Making shot

[Furrier1714]

Hi there. I've been trying to find a thread about making shot but I could not. Any help? I've rather would like traditionel, old fashioned ways
Thanks in advance

 

[user 49399]

There are videos on YouTube about making shot. I’ve tried it but usually end up with what is sometimes called swan shot.

 

[rafterob]

That's the best you will get without building a 50 foot tall shot tower (or however tall they were).

 

[user 34300]

I have made good shot of about #8 size. I used a lee melting pot with a pin hole emitter screwed into the spout. The drips were dropped about 1/4" into antifreeze. The level was controlled by bending an over flow tube. It is a big mess but it works. The LIttleton shot maker works like this.

Traditional??? Cut up sheets and tumble the cubes. You can slowly pour into water with a ladle but it makes horrible shot. The shot looks like tadpoles. Some of the drips will explode like lead popcorn.

 

[necchi]

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/historic-definition-of-swan-shot.102314/

 

[Furrier1714]

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/historic-definition-of-swan-shot.102314/

I was thinking of the 2nd

 

[user 49399]

Ramshackle Homestead and Woodcrafter 76 are two guys on YouTube with videos about making primitive shot.

 

[Colonial Boy]

That's the best you will get without building a 50 foot tall shot tower (or however tall they were).

Or find a mine shaft that‘s safe to go down, or has a convenient tunnel going into it.

 

[DuncNZ]

Drop into oil .I found cooking oil was best . I had a commercially made shot maker which was like a big Lee pot with a gate valve and a changeable nipple on the bottom to change shot size , it dropped into a large can half full of cooking oil . It worked very well . They have not been made for at least 30 years . The nipple was a jet out of a carburetor of some sort . Modern shot has been low dropped for many years .
I know a guy who tried to drop shot from a railway overpass , train turned up and that ended the experiment .

 

[wobranch]

I belong to a muzzleloading skeet club and the host used to make perfect #8 shot from wheelweights. We supplied wheelweights cast into one pound pigs and he kept 1/3 for the work. I believe he had a propane fired 4 nozzle melter dropping about two feet into a liquid. I have heard of using antifreeze, soap mixture or some sort of oil. He had to stop because modern wheelweights are often made of zinc. Any zinc in your mix ruins the whole batch. It looks like oatmeal and will not run. I have experimented with fluxing zinc contaminated mix with sulfur to some success for casting bullets, but I think it is not sufficient for a shotmaker.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

That's the best you will get without building a 50 foot tall shot tower (or however tall they were).

Folks are making really nice round shot, by dripping the melted shot onto a ramp and then into antifreeze or cutting oil. Lots of DIY videos on internet. You have to search a bit as not all of the videos show well made shot.

LD

 

[Kabulrocks]

That's the best you will get without building a 50 foot tall shot tower (or however tall they were).

The Silver Dollar City theme park near Branson, Missouri has a shot tower. Years ago it was set-up with a water tank, etc. just like it was in operation. It had a plaque describing the process of pouring molten lead into the water, and sifting the droplets of lead into different sizes of shot. The tower is there, but no indication of its original use. I think it has flowers planted under it now.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

This is how and where they did it, anything else was second best.

https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/document/shottower.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Ferry_Shot_Tower

 

[david w]

That's the best you will get without building a 50 foot tall shot tower (or however tall they were).

I believe the Remington shot tower in Arkansas is around 100 ft. tall.