Don't like these Balls

[Splais]

I just received some Rush Creek roundballs I ordered. They have flat spots and a little shoulder on them from casting. It says to just load them with the flat spot up and everything will be fine. I don't believe them - how can this be so with a spinning ball. The Hornady roundballs I have do not have this flatspot.

 

[jtmattison]

That is the nib left from the mould sprue.

You will be fine if you load them sprue up.

The Hornady balls are swaged which is done by cold forming, or basically pressing them into shape under tons of force.

Cast balls are just as good if not better than swaged and are the traditional way to make a ball.

Go shoot them. Load them sprue up.

:thumbsup:

HD

 

[paulvallandigham]

Manny ball molds have sprues that leave a flat spot. Hornady balls are swaged. When you shoot these cast balls, you will find that the flat spot has NOthing to do with accuracy. If it really bothers you, put the balls in a case tumbler and let them bang against each other for an hour or so. That will get rid of the flat spots, and make all the balls round.

Oh, its thought that if the sprue is faced towards the shooter, that it won't let the ball fly off-center. The Bevel brothers tested this "theory" and found that it doesn't matter where the sprue is located. The ball is spinning around itself, and finds its own center of gravity before it leaves the barrel. The ball is accurate, whether there is a flat, or a nub sticking above the surface, as happens when longer sprues are not cut and then filed and polished down to the curve of the rest of the ball.

Just shoot them.

 

[biliff]

Cast balls will all have the flat spot. Its where the sprue was cut off. The Hornady balls are swaged and consequently don't have a flat spot.

The company ain't lieing to you. Just load 'em sprue up and let fly. Its been working fine for a couple of hundred years.

 

[Splais]

I figure I'm allowed at least one dumb question a week. :redface:

 

[mykeal]

I figure I'm allowed at least one dumb question a week. :redface:

Hmmm. 36 cal, 65 posts. You got a looong ways to go to catch up with the rest of us as far as dumb questions go. One a week ain't gonna do it, son.

 

[bebloomster]

Load 'em sprue up.... it will work. Been that way for a couple hundred and a half years.

 

[Rancocas]

Yep. What the others said.

Hey SPlais;
I used to live on Morrison St., near 24th and Arizona Ave., there in Yuma.
Have you read about James Ohio Pattie yet? He was an American mountainman who came through the Yuma area about 1820. He had some trouble with the Quechans.

 

[roundball]

Questions

Like starting out in any hobby, there is a lot to learn...commercial products, home made products, practices, techniques, nomenclature, etc, etc.
At the top of the forum in the library section, there are a lot of good links to long time established, proven aspects of muzzleloading and are well worth a few hours of time to start soaking all this in...save yourself a lot of trial & error and gain some enjoyment at the same time by expanding your overall understanding.

As far as the little 'spru' imperfection, also remember that one of the primary benefits of the rifling's spin rotation is the cancellation effect that occurs by spin-rotating a projectile that might have a small imperfection somewhere...

 

[Zonie]

I figure I'm allowed at least one dumb question a week. :redface:

Well take it from a moderator. Your WRONG.

Actually the number of dumb questions permitted per week is 73. :rotf:

 

[wvbuckbuster]

I was always taught if you don't know ask. So you did the right thing. Have fun shooting them!

 

[Stumpkiller]

You're also entitled to load one and then remember the powder should have gone in first and to get a dry cleaning patch well and truly stuck.

We've all been there. You're doing fine. :hatsoff:

Just remember the dark side is powerful and they have cookies. Be cautious of short-cuts.

 

[mckutzy]

u didnt specify what size ur ball was, but i used to hammer the tit down on the musket balls of .720, now i just did that because and i had time, but if u dont like the tit, hammer or file it off. It didnt make a difference for me but what ever works for u. :hatsoff:

 

[musketman]

I just received some Rush Creek roundballs I ordered. They have flat spots and a little shoulder on them from casting. It says to just load them with the flat spot up and everything will be fine. I don't believe them - how can this be so with a spinning ball. The Hornady roundballs I have do not have this flatspot.

As stated in the many replies, the flat spot is a result of the sprue cutter in the molding process.
Some load the balls flat side up, some load them flat side down... (that was a topic in itself)

I believe that if you load the soft lead roundball flat side up, that the flat side will be slightly rounded off by the ramrod's tip (which is concaved) during the ramming process.

Perhaps someone can confirm this for me with a barrel that has the breech plug removed, load up a patched cast roundball and ram it through the top of the barrel and out the bottom. Then check the roundball and see of the spure has been rounded off.
(Or check the ball after using a CO2 discharger, that would work too)

 

[Cutfingers]

I worked on the Quechan reservation for several years and am also quite interested in Pattie. I recently met a local man who is the Gr, Gr, Grandson of James Ohio Pattie who has given me a lot of information on Pattie. Send me a private email and I'll give you my scant resources.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Yep. What the others said.

Hey SPlais;
I used to live on Morrison St., near 24th and Arizona Ave., there in Yuma.
Have you read about James Ohio Pattie yet? He was an American mountainman who came through the Yuma area about 1820. He had some trouble with the Quechans.

Pattie and Pegleg Smith stirred up things around here later that same year by attacking the Aha Macav (Mohave) Indians on the Colorado River. The Mohave then took out their revenge on Whites of first opportunity near Needles Ca when the second Jeddah Smith party came through, only Jeddah and six other men escaped alive.


Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

 

[Zonie]

Weird!

How a post about cast roundballs and their inherent features can turn into a post about James Ohio Pattie.

 

[Splais]

yeah, i was interested for a minute until I found out he died about 4 yrs before the time I'm trying to figure out an outfit for.