Non-lead round ball for the Brown Bess?

[Rifleman1776]

Why not a good idea ??????

Because they will have a thin shot pattern and might miss the game entirely.
Because they are very hard and might damage your barrel.
Because they are very hard and might ricochet.
Because I said so. :nono: :wink:

 

[Tinker2]

Because I said so. :nono: :wink:

Now that’s the best reason :thumbsup:




William Alexander

 

[coloradoclyde]

Why not a good idea ??????

Because they will have a thin shot pattern and might miss the game entirely.
Because they are very hard and might damage your barrel.
Because they are very hard and might ricochet.
Because I said so. :nono: :wink:

Because they will have a thin shot pattern and might miss the game entirely.

Indeed!...as shot size increases the pattern density decreases, but the lethality of a single pellet increases.

Because they are very hard and might damage your barrel.

Yes!...This is a notable concern and such consequences must be weighed by the individual shooter.

Because they are very hard and might ricochet.

Indeed!.. safety should be considered before every shot. I have been hit by many ricochets (although all lead projectiles), I have even seen an arrow ricochet off of a deer and come back towards me....I never shoot without glasses.

Because I said so.

:hmm: .....
"It is human nature to instinctively rebel at obscurity or ordinariness".

Taylor Caldwell










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[Twisted_1in66]

I am going to talk to fish and game about using them. Going to try some pattern shot also. But I think I will use the shot cup.

Back in the 70's and 80's I used to shoot duck and geese on Sauvie's Island in the Williamette River near Portland, OR. This was before steel shot was required for waterfowl, but the federal reservation that we hunted on ONLY allowed steel shot. We loaded with BB's and it worked great. We killed a lot of ducks and geese with them.

Only problem with steel is that it is very hard and if you don't have a chrome lined barrel, it can actually shoot out a full or modified choke on a normal barrel over time. In fact waterfowl guns no longer offer anything tighter than a modified choke even with chrome lined barrels specifically because the steel will wear through it.

That said, I believe all the muskets we use are cylinder bore which means they don't have a choke near the muzzle. So, it shouldn't be a real problem shooting unless you really shoot steel shot a LOT with it, in which case it might scar it up a bit.

As far as legality goes, the federal game wardens would come by and ask to see a couple of our shells. When we handed them to him, he put a magnet to the side. If it stuck, it was steel and was legal to use.It it didn't stick, you got a citation and were banned from the federal reserve where we were hunting. The BB's were copper-coated steel, so it stuck just fine, so we were allowed to use them.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

If viable, the concept of using brass balls is a wonderful game changer, and likely to find application to many different bore sizes. I've got a call into them. Let's see what happens!!! Thanks for the tip, and happy new year!

 

[RedFeather]

How about bismuth? I just googled casting with bismuth and got many links. One place sells bars of 90% bismuth,10% tin.