Round ball material

[Gus]

I hate asking this question, cuz its prob. been asked a 1000 times before. I searched and could not get resolve.

I know pure lead is better for round balls, and wheel weights are not pure lead, but slightly harder due to (mostly) the antimony.

My question is, is it unsafe to shoot wheel weight balls from my guns or just less accurate? What would happen if I did? I'm sure its been done.

Gus
Titusville, FL
.69 Charleville and AN XIII

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Wheel weights are very much harder than pure lead. This means that rifles will be hard to load because the hard alloy will resist being indented by the lands of the bore. Hard lead in a smoothbore is not a bad thing, it helps the ball remain round while being swatted on the backside by the force of powder gas. You may have to use a thinner patch than you would use with pure lead but wheel weights may well prove more accurate with the smoothbore. :grin:

 

[No Deer]

From what I have read, and I have no personal experience with this, in a smoothbore it will be absolutely no problem. I have a friend that swears by wheel weights for his bess, and there is not arguing with his success. Again, from what I have read, it would make a difference in a rifle, but I could not tell you what or why.

 

[Many Klatch]

If you are shooting a .69 Charleville you can shoot almost anything you want. Wheel weight, soft lead, buck shot, they all shoot the same. That's the beauty of the smoothbore muskets. If you cast your own, the wheelweights are known to cool slightly smaller than the pure lead.

I have been known to occasionally shoot a bore sized ball bearing out of my .60 smoothbore.

When you start loading a rifle, then you have be a little more choosy.

Many Klatch

 

[guncobbler]

I would think that pure lead would cast the smallest tho heaviest ball with alloyed bullets getting larger and slightly lighter. GC

 

[boar]

:thumbsup: Thats been my experience. Dilly

 

[Gus]

Thanks all. :bow: I guess I heard what I wanted to hear, and thought all along. Shooting balls of pure lead or wheel weights out of a smooth bore musket will not present a safety issue which is my primary concern.

I have lead of each, and will be casting my own balls so I can run some tests. I'll let you know. I love tweaking with the variables to see what results I get. Tomorrow I'm headed into Orlando to Buffalo Bills, which I think is the only truely dedicatd muzzleloader shop in central FL. Hopefully I'll get some good advice and components then.

gus

 

[redwing]

WW lead shoots just fine from a rifle. They work well in a smooth bore. In a rifle you some time need a thinner patch.

They are not always good for hunting as they do not expand as well as dead lead. Some shooters use WW when hunting conditions call for deep penetration on dangerous game.

Read the test in Muzzle Blast a few months back by the Bevel Bros. They found as many shooters know WW are great for practice shooting. :thumbsup:

 

[Britsmoothy]

Just out of interest- would a ball puller still screw into W/W ok?

 

[paulvallandigham]

From my experience, driving a ball puller screw into wheel weights is much harder, and because of the antimony, the lead is more brittle, so you are likely to strip the thread when you try to pull the ball. I got one WW ball out but it took pushing the screw into the ball three times, until it was all the way through the ball before I was able to pull it. Yes, I poured moosemilk, or Hoppe's No. 9 cleaning down the bore to lube the patch better, before trying this. I ended up using a vise grips to grab the rod to help me turn the rod while I was pushing on the handle of the rod to force the screw into the lead.

Pure lead balls are much easier to pull.

 

[Parzifal]

I use sinkers "for fishing" and the "skum" that rises in the melt skimmed off, this works well in the ladies I make fire in.

Never tried the wheel weights, figure it would be as like in preperation.??

Mayhap others know better?

Rob