Traditional Muzzleloading Association
Shooting Traditional Firearms and Weapons => General Interest => Topic started by: ridjrunr on September 12, 2009, 11:15:33 PM
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I just cast some .715 balls for my smoothy.Its the first time I have ever cast.Some of the balls where shiny and some where grey and dull looking.But they do mic the same size. Are the dull ones because the mold was too hot or too cool?I havent weighd them yet.
Thanx,ridjrunr
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Usually if they're dull, not shiny it's because the mold was overheated. They're still perfectly good balls. Flux and skim the dross more often and slow down a bit. If you have a pot with a thermostat, turn it down a wee bit at a time until you get nice shiny projectiles.
OOOOH, SHINY ! !
Wierd thing about roundballs is even with major imperfections, they seem to shoot as well as "perfect ones". I had a run one time of "bad" .50 cal. rb's. I decided to try 'em out anyway. At 50 yards, loading 'em the same as my real pretty ones, I could tell no difference in accuracy. So now I just save out half a dozen perfect ones for hunting when I run a batch of balls and just shoot all the others as if they were "Good'ns". It's good to be both lazy as a blue tick hound and curious.
The easiest way to flux is to stir your melt with a dry stick. The carbon in the stick acts as flux. If you will note, almost all fluxes are carbonaceous. (Note use of multisyllabic vocabulary word.) I like it because I use debarked alder twigs about the diameter of a cedar pencil.
The smoke smells so good you want to eat it. Wait...............I do eat it! It's what I smoke things with. Salmon, devilled eggs, medium cheddar cheese, jack cheese, Sinai Kosher Polish Sausage, that kind of thing. All Alder smoked.
Smoked Devilled Eggs are almost a religious experience. Saying that they taste good is kinda, sorta like telling someone who's never experienced it that sex feels good. Yes, they are that good.
If y'all promise not to think low, unwholesome thoughts for a day or two, I'll post my recipe for smoked devilled eggs in "Campfire Cookin" in a day or two.
Three Hawks
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Dan, take a look at the Hershel House video that MB posted a link to and take a good look at the ball he loads in it, not perfect whatsoever!
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Thanx threehawks,I look forward to the recipe and I'm gonna shoot them dull ones,as long as size and weight are there.I'm still dialing in that smoothy.
Beaverman,yes,I noticed that.Nice little clip.