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mixed bag of balls/ bad day

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sparsons

40 Cal.
Joined
Mar 2, 2006
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Decided to mic my remaining balls after a bad day of shooting at the range. Don't mind missing but when I think it should be low and it goes high and off in the wrong direction is makes me stop and think. I found the balls that I bought as .495 were in reality any where from .470 to .50. My question to you guys that have much more experience than I, just how much of a problem is this mixed bag of balls. :confused:
 
Well, I think that you just answered that.

your experience and mine are quite similar.

CS
 
I have found that my cast balls are more accurate than purchased balls. But I must admit that I have not miked, weighed , or any thing else , the swaged balls that were given to me by the widow of a good friend and shootin buddy after his death by accident ( not shooting related). But mine shoot more accurately. My friend always wondered why I out shot him. I sure miss that guy.
 
Sparsons, You'd probably be much better off if you got a bullet mould. At least the balls you'd be shooting would be more consistant. Le Grand
 
I agree that casting your own is more satisfying. Since I cast .440,.451.457, and .49, I can still get a mix of balls...I have one of those gauges that are used to determine bolt diameters..I inked in the "go, no go" holes for my various calibers so I can sort them if I get a mix up...Hank
 
Mic them out and set aside your .495's. Sort the others into piles according to diameter. Now go getcherself guns to shoot the other sizes with! :)
 
When the balls are undersized for the bore, you get lots of gas cutting, as evidenced by blow and cut, and burned up patches. When its oversized, you have to really hammer the ball down, and that tends to cut holes in the patching too, as well as distort the shape of the ball. Since no two balls are the same size, they can't be the same weight. That means they will strike at different points on the target, or go sailing off into the air, as you have witnessed first hand. Now you know how what happened to you did happen, you can take the advice given above to sort your balls by diameter, using either a caliper, or micrometer, and then weight the balls on a powder scale and sort them by weight. Then make a final look at the balls and sort out the ones with wrinkles, leaving the smoothest, consistent weight, and consistent diameter balls for serious work, and the rest for plinking or for throwing back in the pot to be re cast!
 
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