Round ball with sprue

[Rfp10000]

I’ve been using .454 Hornady round balls but this time I’m getting some that are cast and have the sprue. From what I’ve read there isn’t too much difference if any.
I use the balls in paper cartridges in an Uberti Remington New Model Army.
Any comments on use of these balls vs. the Hornady that have no sprue?
Ron

 

[Kreole]

I was always taught to load the sprue forward, and I have yet to make my own cartridges (but am going to start this summer) and have wondered about this. Given the earlier advice, I'd glue the paper to the rear, i.e sprue forward so your loading rod seats against the sprue. Please correct me if I'm wrong so I don't give the wrong info...

 

[Zonie]

Most people load the balls with the sprue up in the chamber so they can try to get it centered. They feel that if it is centered it won't make the ball wobble as it flys towards the target.
Others say it doesn't make a difference so just make sure the sprue is pointed in a direction that does not interfere with the wall of the chamber when it is loaded.

 

[Rfp10000]

I was always taught to load the sprue forward, and I have yet to make my own cartridges (but am going to start this summer) and have wondered about this. Given the earlier advice, I'd glue the paper to the rear, i.e sprue forward so your loading rod seats against the sprue. Please correct me if I'm wrong so I don't give the wrong info...

That’s my intention but getting the sprue perfectly centered in the paper cartridge with glue might be a little tricky . Then the force loading the cartridge into the chamber might have some effect as well. With the Hornady round balls with no sprue this wasn’t an issue.
incidentally the paper cartridges work really well and are very easy to use at the range.

 

[Rfp10000]

Most people load the balls with the sprue up in the chamber so they can try to get it centered. They feel that if it is centered it won't make the ball wobble as it flys towards the target.
Others say it doesn't make a difference so just make sure the sprue is pointed in a direction that does not interfere with the wall of the chamber when it is loaded.

That’s what I was thinking and possibly a reason to keep sprue up is that you can see it isn’t against the wall of the chamber ...

 

[ord sgt]

The .451 roundball that I cast with a ladle into the Lee mold cuts the lead almost flush with the round of the ball. But I do load the roundball with the tiny sprue in the forward position so the rammer crushes the sprue and cuts a small ring of lead at the mouth of the chamber.

 

[Rfp10000]

The .451 roundball that I cast with a ladle into the Lee mold cuts the lead almost flush with the round of the ball. But I do load the roundball with the tiny sprue in the forward position so the rammer crushes the sprue and cuts a small ring of lead at the mouth of the chamber.

Yea, I was thinking the rammer might bring it more into round when you cut the ring..

 

[mooman76]

Try a few and see how they shoot. I'm on board with the though it makes little to no difference. If it bothers you, there are ways to get rid of the sprue. Put them in a brass tumbler for one.

 

[Rfp10000]

Try a few and see how they shoot. I'm on board with the though it makes little to no difference. If it bothers you, there are ways to get rid of the sprue. Put them in a brass tumbler for one.

This black powder experience is not for those who won’t experiment a bit...I’ll try to get sprue up just the for the sake of gluing the cartridge & then use the rammer to try to make it a bit less of an issue .. I use one of those things where you load the cylinder out of the gun so I can see what going on a bit easier I think ... it should be fine for my purposes which are really to get pretty dependable reliability from the gun and reasonably accurate on paper at 10 yards at this point. I’m not looking for precision target shooting or hunting.

 

[M. De Land]

I’ve been using .454 Hornady round balls but this time I’m getting some that are cast and have the sprue. From what I’ve read there isn’t too much difference if any.
I use the balls in paper cartridges in an Uberti Remington New Model Army.
Any comments on use of these balls vs. the Hornady that have no sprue?
Ron

I've found a sprued ball is every bit as accurate as a swaged ball if it is orientated sprue up at each loading. What I have noticed is that the swaged balls I've used from Speer and Hornady are not as uniform in dimeter as my own cast balls are and this I feel makes the greater difference in accuracy because of patch seal tension in single shot pistol or rifle as well as revolver chambers and how they cut lead seal.

 

[Rfp10000]

The size variability with the commercial balls seems like a good point. This batch is being cast for me so I’ll have to see them. I had good luck with conicals for my Sharps and I’m hoping my round balls work out the same.

 

[Dashing Leper]

If there were any voids or bubbles in the cast, they will most likely be near the sprue. Loading the ball sprue-up ensures you put any voids in the ball as far from the charge as possible.

 

[Eutycus]

I wasn't aware Hornady made lead balls other than the swaged ones. I'll keep that in mind next time I buy some.

 

[CaptainKirk]

You can try to center the sprue facing the muzzle or just trim it off with a pocket knife before loading.

 

[bang]

Get a tumbler and that will well round and smooth the sprue.

 

[Wopaho]

Use a tumbler an you'll like how the balls come out nice and round an most will show no sign of a sprue. I've found that most Lee Moulds cut the sprue close to the ball an if you tumble them the sprue will almost disappear if not disappear all together.

 

[smoothshooter]

I’ve been using .454 Hornady round balls but this time I’m getting some that are cast and have the sprue. From what I’ve read there isn’t too much difference if any.
I use the balls in paper cartridges in an Uberti Remington New Model Army.
Any comments on use of these balls vs. the Hornady that have no sprue?
Ron

Unless you are an Olympic-class shooter, with an Olympic-class tuned gun, I don’t think it makes a bit of difference where the sprue is at. Sometimes I tumble the balls for a few minutes after casting them and the sprue all but disappears.
I use mostly Lee moulds and all they leave is a small flat spot.

 

[Wopaho]

Yep for the money Lee makes a pretty good mould.

 

[Travler]

I have been taking two flat plates (smooth tile, steel or glass) and roll the balls between the plates for 30 sec and the sprues are rounded and almost impossible to tell where they were.

 

[FishDFly]

Some folks will put their cast balls on a cookie sheet, put it in the trunk of their car and drive around for a couple of days to get rid of the sprue's.