-
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
Non-lead round balls in CA?
- Thread starter Bullfries
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/lead-free/
GreyWhiskers
69 Cal.
Bullfries said:
They make two diameter balls in 50 caliber. Get the smaller ones. Pay careful attention to the patch size. Too thick and you can get the ball stuck when trying to start it. The balls are so hard you can't use a normal ball puller.
GW
It's a shame that someone who actually lives in CA doesn't pick up on the range testing, then the successful field tests I did using solid brass balls, and coordinate that brass ball manufacturer to submit the solid brass ball to the CA Wildlife Dept. for approval.
Extremely accurate, killed deer as well as any deer I've killed with lead balls, machined tolerances are precise so no stuck balls, half the price of the currently approved non-lead balls, and they can even be fired at the range and reused...which is what I did with the deer I took. Recovered the balls from a box of shredded rubber, then used them for hunting.
Extremely accurate, killed deer as well as any deer I've killed with lead balls, machined tolerances are precise so no stuck balls, half the price of the currently approved non-lead balls, and they can even be fired at the range and reused...which is what I did with the deer I took. Recovered the balls from a box of shredded rubber, then used them for hunting.
Roundball
I agree. The one big problem with the solid brass ball that you used is that it is really only available in .570 diameter that will work in a .58 caliber bore. The other diameters available don't match up well with our standard hunting calibers. If they had them in .530 and .490 diameters I would be trying them myself.
I don't own a .58
I agree. The one big problem with the solid brass ball that you used is that it is really only available in .570 diameter that will work in a .58 caliber bore. The other diameters available don't match up well with our standard hunting calibers. If they had them in .530 and .490 diameters I would be trying them myself.
I don't own a .58
Col. Batguano
75 Cal.
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2011
- Messages
- 5,039
- Reaction score
- 1,421
ScottH said:Roundball
I don't own a .58
So what's the remedy for that? :wink:
Well, just thinking outside the box a little...an approach for a CA resident could be:ScottH said:Roundball
I agree. The one big problem with the solid brass ball that you used is that it is really only available in .570 diameter that will work in a .58 caliber bore. The other diameters available don't match up well with our standard hunting calibers. If they had them in .530 and .490 diameters I would be trying them myself.
I don't own a .58
Contact the manufacture, help him through submitting the one brass ball that we know DOES work in the .58cal...and if it's metallurgy makeup meets CA's approval, then other sizes will as well...meaning the brass ball manufacture would have just been presented with a new market opportunity (the other sizes)
:wink:
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2008
- Messages
- 833
- Reaction score
- 14
Now this outfit makes a 0.500 ball:
http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=20417&step=4&showunits=inches&id=1419&top_cat=0
I would have my rifle rebored or get an exchange barrel in 0.52 cal.
Ed Rayl, P.O. Box 91, Gassaway WV 26624 304-364-8269
or
Robert Hoyt, 700 Fairfield Station Rd. Fairfield, PA 17320 717-642-6696
come to mind for a rebore. A lead ball mold is easy to get from Jeff Tanner for around $40.
That should work and just follow "Roundballs" recommendations.
Around 50 cents a piece is reasonable. Ready made lead balls are almost 15 cents a piece depending on manufacturer.
I avoid CA whenever I can. Not a dime of my money into that states coffers....
I would have my rifle rebored or get an exchange barrel in 0.52 cal.
Ed Rayl, P.O. Box 91, Gassaway WV 26624 304-364-8269
or
Robert Hoyt, 700 Fairfield Station Rd. Fairfield, PA 17320 717-642-6696
come to mind for a rebore. A lead ball mold is easy to get from Jeff Tanner for around $40.
That should work and just follow "Roundballs" recommendations.
Around 50 cents a piece is reasonable. Ready made lead balls are almost 15 cents a piece depending on manufacturer.
I avoid CA whenever I can. Not a dime of my money into that states coffers....
Last edited by a moderator:
One of the things I learned from that project was that brass is lighter than lead of course...for example, the brass ball I used in the .58cal weighed 201 grains...about halfway between .50 and .54cal balls.
So if it was me, I'd want to lean towards a larger caliber to keep the weight up...and the larger frontal area of a larger caliber brass ball helps make up for the fact that it won't expand.
Then considering those 2 criteria, if one has to consider barrel or bore rework at all, the choice of going with a .58cal really starts to make a lot of sense.
And another benefit of the .58cal...particularly if lead becomes outlawed in CA even for range work, is that 9/16" solid marbles work great in a .58cal (+.62cal) for 20-25yd plinking at the range...cost a penny apiece.
So if it was me, I'd want to lean towards a larger caliber to keep the weight up...and the larger frontal area of a larger caliber brass ball helps make up for the fact that it won't expand.
Then considering those 2 criteria, if one has to consider barrel or bore rework at all, the choice of going with a .58cal really starts to make a lot of sense.
And another benefit of the .58cal...particularly if lead becomes outlawed in CA even for range work, is that 9/16" solid marbles work great in a .58cal (+.62cal) for 20-25yd plinking at the range...cost a penny apiece.
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2008
- Messages
- 833
- Reaction score
- 14
Roundball is right on the mass weight. But it can be tricky to safely rebore a barrel from a .50 to a .58. Depending on the steel and the barrel diameter , there may be too little beef left.
The 0.50 brass ball would be the equivalent of a .45 cal lead round ball.
137 grains for the lead to 141 for the brass.
For deer size game probably enough, especially considering the slightly larger diameter.
If your state would require a .50 min for deer size game, then you may have to check for a larger bore...
The 0.50 brass ball would be the equivalent of a .45 cal lead round ball.
137 grains for the lead to 141 for the brass.
For deer size game probably enough, especially considering the slightly larger diameter.
If your state would require a .50 min for deer size game, then you may have to check for a larger bore...
Just to be clear, my post actually wasn't about boring out any existing barrel...was making the point that if one was going to go to all that trouble and expense in the first place, to just go ahead and move up to a .58cal muzzleloader for all the benefits I mentioned.
Barrel dimensions are the key regardless of caliber. T/C and GM routinely made .54/.58/.62cals in 1" barrels...and as a specific example, all T/C Renegade barrels were 1" barrels, even including a .50cal.
Plus, as GM made 1' drop in barrels for the Hawken & Renegade, they even made one in .40cal.
Any of those 1" barrels can be / often are bored out to a .58cal / .62cals.
Barrel dimensions are the key regardless of caliber. T/C and GM routinely made .54/.58/.62cals in 1" barrels...and as a specific example, all T/C Renegade barrels were 1" barrels, even including a .50cal.
Plus, as GM made 1' drop in barrels for the Hawken & Renegade, they even made one in .40cal.
Any of those 1" barrels can be / often are bored out to a .58cal / .62cals.
Similar threads
