I want to start casting my own round balls and would like some opinions from anyone who has had experience casting round balls with a bag mold. Some questions I have are how consistent the round balls are when finished out of the mold and how does the sprue affect accuracy?
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Bag Mold?
- Thread starter Eric M
- Start date
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If you want consistency get a Lyman or Lee mould. If you want portability get a bag mould.
I own both bag moulds and modern moulds for my guns. Most of the balls I cast and shoot come from the modern moulds. Bag moulds are good for casting a few balls around the campfire in the evening but were never meant for large batches.
The sprue doesn't seem to affect accuracy. I am careful to load sprue up. My modern moulds leave a very short and consistent sprue. My bag moulds leave a somewhat larger and less consistent sprue. In any case, it would be easy to remove the sprue all together with a pocket knife and some careful scraping if you were so inclined.
I own both bag moulds and modern moulds for my guns. Most of the balls I cast and shoot come from the modern moulds. Bag moulds are good for casting a few balls around the campfire in the evening but were never meant for large batches.
The sprue doesn't seem to affect accuracy. I am careful to load sprue up. My modern moulds leave a very short and consistent sprue. My bag moulds leave a somewhat larger and less consistent sprue. In any case, it would be easy to remove the sprue all together with a pocket knife and some careful scraping if you were so inclined.
Little Wattsy
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Memphis1211 said:
I have a smallish sized containier with a lid that will hold 150-ish .535 RB's. I put about 50 to 75 in and then just shake the manure out of them. They come out looking just like swagged balls.
Lee moulds don't leave a sprew, just a little dimple.
I have a bag mold for demonstration purposes at historic sites, and for the fun of shooting a deer or squirrel/rabbit with a traditionally made ball from a traditional style mold..., but if I get real low and don't fudge it by buying factory molds, I use either a Lee or a Lyman mold. Less heat on my hands.
LD
LD
Rod Lassey
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Callahan makes a nice bag mould. With the demise of Rapine, Larry Callahan is about the only game in town for a good iron mould. From what I've beden told, the brass ones from Smiling Fox are kind of spotty as to quality. I don't know if Dixie still carries brass moulds, but I've got a couple and they are pretty good quality.
Rod
Rod
My Lyman moulds leave a small sprue. There is a top plate on the mould that cuts the sprue off when you open the plate. I just leave them at that and load sprue up. One could scrape the sprue off with a knife or shake the balls in a can to make them perfectly round but it is not necessary.
Larry Callahan makes a real nice bag mould. I have one of his for my .54 and one from Smiling Fox for .715 balls. Callahan's is better quality. :thumbsup: Service is better too and price is reasonable.
Larry Callahan makes a real nice bag mould. I have one of his for my .54 and one from Smiling Fox for .715 balls. Callahan's is better quality. :thumbsup: Service is better too and price is reasonable.
The quality of the good balls, or the consistency of good balls coming out of the moulds? :wink:
The good balls from the Callahan mould are as good as any. The Lyman mould throws a much better rate of good balls to culls. Some of this may be my technique...
Comparing modern moulds to bag moulds isn't really fair. Each one has it's purpose. A modern mould will throw a lot more good balls in a session but wouldn't be a good choice to take on a trek, heavy, bulky and not PC. A bag mould will throw a few usable balls and be convenient to carry along with you while being PC.
The good balls from the Callahan mould are as good as any. The Lyman mould throws a much better rate of good balls to culls. Some of this may be my technique...
Comparing modern moulds to bag moulds isn't really fair. Each one has it's purpose. A modern mould will throw a lot more good balls in a session but wouldn't be a good choice to take on a trek, heavy, bulky and not PC. A bag mould will throw a few usable balls and be convenient to carry along with you while being PC.
I did the coffee can thing with my roundballs I cast and it seemed to work well enough. I can't tell where the sprue was after a few minutes of rattleing them around. They hit my targets with no complaints.
