WANTED 526 round ball mold...

[Russ Clagett]

I am looking for a round ball mold that will cast 526 round balls...just found out my 54 cal rifle likes them best...

 

[Loyalist Dave]

.526...???

Wow I've seen .535 .530 and .520... but none in .526

LD

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Me too. My fullstock Hawken has a Colerain barrel and it seems to be bored a little tight. I had to go down to a .013" patch. Apparently Ideal once made a .0526 mold that has since been discontinued. I've been searching for one for over a year.

Be aware Brownells had a Lee mold had a misprint. Its actually a .562"

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/i-need-a-526-round-ball-mold.122785/

 

[Russ Clagett]

Yep...I tried the 526 balls from TOW too...that's how I found out my rifle likes them best.

 

[Dieselmech570]

I also have been looking for a .526” RB mold for almost a year. Have not had any luck. If anyone out there can help the three of us with information please do. Doing an Internet search, I found reference to a Lee mold number 90453, that was supposed to be .527” But have not located any in my searches.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I just sent an inquiry to Lee Precision. We'll see what they have to say.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I am looking for a round ball mold that will cast 526 round balls...just found out my 54 cal rifle likes them best...

Me too!

Lyman/Ideal did indeed make a .526" mould years ago, but it has long since been discontinued. My most recent paper catalog from Track of the Wolf (Catalog #16) lists a Lee Precision round ball mould in .527", but I think this catalog is probably twelve or more years old, and that size has been dropped from their line-up.

This thread will probably generate a bunch of well-intentioned responses recommending custom Tanner or Callahan moulds. The suggestions will be appreciated, but I think the point here is that a lot of fifty-fours like a slightly smaller ball, and it would be great if the "big boys" would take notice and re-introduce their .526" or .527" moulds. I doubt Lyman or Lee threw away the old cherries.

I think the fellow from Eras Gone may have some clout with Lee Precision. If he could get 'em to re-make a few of the .527" moulds, he could be the exclusive distributor.

Lee normally offers a custom service, in that they will make a bullet mould to your specs for a fee, I think $200 - $250 or thereabouts for design and set up, plus the usual cost of the mould. However, these are not normal times, and when I last checked, Lee had temporarily suspended this custom service so they can devote their full attention to filling orders for the standard sizes. In pondering this, one would think they could dust off their old .527" cherry and cut a special or limited run of moulds in this size.

Just musing, I guess, but I do think it's kind of sad that the major manufacturers have now all reduced their range of round ball sizes, yet they all offer essentially the same ones.

Maybe I'll set up a poll here on the forum, to get an idea of how many people might be interested. Maybe that could be presented to Lee Precision and influence them to consider reintroducing a mould in .526" or .527".

Notchy Bob

 

[Notchy Bob]

.526...???

Wow I've seen .535 .530 and .520... but none in .526

LD

A pure lead round ball .526" in diameter weighs precisely one-half of an ounce, or 32 balls to the pound.

Berkeley Lewis' book, Small Arms and Ammunition in the United States Service, 1776-1865, indicates that the standard service load for US .54 caliber rifles included a .525" ball. Quoting the Ordnance Manual of 1841, he writes that the ball would be patched with a "...square piece of fine muslin, or of soft, thin leather, or of bladder, tied over it and leaving a projecting end about 1/2 in. long, which, after being trimmed with scissors, and the whole saturated with tallow...." (p. 177).

I think the old timers probably shot slightly smaller balls than we see commonly recommended now.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[Codger Craig Wilcox]

I think It will be 5-10 of us. .526 YAY!

 

[Loyalist Dave]

A pure lead round ball .526" in diameter weighs precisely one-half of an ounce, or 32 balls to the pound.

....,

I think the old timers probably shot slightly smaller balls than we see commonly recommended now.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

Interesting.
I had heard that. I was interested in trying that to see how much if any deviation in accuracy happened. So when I stumbled across a box of .520 at a small "firehouse" gun show, I picked up a box... Hornady .520 round ball. (I never knew they even made such) They were too loose in either of my .54's, both the Colerain barrel, and the Thompson Center. Never thought to look for and try in-between in .525 or .526.

LD

 

[Notchy Bob]

Okay, boys and girls, there is now a poll set up in the Shooting Accessories Forum: Who Would Buy a .526" or .527" Round Ball Mould?

@Loyalist Dave , thank you for your comments. I have a recently-acquired custom Hawken built by John Bergmann around a "new old stock" GRRW .54 caliber barrel. I had heard that these frequently ran undersized, and were not all consistently sized from one to the next. That is definitely the case with this one. My first load was with a .528" ball from Missouri Bullet Company, and I had to use a mallet to drive it down to the powder. I had fortunately brought along some .520" Hornady balls, which I had bought on a whim. These loaded as they were supposed to.

In my opinion, it's good to have some options, as not all barrels are exactly what we believe them to be.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Here ya go. I suggest we all petition Carol or Ethan over at TOW.


Jeri @ Lee Precision, Inc.
Staff - 01/20/2022 11:45 am

Thanks for reaching out! I would recommend you reach out to Track of the Wolf, perhaps they've had some additional interest and might be interested in putting in a custom mold order.

Track of the Wolf does approx. 11 different custom round ball molds with us currently.

Let me know if I can assist you any further!

Thank You,

Jeri
Customer Service

Lee Precision, Inc.
4275 County Road U
Hartford, WI 53027

Phone (262) 673-3075
Fax (262) 673-9273

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Update - I spoke with Carol Ripplinger just now to express our interest and the response I received from Lee Precision. She was surprised by the number of .526 cast balls they are selling as a gauge of customer interest and will discuss the possibility of having molds made with David. Stay tuned.

 

[EC121]

A .526 with a .023" patch is the cat's meow in a round bottom rifled .54. Been shooting them for while. I would buy a mold. The grooves(.016") in a Rice or Colerain are too deep and something has to fill them. A bigger ball will cut the patch on the lands or the muzzle. A smaller ball with a thicker patch will load reasonably tight and fill/seal the grooves. There is no good reason except for marketing to have a groove deeper than about .008.

 

[toot]

I shoot them in my BURNSIDE. loose, .520 works.

 

[Russ Clagett]

Trying to figure this out...if a 526 shoots great with a .15 patch....I'm guessing a 520 would shoot with a .18 ticking patch....am I close?

I know I'll need to shoot it to actually see, but is the reasoning sound?

 

[mooman76]

Maybe a bigger patch like .020 or so.

 

[steved]

I got my .526 mold from Jeff Tanner in the UK a few years back. I just read that he passed away in 2018 but his son is carrying on the business. www.ballmoulds.com
It's a well-machined brass mold.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Update from TOW:

David placed an order for the .526 round ball molds. They will come in 6 cavity form.
We have been making the 6 cavity for a few years now and they work really nice. I'm not sure when they will be available, but you'll see them on the web site down the road.
Carole Ripplinger
Track of the Wolf, Inc., 18308 Joplin Street N. W., Elk River, MN 55330-1773

 

[Russ Clagett]

I got my .526 mold from Jeff Tanner in the UK a few years back. I just read that he passed away in 2018 but his son is carrying on the business. www.ballmoulds.com
It's a well-machined brass mold.

Thanks...I'm looking at them now. To cast a 526 ball, what size did you order? I'm thinking with the shrinkage that happens with pure lead I might order a 529....

Do you recall what size you asked for?