.45 ball in .50 cal with thicker patch?

[backwoodsguy]

I was digging around a few boxes, and I have around 150 .45 balls but I only own a .50 cal, would there be any issues with loading the .45 ball in the .50 and using a thicker patch to make up the difference?

 

[Flint311]

You could try it for plinking, but I wouldn't expect too much or adjust my sights to it :v

 

[BrownBear]

I got in that "situation" one time when I arrived at the range with .490 balls and a 58 cal rifle. I just started stacking patches till things were tight enough to suit me. It worked much better than I expected, but I carry a 58 for a reason and prefer the right size balls.

 

[ohio ramrod]

A few years back I was on a trail shoot that the shots got progressively harder. One man in our group had a fifty and ran out of balls at the third to last target. Since every one else in our group had either 45, 40 ,or 36's he tried the 45's with triple patches and hit the last three targets after missing the two before he ran out of 50's. So it can work! :idunno:

 

[tg]

It will likley work with some loss of accuracy. I use anywhere from a .535 to a .570 ball in my .58 bore smoothbore and even with bare ball they are good enough for man or Deer sized targets but smootbore are a different critter.

 

[nchawkeye]

What you need is a ball mold....

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

but I carry a 58 for a reason and prefer the right size balls

I hear its for the mosquitos up there.

:grin:

 

[BrownBear]

What you need is a ball mold....

Halibut sinker mold. At 32 ounces each, I go through a 50 pound pot of lead in about 15 minutes. 150 45 cal round balls? Don't blink! :rotf:

 

[Musketeer]

I shot a bit over a hundred rounds of .595 balls through my .667 caliber Dragoon pistol way back when (I wanted to use .648s but they literally cost twice as much as the .595s at the time, still do I guess :grin: ). With three pillow ticking patches on each they shot okay. Accuracy? Meh...We're talking about a smoothbore pistol with no sights...What accuracy? :blah:

 

[backwoodsguy]

Maybe, but for now I have .45 balls and some old denim that can be made into patches.

 

[BrownBear]

Have fun. And I mean that! I'm a tinkerer by nature, and playing around with new stuff is always a kick. I'll be curious to see how many patches you have to stack. To the best of my recollection it was something like six to bring the .490 balls up for a 58 cal bore. Looked like a flock of starlings every time I pulled the trigger, but the balls ran true. :rotf:

 

[Musketeer]

Looked like a flock of starlings every time I pulled the trigger, but the balls ran true. :rotf:

:haha: :grin:

 

[Rifleman1776]

What you need is a ball mold....

Yeppers. Those 45s are just lead waiting to be cast into a size you can use.

 

[backwoodsguy]

Well you guys got me thinking, does anyone have a recommendation for a ball mold and conical that they like? .50 caliber 1:48 32" barrel if that helps.

 

[BrownBear]

For balls I'm satisfied with the LEE .490".

For conicals, I'm especially fond of the Lyman Great Plains bullet, though the mold is a lot more expensive. If on a budget you might look at the LEE REAL bullet mold, though the REALs can be a lot more finicky in developing accuracy loads. At least that's my experience. Good loads await, but with a little extra thought and testing.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Lee and lyman both make quality molds, the lyman are better for large quanities, but I have poured over three thousand with a lee and no problems. The Lee are aluminum and must be handled with care. :idunno:

 

[backwoodsguy]

Well with all things that I can be, I believe in the idea of buy it once and be done. quality over quantity as they say. But my LEE single stage press has been ticking for three years and still going.

 

[BrownBear]

But my LEE single stage press has been ticking for three years and still going.

Yeah. LEE molds take care, but with it you get long life. I can't say exactly how old some of my CF bullet molds are, but I'm almost certain they top 20 years. Many K of bullets, in any case.

 

[FRJ]

That sounds like a good combo to try leather patches on.FRJ

 

[Mark Swanson]

Back in the early 80s I had a Green River Forge Northwest Trade gun,30" barrel, 20 gauge. I couldn't get 60+ cal. balls all the time, so I shot .570 balls double patched with cotton canvas that measured.020 thick. Two patches =.040 thick surrounding the ball which gave .080 of material + a .570 ball gave a total of .650 to go down a .620 bore. the material compressed nicely and gave a snug fit but not overly tight.
That load shot very well out to 75 yrds. which was plenty fine for a smooth bore.

I don't know if it would work for a rifle gun, but I'd give it a try, might end up with an interesting result ?

Mark