Test Report ”“ “Marbles” as lead alternative practice balls
Shot a 50 shot range session today with a .50cal Flintlock and took along a handful of half inch marbles I’d bought to begin some testing just to see if they’d even work at all. The marbles were actually smaller than a half inch, averaging in the .47x range, and appeared to be some sort of acrylic instead of glass”¦they were very light and unbreakable”¦I’d throw them against the concrete floor as hard as I could and they’d just bounce all the way up and hit the 8’ tin roof.
When I got done with the main session I cleaned the bore, set up a target at only 20yds and used light 40grn charges of Goex 3F. I used some .022” pillow ticking I had but they still thumb started pretty easy, however, just shooting while sitting in a chair they still grouped around 2.0” - 2.5””¦surprising for lightweight marbles with diameter variations and a loose patch / ball fit. I shot the last few using a double patch of .015” & .010” for .025” total and they required a little effort with a short starter then and tightened the group up a tad.
Bottom line is that if lead should ever become so expensive it’s prohibitive to shoot every weekend year round, or be banned outright like lead has been for waterfowl, resulting in outrageously expensive non-toxics, there are alternatives out there that could be made to work in a pinch just for playing at the range on weekends, then rezero the rifle for hunting with the expensive stuff, etc. I’m going to try to Google up some actual glass marbles if they're still made of glass today, as I assume they’d be heavier than these I used today.
Shot a 50 shot range session today with a .50cal Flintlock and took along a handful of half inch marbles I’d bought to begin some testing just to see if they’d even work at all. The marbles were actually smaller than a half inch, averaging in the .47x range, and appeared to be some sort of acrylic instead of glass”¦they were very light and unbreakable”¦I’d throw them against the concrete floor as hard as I could and they’d just bounce all the way up and hit the 8’ tin roof.
When I got done with the main session I cleaned the bore, set up a target at only 20yds and used light 40grn charges of Goex 3F. I used some .022” pillow ticking I had but they still thumb started pretty easy, however, just shooting while sitting in a chair they still grouped around 2.0” - 2.5””¦surprising for lightweight marbles with diameter variations and a loose patch / ball fit. I shot the last few using a double patch of .015” & .010” for .025” total and they required a little effort with a short starter then and tightened the group up a tad.
Bottom line is that if lead should ever become so expensive it’s prohibitive to shoot every weekend year round, or be banned outright like lead has been for waterfowl, resulting in outrageously expensive non-toxics, there are alternatives out there that could be made to work in a pinch just for playing at the range on weekends, then rezero the rifle for hunting with the expensive stuff, etc. I’m going to try to Google up some actual glass marbles if they're still made of glass today, as I assume they’d be heavier than these I used today.
