Swaged Ball sizes

[rafterob]

Just had an outing with my pistols, Usually I shoot .490 balls but all I had with was Hornady .495. I about destroyed my hand trying to pound them into the barrel. So I decided to measure everything when I got home. The .495 consistently measured from .497 to .499. So then I measured my .490 balls and they consistently measured .494-.495. Didn't help any that I was using my pillowticking patch from my rifles that measured .022. I'll be looking to find a thin patch I can use with my ".490" balls and maybe go to molded balls also.

 

[Polecat_Tom]

Just curious, were the balls and your caliper/micrometer at the same normalized temperature?

 

[The Crisco Kid]

The swaged balls I've measured are anything but consistent. Before I owned a caliper or mic I pounded ".440" balls down a 45 barrel. Years later I measured the balls out of the commercial mold marked .440 and found out that they were .451. The mold had been mismarked.

 

[Polecat_Tom]

This got me wondering so I went into my unopened boxes and measured five of each size and here are my results.

 

[SDSmlf]

Just curious, were the balls and your caliper/micrometer at the same normalized temperature?

Just curious, but what size variations do you see at various temperatures?

 

[SDSmlf]

Just had an outing with my pistols, Usually I shoot .490 balls but all I had with was Hornady .495. I about destroyed my hand trying to pound them into the barrel. So I decided to measure everything when I got home. The .495 consistently measured from .497 to .499. So then I measured my .490 balls and they consistently measured .494-.495. Didn't help any that I was using my pillowticking patch from my rifles that measured .022. I'll be looking to find a thin patch I can use with my ".490" balls and maybe go to molded balls also.

Many will argue that weight and ‘slight’ diameter variations of roundballs will have no effect on accuracy, at least not their accuracy. Guess that means a lead vs steel vs brass vs plastic roundball will all shoot the same. I’ve posted what follows before. Plenty of opinions, just like roundball weight and accuracy, the opinions vary widely.

I have been repeatedly disappointed by swaged roundballs, sometimes by diameter variations, other times by weight differences. Others claim these differences do not matter as long as they can hammer the patched roundball down the bore accuracy will be outstanding.

As an example of what I have found, here are photographs of the weigh-in of two different balls from a single box of purchased swaged roundballs. Found nearly 10 grains of weigh variation, though less than .0005” in diameter variation. Have seen worse, but don’t have photographic evidence. Personally have found that when everything is perfect and using weighed balls will have groups in the one inch range at 100 yards. Mix in the known goofballs from the same box and in the 3-4” range or more. Have seen significant weight variations in both red and yellow boxes of purchased swaged roundballs.

If weight and diameter variations don’t negatively impact accuracy for you, guess you are good to go. Otherwise you may want to check diameter and weight. Up to you.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

I was just weighing and measuring .440 lead the other day.
I have a box of swedged 45 cal Hornady ball. I also have all my cast ones.
I saw .001 deviation in both. Then I measured the paper patched pills I made a few years ago.
Same, same all had no more deviation than .001
Weights did very more.

 

[Polecat_Tom]

Just curious, were the balls and your caliper/micrometer at the same normalized temperature?

Just curious, but what size variations do you see at various temperatures?

That was a silly early Monday morning question on my part. I believe a .500 lead ball will change about .0003" with a 20° temperature change.

 

[rafterob]

Just curious, were the balls and your caliper/micrometer at the same normalized temperature?

yes