Ball/patch combo for .62 Colrain?

Should have my .62 Jaeger finished by spring and could someone who knows from experience share with me what ball dia. to use: .600, .610 etc. (and perhaps a powder charge for target work) in a Colrain barrel. My patches are .015-.016 pillow ticking. Thanks in advance. Jim/MO

 

[Zonie]

J James: If it's a smoothbore, Musketman might be able to give a patch/ball fit combo for you.
Dixies 2003 catalog is showing their home cast .600 (325 grain) roundballs for about $19/100 and they have Buffalo Bullets Roundballs in .600 and .610 dia for $11.25/50 and $11.50/50 respectivly.

Dixie also shows .600 and .610 dia Lyman Molds for about $60 (less handles) and ,610 dia Rapine Molds with handles for about $80.

 

It's a .62 cal. 31" Colrain Jaeger swamped barrel with radius grooved rifling with a 1 in 60 twist. Jim/MO

 

[roundball]

Also, Warren Muzzleloading in Arkansas makes a full line if 100% lead cast balls known as "spruless" lead balls...they are tumbled after casting to smooth and polish them;

I've used their .550's as patched balls in a TC .56cal smoothbore at 50yds and they were very accurate.
I recently bought a couple boxes of the .600's for my .62cal smoothbore before the holidays but haven't had a chance to try them yet;

Their sell their size .600's for $5/box of 20;

Phone: 1-800-874-3810

 

[Birddog6]

James, In my .62 & in my sons .62 cals with Colerains we are shooting a .600 RB with .018 pillow ticking & Lehigh Lube, 85 grains of FF Goex. We have tried the .610 & you need a hammer to start them & I am not using a hammer to start balls. I want to rap them sharply with the ball of my fist with the lil stub of a starter, then the short starter with my palm & then the RR.

As for balls, you can order them from Eddie May in GA as bout cheap as anyone. 1-706-695-5290
I suggest ya pour them yourself as you can get pure lead from a scrap yard for about .25 to .30 per pound. Great hunting caliber gun but too expensive to shoot all the time, as you will find out if ya shoot it much.

When ya get it done I will send ya a few of the .610 & .600 if ya want so you can try them & see what it will require.

As for the Warren Bullets, I don't care for them. I have probably a doxen boxes of them here now & they are not uniform & I have trouble starting them in all of my guns. Example is on a .535 ball, mic it one place & it is .535, turn it & it is .525, another place & it is .530. They are all over the place. Same way with the 5-6 boxes of 40 cal balls I have. I bought them on sale & it would have been a good deal if they were consistantly sized.

Rush Creek seems to have some pretty consistant balls. I checked them out at Friendship last time & they were OK & very reasonable if you buy in 500 or 1000 lots as I do. Plus no shipping if you are there & with the cost of shipping today, that is a big deal.

 

[Chuck Deaton]

Please provide contact information for Warren Muzzleloading.

 

[roundball]

Warren Muzzleloading, Arkansas
Phone: 1-800-874-3810

 

[musketman]

quote:Originally posted by roundball:
Warren Muzzleloading, Arkansas
Phone: 1-800-874-3810 Here is there web page...

http://www.warrenmuzzleloading.com/contact.htm

 

[Deadeye]

I use .600 balls cast in a Lyman mold and 70 grs. 2F, .015 patch. Very accurate.
I had the same experience with Warren's balls as posted above. Harder than pure lead, not uniform,
people hard to deal with, buy a mold cast your own.
Deadeye

 

[musketman]

Track of the Wolf sells round ball molds...

#LYMAN-600 Mold, Lyman .600" round ball mold blocks, single cavity, use large handles $48.95
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/tableList.aspx?catID=18&subID=126&styleID=411

 

[roundball]

Well Deadeye, that's surprising to hear...I've dealt with Warren Muzzleloading for 5-6 years now and they've always been terific to deal with...

I didn't mic the .550's I used from them but they sure were accurate...they also might have mic'ed a few thousands variance but I'm not sure how much difference that would really make in practical accuracy terms...ie: I use Hornady
.440's, .490's, and .530's...now I'm curious to mic them and see how much variance there is in them...can't imagine they all perfect either

 

[Chuck Deaton]

My plan is to use buckshot, has anyone mic'ed it? Is buckshot uniform in size?

 

[roundball]

You might be interested in an experiment I ran with my .62 smoothbore this past summer with 80grns FFg:

I tried loads of four Hornady .45cal-128grn round balls, then three Hornady .50cal-180grn round balls in paper shot cups.

The .45cal balls produced large 18" patterns at 40yds and were wild and inconsistent from shot to shot...I concluded it was from the fairly severe "stagger-stack" column that the small
.45's made, being very offset from one to the next and I think flared wildly when they left the muzzle;

However, the three larger .50cal-180grn round balls in a paper shot cup stood up almost straight and gave outstanding 5"-6" consistent pattern at 40yds...also had plenty of power, penetrating 4" of hardwood boards and kept on going.

Should be a decent close range deer load