
In the lower left corner of the picture is a square looking thing known as a gang mold... six .530 round ball, per side. Once I have everything set up just right with my mold and melt at that just right temperature, I can turn a 20# pot of lead into round balls in just a matter of minutes.
I totally agree that whether you're using a Single Cavity, a DC, or a Gang Mold, you have to establish that "rhythm" with your movements before everything just falls into place....but I believe that's especially true with a Single Cavity. At least for me.

Much like Rob and others, I also drop on a soft folded towel, although I do wet that towel and wring it out good before folding it on the bench to drop on....unless I'm water dropping, then the 5gal. water bucket is located 2 steps behind me and to my left. My "knocker" is the sawed off handle of an old shovel, and trust me it has knocked a few sprues in its lifetime.

In the right lower corner of the upright shelving is a 3' x 3" wooden box with 3 drawers (with little white knobs) that box has most all of my SAECO, Lyman and RCBS molds in it.....although I do have a dozen or so with dedicated handles most of these better molds are in these drawers...these molds all cost three to four times more than the lowly Lee Molds.
FWIW; The "New Model" Lee Mold has turned out to be my favorite mold since it came on the market a few years back.
I have 3 or 4 Jeff Tanner Molds left and, of course, they were used mostly in .58 and .69 calibers....desperately trying to get that "just right" diameter.



My own version of pan Lubing.
I pre-heat the Maxi-Ball, and the lube to 170*....takes about 30 minutes or so to get the Maxi itself up to temp, then I add Mutton and Bees Wax.
After this batch of Maxi-Ball cools, I will simply slide the whole "cake" out of the non-stick-pan, move it to the bench, and then, using an old fashioned Lyman Kake Kutter, I will remove each single Maxi and run it through a sizer, If it wasn't sized previously using Lee Alox.


Two different weights of Maxi-Ball.....both weights of these .50 cal were sized to .496 for paper patching before being lubed.
I have even done .69 cal Round Ball this way when shooting them "bare back"....my very best accuracy using bare-back ball is with the .56 smoothie....but, then again, that particular rifle shoots really great no matter what you feed it.



Casting can add a whole new dimension to your shooting.
However, you must have the interest and something of an adventurous spirit before starting down this road.
It's a road with no end, and you have to be willing to face failure, no matter what your head is telling you should work, only the final product will determine if it works or not.
Much like Bigsmoke said, "Why even bother, when you can buy Round-Ball so cheap"?

I've tried the "Primitive" way, and that's about it. I tried it and quickly decided I shoot waaay too much to go this route, but I can do it and do it well, according to others.
Still yet,  it's just great teaching others the primitive way.
 

Nessmuk:
A quick  question  for the experts here. What's  the  difference  between  wet towel dropping and water bucket dropping?

I like the full mold and plastic wrap idea and will try it next casting session.

I haven't  found any cheap round balls around OKC, $17.99 to $20.99 here. Cheaper on-line until you add shipping. I've  been harvesting free lead at the SASS range at our club and casting my own, now THATS  cheap.  :bl th up

prairie dog:
I'm no expert but I store my molds filled and in the house.  No rust and no cleaning or re-smoking between sessions.  My cast ball are much more consistent in size and weight than any swaged ball I've bought.   I much prefer single cavity molds to doubles.  Just can't find singles in the small calibers. 

RobD:

--- Quote from: prairie dog on March 28, 2019, 10:38:29 AM ---... Just can't find singles in the small calibers.

--- End quote ---

"jeff tanner" brass moulds are excellent and ANY size can be had to .001" - i recently ordered and received a perfect .577" ball mould for a smoothbore.

http://www.ballmoulds.com/

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