16 gauge round ball?

[12b10]

I’m trying to find some information on an appropriate size round ball and patch for a 16 gauge. I’ve tried the search function but I came up empty.
The intended use would be for a flintlock, smoothbore fowler with a contemporary barrel.
Lyman makes a .610 but this sounds like it will be too small for 16 gauge (.663). Am I wrong about this being to small?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[rusty]

I don't know if you are wrong or not,but Matt at North Star West .com makes a 16 ga. trade gun maybe he has the molds too.Regards...rusty

 

[Roy]

I shot a .650 ball out of mine, seemed to work well... I'll check and see who made the molds I have. :thumbsup:

 

[12b10]

Rusty, I didn't see any moulds on his site. I'll look into this. Thanks.

Roy, a .650 ball sounds just about right but I haven't been able to find a mould for it from Lyman, Lee, or RCBS (at least not in the Midway catalog). I'd be interested to know who makes yours. Thanks to you too.

 

[Bubba45]

If your bore is .663 and you use a .010 patch multiply the patch thickness times 2
= .020 subtracted from .663 gives a .643 ball diameter.

Jeff Tanner can have one on your doorstep in around 10 days from the time you order it.

E-mail Address(es):
[email protected]

 

[12b10]

Thanks Bubba45, I just found him myself, too.
Jeff Tanner

I've also found NEI hand tools

I guess I'm good to go.

Thanks to all.

 

[Bubba45]

You Betcha ! The only drawback to them is no spru cutter. But I inspect them anyway after cooling and its no big thing to snip the spru with wirecutters then :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

0.650" round ball worked well in mine, too.

 

[ffffg]

Lyman mould is .648.. dixies was .645 but mine wasnt round, and no spru cutter... my getz 16 ga barrel is supposed to be .665. ive never measured it.. Your going to have to get your feet wet on this one, and maybe switch later... Id try to get a lyman .648 on ebay, they are excellent, and at a good price, in my opinion.. Lyman no longer makes the .648 round ball.. dave..

 

[Wes/Tex]

My old rule of thumb is .020" under actual bore diameter and a .017" ticking of Irish linen lubed patch. Check out Bob Spencer's site here.
[url] http://home.insightbb.com/~bspen[/url]/

 

[Roy]

The mold I have here is a .650 Rapine. I also have some loose .648's Send me a PT with your addy and I'll send you a few of each to see if they will work for you. I went with a bit smaller patch than a .020 (.015 0r .018?) and used a lubed cushion wad over the powder.

 

[Trapper]

I have a 16 guage that I built about a year and half ago. I tried the .648 with .010 patching and they shot cloverleafs at 25 yards. Awful hard to load after 2 shots. I went to a Jeff Tanner .640 mould with .018 patching,65 gr of ffg, great groups and I dont need to swab between shots, I'm also using wheelweights for casting the balls. These shoot 1 inch low and 1 inch to the right but are dead on at 50 yards. LOOK OUT Whitetails!!!! Trapper

 

[Le Mamou]

I use a .648 mould with a .010 patch from Jeff Tanner, and a muzzle conning tool from Joe Woods.
A great combination.

 

[riverrat43]

Does anyone know if Tanner's moulds come with handles? If not, what type handles would you use?

 

[cable]

no they don't come with handles, but they use the large size handles that work with lyman or other large [not single] cavity molds.

 

[riverrat43]

Thank you Sir.

 

[flintlock75]

Dixie Gun Works makes a very inexpensive mould.
I have several including a .650 mould for my 16ga smoothbores. They have no sprue cutter but that has not been a problem. I have cast several hundred roundball with these moulds with no problems.You should measure the bore of your gun before ordering, they can make one in increments of .001 inch up to .850 inch.

 

[riverrat43]

Great..I appreciate the information. As soon as the barrel gets here I'll measure it and order a mold. I won't be shooting a tremendous amount of RB in it so an inexpensive, functional mold is all I really need.