What went wrong with the balls?

[KDubs]

Well something is up, that puller should screw in easily.
 You cast these balls yourself ay.  Hmmm. 
 Well you can always melt the hard ones down and make .526.  those will load.
Kevin

[rollingb]

I agree with Joe.  It sounds like the lead is hard.  Wheel weights, perhaps?

No. There are no wheel weights in the mix. Still might be that the lead is too hard. Threaded ball puller had a tough go digging into the ball.

Can you make a groove in a ball with your thumb nail? It's not a true scientific test for hardness but it's what I use.   
There are actual hardness testers you can buy, but they'er a bit spendy.

[Smokey]

I appreciate the suggestions and wisdom all of you have shared. Thank you. 

Lead wasn't ideal, I guess. 
I think these are destined to be melted down and turned into a batch of .590s for a .62 smoothie. Less risk of getting them stuck. 

[LongWalker]

During the years that I shot a Brown Bess extensively, I only used wheel weight lead.  I was casting in a .735" mould, so I had .015" of windage.  They worked fine for all those years.  On the rare occasion when I'd manage to recover one from game, there was no sign of expansion from impact etc.  Great for moose and bison, but perhaps a little bit of overkill for jackrabbits.

[Bigsmoke]

During the years that I shot a Brown Bess extensively, I only used wheel weight lead.  I was casting in a .735" mould, so I had .015" of windage.  They worked fine for all those years.  On the rare occasion when I'd manage to recover one from game, there was no sign of expansion from impact etc.  Great for moose and bison, but perhaps a little bit of overkill for jackrabbits.

Years ago, I sold two different 4 bore rifles to a fellow.  When I asked if he was hunting in Africa, he said no, just deer.  I guess there is no such thing as overkill.

[Winter Hawk]

Can I assume that without a patch the balls roll easily down the bore?

~Kees~

[KDubs]

Good question
Kevin