"Ball-ets"

[Cutfingers]

"Ball-ets, a cross between a bullet and a ball resulting in a patchless round ball." So, just what the @#$% are these and from what time period do they originate?

 

[Blizzard of '93]

never used them but they are made and sold by 'Buffalo Bullet Co.'. some says good others not worth the trouble.IIRC they quit making the pistol (revolver) 'ballets'.

 

[Nifeman]

Shot em in my .50 TC and they grouped in 1 ragged hole...Bud

 

[gmww]

I've made my own version of them. A .50 cal. RB sized in a .45 cal. sizer. Roll them on a metal file for the cross hatches on the side. Worked surprisingly well. I haven't tried the .54 to .50 conversion.

 

[Cutfingers]

Would like a physical discription of them. I E-mailed Buffalo Bullets re. a discription but as yet no responce. More details of them please.

 

[roundball]

Would like a physical discription of them. I E-mailed Buffalo Bullets re. a discription but as yet no responce. More details of them please.

Google them up

 

[gmww]

Imagine a RB pushed through a smaller sizer. Round on top, checkered sides and bottom I believe are concave. Mine ended up with a flat bottom smooth sides. I checkered the sides by rolling them over a file. Something similar to this but concave at the bottom I believe.

 

[Cutfingers]

Great, and thanks. I might try some larger balls than my .600s and roll them to conform to the pictures you sent. Looks interesting.

 

[tg]

" from what time period do they originate? '

Late 20th century, few of the bullets offered today are based on anything from the ML era.There were conicals back then but most of todays were developed in modern times independant from any of the original styles.

 

[Cutfingers]

So the answer to my question is they would not be period correct when I go on an AMM outing. Might be nice at the range when paper punching, however.

 

[Bountyhunter]

These are .54's. I use them in my Santa Fe. They give me good knock down at 100 and will stay in a pie plate at 200. I'm not a bench shooter so I dont much care if they cloverleaf at 25. I just know that they carry the mail when run over 100 gr of FFg.

 

[jtmattison]

I didn't know they made a hollow point. I have some solid point and they're not too impressive on paper.

HD

 

[Dphar]

"Ball-ets, a cross between a bullet and a ball resulting in a patchless round ball." So, just what the @#$% are these and from what time period do they originate?

About the time the current maker invented it.
Other than the minie ball "bullets" used in MLs in the 19th century were always patched. Paper for match rifles usually slug guns and cloth patches for some of the lighter target/hunting bullets. If you have a properly sized ball you don't need or really want an elongated bullet that does not use a cloth patch for hunting.
Its mostly hype to sell products to those who want to shoot a ML but still fall for the "newer is better" marketing ploy.

Dan

 

[rbfree]

These are .54's. I use them in my Santa Fe. They give me good knock down at 100 and will stay in a pie plate at 200. I'm not a bench shooter so I dont much care if they cloverleaf at 25. I just know that they carry the mail when run over 100 gr of FFg.

I have three boxes of these Im shooting out of a GPH 1-32 twist ballel. I havent been able to bench it yet but I was hopeing to make them my elk and deer load.

 

[Bountyhunter]

HD

I selected these because of their shape. They are as close to "square" as I could find, in other words, they are like a round ball with a short skirt. They are about a hundred grains heavier than a round ball also. The point being that because of their short nature, they will still stabilize well in my 66" twist.

I was hunting bear in heavy timber and I wanted a heavier boolit for the job. Hype schmype--I like my Hawken. That is why I built it, and continue to use it. But, the simple fact is that as I approach 60 and I was hunting alone, several miles from the nearest other person, I chose to hedge my risks by using the best that was available in case I had the chance to get a shot at that big bear. That choice was a bullet that is accurate over a heavy charge of powder. I have since used them on deer and I am satisfied with them. I usually use PRB, but when the kill is important, I have no hang-ups at all about using the proper tool for the job.

Iff (correct spelling) you are a city dude and you dont hunt, or hunting isnt your bag, or you prefer to make smoke pokin holes in paper. That is certainly your right to make that choice and I respect that, and if I happened by while you were there, I'd pull out a bag of round balls and we'd have fun. I have put a few thousand thru this old gun. But, I also believe that if you have any respect for the animal you hunt and intend to kill that you have a responsibility to do it instantly and humanely. Likewise, if you are hunting something that can change places with you on the food chain, then I consider it wise to protect my position.

Bill

 

[Greenmtnboy]

What about gas blow by in rifles with deep grooves like in my Greenmtnbarrels?

 

[Bountyhunter]

GMB

I cant rightly tell ya, I never been able to slow one a them down enough to take a look at it.

My rifle has deep grooves. The bullets fit real tight goin in, but I think that you have enough skirt to flare that it will swell to fit. Sorta like convertin those hippy chicks.

I am not getting any leading in the barrel, and if it were blowing by, I would think that would be happening.

 

[paulvallandigham]

With any rifle that has deep grooves, you will always get better performance using an OP wad between the powder and ball or bullet. The wad protcts the base of conicals, and seals the gases off better than any patch can do.Check Track of the Wolf on-line catalogue to see the different kinds of OP wads they offer for rifled barrels. I use a thin, fiber wad in my .50 caliber, but a thicker OP wad in my smoothbore. I would not hesitate to use a combination of the thin fibre wad, and a soft wool, wad, to hold lube, under a PRB or conical in any rifle with deep grooves.

 

[gmww]

I did the wad over the powder under the ball-et thing. I also tried wrapping the ball-et's (home made ones) in teflon plumbers tape. I was only able to achieve 4-5" groups at 50 yards.

 

[Bountyhunter]

I have always been under the impression that using anything under a hollow based bullet defeats the purpose of the hollow base. Am I missing something here? I use a wad under my flat base cartridge bullets, but the hollow base has to be open to expand, doesnt it???????????