round ball size

[ofiebakoa]

I have a nice Virginia rifle that was build by Naraganset arms and rebuilt by a friend. Long story, when my mother died I had $800 saved up to buy parts to build a good rifle. Someone got in our home and stole it. A friend of mine heard about it and gave me the rifle. My question is , I need ball to fit it. It's so they say .58cal.
.575 sits on the muzzle, no patch. 570 with the thinest patch will not even start. What am I to do? This may seem kinda dumb but I'm stumped. I've shot .535 and a linen patch and it shoots ok but..... Help

 

[brubincam]

-----lots of guys use a 562 ball and walmart pillow ticking--including me-----

 

[ofiebakoa]

where can I get that size of ball??

 

[sniper68]

Lee makes a .562 mold, I beleive in dbl/cavity only. For pre-cast, don't know. Somebody of the Forum would know.

 

[brubincam]

-----got my 562 lee mold at Dixons-----at Chucks recomendation-----

 

where can I get that size of ball??

www.Trackofthewolf.com has them.
:v

 

[sundog]

Call Chuck Dixon at 610 756-6271, he has cast .562s in stock and he has molds too.
Chuck is great people to deal with !

 

[brubincam]

-----Dixons is open on Sundays until 5 pm--my lee 562 is a 2 ball mold--personally I do better useing one hole at a time but I use a dipper--

 

[brubincam]

-----are you sure it is a 58 and not a 54?-----

 

[brubincam]

-----a naked 570 ball should drop down a 58 barrel-----

 

[ofiebakoa]

a naked .570 just barely starts then gets stuck.
just tried it.

 

[BrownBear]

-----a naked 570 ball should drop down a 58 barrel-----

Not necessarily.

One of my 58's is a GRRW and it's got a choked bore. A naked .0575 ball sits on the muzzle and won't fall free till you ram it about 10" down the bore. It's not a case of overcoming the engraving process that sets it free at that point, because it hangs up again in the same spot when you try to roll it back out. I'm in contact with the barrel source and can provide more detail if needed. In the same bore a .570 ball will go, but not under its own weight. It drags just enough to stop the ball from falling. It's not till you get to a .562 ball that it falls free.

My other 58 has a really nice barrel too, but it has no choking that I can discern. A .570 ball does drop down the bore, but with so little clearance that even a .010 patch is a real tight fit for seating. With anything short of a jackhammer you aren't going to seat a .570 ball and ticking into that bore. A .562 ball and ticking seat normally and shoot like crazy.

Sounds like the bore on that Naraganset Arms gun is either a little undersized for using a .570 ball and patches heavier than .010 just like my second 58, or choked just like my GRRW.

 

[brubincam]

-----sorry didn't mean to mess anyone up-----

 

[paulvallandigham]

Do you now understand why its so important to actually measure the diameter of your bore, with calipers, and also the diameter of your balls?

 

[ofiebakoa]

I'll try .562 round ball and get the bore reguaged. A gunsmith I know said he measured it with a brass bore measure. Maybe his piece is wore out. I'm new to rifles, been only shooting smoothies.

 

[paulvallandigham]

You should have our own caliper. You can buy them for as little as $20.00. Check the suppliers, under links at the top of the Index page. Midway, and Midwest seem to have good prices on this kind of thing. Also check Harbor Freight, or McMasters.

You don't need the expensive digital caliper. I have an old fashion caliper that has a scale to read, but also a $20.00 chinese version in a Dial caliper. I just used it to measure the bore of a fowler for another forum members who stopped by. I showed him his actual bore diameter, then the diameter of the balls he was using, then the thickness of his patches. We even tested some of the balls using an old T-shirt of mine, just to show him how to do it, and get a " feel " for what thickness will work. He is going to get some .595 balls, and use his .015" patching. It should work well in his .610 bore. If it proves too tight, he knows to drop down to .012 or .010" patches.

 

[ofiebakoa]

:bow: First off please forgive me for not thanking y'all fer helping me out with a round ball problem. I went to Dixon's and got some .562 rb . they will work out great. Just need to get out and shoot. To hot as of now. Wish it would snow