ball size

[Kawika]

for Christmas I got a .500 ball mold and I shoot .490. will a .500 ball work?

 

[Billnpatti]

It will work but it is going to be TIGHT. You will have to use a thin patch and may have to use a mallet to get it started. You won't be the only person using a .500 ball in a .50 cal. rifle but you will be one of the few. Most of us shoot .490 or .495 balls in our 50s. Some rifles really like a tight ball so you may be in luck. Did it come from a place where you can return it and get a .490 mold? If so, I think I would do that since you already know that a .490 will work well in your rifle.

Let's say that if you can't return it and the .500 ball won't work in your rifle, you could try casting lead from wheel weights. they have a different thermal expansion coefficient and will result in a ball that is a few thousandths undersize from what the mold would cast using pure lead. The harder balls will likely work in your rifle but may be hard to load even though they are a few thousandths smaller than .500. If you are stuck with the mold and the .500 balls won't work, it sure is worth a try.

 

[Kawika]

yes it did and I think I will replace it
Thanks for the help

 

[bpd303]

Or you could do like I do, use the mold as an excuse to get another rifle. :grin:

 

[azmntman]

EXACTLY! I once was forced to buy 10 boxes of .45 hornady great plains bullets even though I didn't have a .45m($2.00 a box clearance, what's a man to do?). had to buy one then. Have since sold it and still have 3-4 boxes so maybe.....?

 

[pat i.]

Actually wheel weights will cast slightly larger than pure lead.

 

[George T.]

If it is a more modern factory rifle the .500 will be to tight. If it is a custom with a .495 or .498 required ball it might work but will be to tight!

Geo. T.

 

[Wes/Tex]

It'll all depend on the rifle. Not all .50's are exactly .500" and not all .500" molds actually cast a .500" ball. Do a casting session and see what you are really dealing with...also mike the rifle's bore and adjust as required! :thumbsup:

 

[cynthialee]

my 2centavos

Sell the mold and use the proceeds to get the right size mold. Not very many .50 molds out there. Someone out there with a .51 or a .52 needs it.

 

[Billnpatti]

You are right. I was wrong. My experience with wheel weights is very limited since I have a huge supply of pure lead and that is what I use for my muzzleloading balls and bullets. I did, once, cast a bunch of .50 balls using wheel weights because a friend gave me a bunch of wheel weights. Those balls, for whatever reason, were just a tiny bit smaller than the balls cast from the same mould using pure lead. That experience is the basis for the statement that I made. When I read your rebuttal, I went to some online sources for information on thermal expansion coefficients and found that balls cast from wheel weight alloy should actually be just a tiny bit larger than those cast from pure lead. Just how much larger will depend on the particular alloy. Apparently, there is no one single alloy from which wheel weights are made so these alloys will vary and as they do, the resultant balls will vary just a very tiny bit.

So, bottom line, in spite of my limited experience, balls cast of wheel weight alloy should be a tiny bit larger than balls cast from the same mould using pure lead because the antimony and tin content will cause them to shrink just a miniscule amount less than pure lead as they cool. Based upon published information on thermal expansion coefficients, it would appear that you are right and I am wrong. Now, I have to figure why I got smaller balls from my mould when I used wheel weights. :idunno: