.610 bag mold/first post

[turbodime]

Hi, my name is Aaron and I live in Mesa,AZ. I put in for muzzleloader elk this year here in AZ . I have this beautiful Tulle hunting fusil that a good friend made mostly from scratch some 13yrs ago, and I'm just getting around to shooting it.

My question- I'm looking for a bag mold in .610. From notes I took a dozen years back he said .610 and .012-.015 patching seem to work best with the .620 bore.

I've measured the bore with a hole gage and mic and it's dead nuts on at .620.
All the bag molds I've seen have been .600.
I guess I could run a thicker patch.

I may also buy some .600 and .610 ball and see how they shoot before I buy a mold.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Many Klatch]

First off, welcome to the forum. Time to make some smoke.

Bag molds are copies of early molds. They are somewhat historically correct. That being said they may or may not cast the best ball or be the easiest to use. The metal handles get really hot after a while. The more modern molds are better set up for casting a lot a ball at one time and the wooden handles and sprue cutters make casting ball eaiser.

If you don't know what size ball to use, before buying a mold buy some ball from Track of the Wolf or other sources and try out various patch/ball combinations. TOW sells both sizes http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/127/1
After you have figured out what works, then you can buy a mold. Lyman makes molds in both .600 and .610 while Lee only makes a mold in .600. http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/1203/1

Depending on how much you intend to shoot you may never wind up casting your own ball. If you have had this gun for 13 years without shooting it a couple of hundred ball may be a lot of shooting for you.

I shoot a .600 ball with .010 patching over either 65 or 75 grains of 3F out of my smoothbores depending on which one I am using.

Many Klatch

 

[Rifleman1776]

I'll echo the others. A .600 will probably be your best choice. Especially for follow up shots. Do try using .600s before making an investment in a mold. I often wonder why anyone would actually want to cast with a bag mold. They are clumbsy and get too hot to hold very quickly. Unless you just want to look 'authentic' casting over a fire at rendezvous they are not something I would choose.

 

[cynthialee]

I might be missing something here but I am a tad confussed.

Now granted I have limited knowledge. I am just a chatter box, ignore the post count...

So...
As far as I know a fusil is a smoothbore. Arizona is wide open. At least the parts I lived in and near when I lived there. Elk don't like to let people get to close.

Are you sneaky enough to get close enough to an elk in Arizona in kill it with a smoothbore?

 

[Zonie]

Most of the elk in Arizona are in the heavy pine forested areas. The long shots would be in the "parks" or open areas and most of these parks aren't real wide.

I'm not saying that some stealth isn't required but it's not like hunting in the wide open long range areas of the lower deserts.

As for the ball size I would think a .600 dia roundball patched with a .015 thick shooting patch would be about right for a 20 guage smooth bore.

 

[cynthialee]

oh ok
I certainly didn't get to see the whole state. Most of what I saw was open desert as far as the eye could see and a canyon folks seemed to be all worked up about. :wink:

 

[turbodime]

The forum newb is already getting his post moved. Hope the Admin understands

Thanks for the info guys, I took your advise and ordered up some RB in .600 and .610 from TOW.

I'm headed out this weekend with some of my kids to camp and shoot so I'm hoping it gets here in time. I always have the .45 flint if it doesn't.

As far as the Elk goes, you can shoot them a mile away, or as close as you want during the rut. Draw odds are around 1% for any big game in AZ during the rut so I put in for late season bull and cow tags.
Filling a tag comes down to pre-scouting and luck. I'm not too worried about getting within range of 60yds and less.

I want to use the bag mold for it being lightweight and somewhat period correct. It's not really for me, I just want it to teach my kids on how our ancestors used to do it.

Ive used bag molds in the past and you're correct on them heating up beyond whats comfortable. I used short willow branches on the handle with good success. I may just get one in .32 and use it for buckshot and go with a nice steel jaw mold for home.

Thanks for the time you spent helping me out.

 

[Zonie]

Just as a sidenote to show Cynthialee there's more to Arizona than desert, this picture was taken a little ways outside of Flagstaff.

Those brown spots are elk.

 

[Many Klatch]

A lot of original bag molds have straight metal handles that narrow to a point. I did mine that way and I use corncobs stuck on the handles when I use the molds. The corncobs really protect the hands from the heat. I often throw the corncobs in the fire when I am done. It's not like it is hard to find corncobs. You can also use cut off pieces of branches for handle covers.

Many Klatch

 

[jbwilliams3]

Or wrap them in leather, which is what I do. I have three bag molds, two of them custom sized, from Larry Callahan. They make balls as good as any Hornady swaged balls I've used. I made a couple hundred balls just last weekend with no trouble at all. I use one of those cheap little lead furnaces.

Just my experience. Mass produced Lee, etc. moulds are easier to get, but they are no easier to use in my opinion, except maybe taking the extra step to wrap the metal bag mould handles in leather.

 

[JohnN]

If you are set on getting a .610 mold, contact Larry Callahan at www.bagmolds.com or 636-475-7444. I bought a .648 bag mold from him to make cartridges for my .69 caliber. I wear a welding glove or wrap the handles in leather. Very good shape for the hand and the sprue cutter works very good.