Buffalo Ball-ett in GPR w/ 1/60 twist

[pronghorn]

Was wondering if anyone has tried the Buffalo Bullett Company "Ball-ett" in a GPR with the slow twist barrel. If so, how did it work for you compared to a patched round ball? Would this make a good combination for elk?

 

[Rebel]

Actually, that is what the Ball-ett was designed for. It is to give slow twist rifles a little more uuummmmpph. I tried them and they shot ok in my CVA Mt. rifle and Lyman Great PLains rifle. I still prefer a patched round ball though. I would suggest going to a .54 cal., if possible, if you are going after Elk.

 

[leadball]

This past fall, I was hunting bear and the guy at the gun store tried to sell me on them saying they might be better for black bear in 50 than the PRB. However, my uncle told me he has taken blackies over bait with 50 caliber PRB so I never bought them. I have a slow twister and the guy at the gun store said that the ballets are good for the slow twist. :imo:

 

[RiverRat]

pronghorn...I don't know about hunting anything larger than whitetails, but I use Buffalo Ball-ets...270 gr hp's over a 100grs of 3f and I can clover leaf them in my 1:60 twist GPR
flinter at 50yds, FROM A BENCH THAT IS! I mean that I would think that they would be better than a rb however....I have never hunted anything larger than deer....or I should say, shot anything larger than deer.... :m2c:

 

[tg]

It's probably rather pointless but I cannot resist...would that be the traditional type "Ball-et" ot the modern design one????

 

[Slamfire]

It's probably rather pointless but I cannot resist...would that be the traditional type "Ball-et" ot the modern design one????

:: :hmm: :what: :huh:

 

[BrownBear]

I tried them pretty careully in my GPR. Accuracy was good, but didn't seem to affect trajectory at all. On deer they don't seem to perform any better or worse than a PRB. Dead seemed to be dead with either one. I've got nothing against them, but they don't give me any reason to shoot them instead of cheaper PRBs.

 

Ball-ett??? Isn't that wher you wear a tu-tu, and dance around :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:

 

[pronghorn]

Thanks guys for the info. It is not that I want to stray away from a PRB, I will explain. Using a 530 RB I tryed three different patches, (.010, .015, .018). The one that gave me the best groups was the .018. The .010 was very poor, and the .015 was not a whole lot better, and the .018 was excellent. In fact I shot my first ML deer with that combo this past October. The problem is that the .018 is such a tight fit that a second load without swabing the barrel is a chore. This obviously is not a problem at the range, but could be in a hunting situation.

The patches I used were prelubed Ox Yokes, the .010 and .015 were cotton, the .018 was pillow ticking.

Should I possibly try a 535 RB with a thinner patch?

 

[BrownBear]

My 54 GPR is really happy with the Hornady 535 and a .015 prelube (80 grains FFF). I usually start it with a sharp smack on my short starter, but then it seats easy enough with the rod. I've gone as many as 40 shots without swabbing "just to see." Number 40 wasn't noticably harder to seat than #2, and accuracy was consistent throughout the string.

I've got no beef with the Ball-etts- just easier to get RBs where I am. If I had a store that always kept Ball-etts on the shelf, I'd probably shoot them more. Just never got around to reordering after using up the last batch.

 

[HardBall]

The problem is that the .018 is such a tight fit that a second load without swabing the barrel is a chore. This obviously is not a problem at the range, but could be in a hunting situation.

The patches I used were prelubed Ox Yokes, the .010 and .015 were cotton, the .018 was pillow ticking.

Should I possibly try a 535 RB with a thinner patch?

I had a TC Renegade once... Either that rifle had an unusually tight bore, or my ".530" balls were actually .535 Either way, a .010 patch was about the thickest I could use. I got sick of pounding on and breaking ramrods with anything thicker.

With my .50 cal. A .490 ball and .015 OxYoke (pre lubed with wonder lube or lubed myself with TC natural lube) loads VERY easy and, with light loads (25-30gr 3F), shoots amazingly well out to 50yds; heavier loads open up the groups, however. With the same powder charge and .490 ball but with either Wal-Mart Ticking or TC .018 ticking, the groups aren't nearly as good. I suspect that the ticking will work better with heavier loads, but it's so danged hard to load, and since I can't find .485 balls to try with .018 - .020 ticking, I'm back to pounding on ramrods. So, I might go up .005 on the ball size and down to a .010 patch and see what happens.

 

[SimonKenton]

Pronghorn,

Do you have deep round groove rifle or shallow (.o12") square rifling? I used Rice barrels and the grooves are .018" deep and rounded. That makes loading a cleaning in the field a heck of a lot easier.

-Ray

 

[Rat]

Pronghorn, when hunting, just use the thinner patches for your second or third shots/follow up shots. If you need a second shot, the game will probably be down, or you will be closer to it, one way or the other, and it won't hurt to give up a little accuracy.

I load my Brown Bess with a tight fitting ball/patch combo, load that into a clean barrel, but then the two balls in my loading block, around my neck are in thinner patches. As you know, when a smoothbore fouls it gets tight REAL fast. (with a tight fitting ball and patch)

Thinking up all kinds of hunting scenarios in my mind, it's hard to imagine ever firing more than three shots, and most likely all you will get is one shot to knock the game down, and possibly another to shoot it again to finish it off...although personally I carry a revolver to do that.

Personally, I think you'll get your best accuracy with the smaller ball and thicker patch...and seems like loading effort would be less with the combo you have now, than with a larger ball and smaller patch. ???

Gotta love that radius-groove rifling. My Jaeger, with a Colerain barrel and that rifling gave me a pleasent suprise first time I shot it...indeed, shot #9, #10, etc. loaded the same as #2.

Rat

 

[shmrck1]

pronghorn,
i've tried them in my .45 GMB hawken and found them to be very accurate but it just don't seem the same without a patch :imo: :m2c:
snake-eyes eace: :thumbsup:

 

[pronghorn]

Thanks guys for all your help!

I will certainly try all the suggestions you have given me.

I just found this forum a week ago and I am glad I did. What a great way for someone new to the sport like myself to get honest information from those that know best.

Now I wish that elk season here in Colorado was not 8 months away. Although that will give me plenty of time to be well prepared!


Thanks again!