Swaged roundball inconsistency ...

[Golfswithwolves]

I was surprised and pleased to find that casting bullets is not too hard to do, and gives a real feeling of pleasure when good bullets pop out of the mold. I wish I had started much earlier. Two cautions: 1) Follow the safety rules 2) You will probably end up expanding your casting to all sorts of calibers, will buy better gear than you start with, and therefore generally will end up spending more money than you thought you would. (But it will be fun!)

 

[OBX-TXN]

Pretty well all of my 'cost saving measures' have ended up costing more than what they replaced. I would hate to figure what venison costs per pound when all is said and done ...

 

[cynthialee]

Pretty well all of my 'cost saving measures' have ended up costing more than what they replaced. I would hate to figure what venison costs per pound when all is said and done ...

Shhhh!

If our better halves find out our gooses are all cooked.
Keep it under your hat.

{I try and offset these costs by hustling gun parts on occasion.}

 

[nhmoose]

Not to Cynthia but to OP

With a 20 grain difference I would be on the phone to Hornady.

20 grains????? No kidding the diameters are different.

 

[coloradoclyde]

My error. That should have read 223.5 to 225.5 or plus or minus 1 grain for the tolerable balls ...

Soooo....How does that translate on the target?

Do you really expect them to all be exactly the same? :shocked2:

 

[Wes/Tex]

No one person or company is ever perfect. One problem is that a fair number of .36 caliber revolvers require .380" balls rather than .375" as usually recommended. If .375 actually roll out, a ball larger than ..380" may even be required.

 

[cynthialee]

My .36 requires a .380 round ball

 

[necchi]

My error. That should have read 223.5 to 225.5 or plus or minus 1 grain for the tolerable balls ...

Soooo....How does that translate on the target?

Do you really expect them to all be exactly the same? :shocked2:

I tighten it up a bit more,
My "acceptable" ball are +/- .5 of one grain,, all within a one grain of weight tolerance. It's easy to achieve after learning to cast your own
And Yes,
When translated to target,, they are the same, or I expect them to be the same, more so then those "out of tolerance". And I have proven to myself that those ball out of tolerance are indeed much more prone to being off target then those not within range.

At issue is eliminating variables. The more mechanical variables that are eliminated from the entire shooting regime,, the more each individual can work on the human part of shooting. The mechanics of the gun are all statistical variables that can be fixed,, just like any tool it should be in it's best possible condition before use.

I've only been casting 4-5 yrs,, maybe more,, but I came to it for the same reason as this topic,, finding Hornandy ball way out of tolerance.
I went to Speer and at least found them to be round,, then my trust in Speer fell apart as I saw the weights spread.
Trust me, having similar weight, consistent ball improves on target accuracy in a significant manner.
Some people consider cutting X's on a target and hunting accuracy to be different,, I accept that.
But it's not like that for me,
I Hunt,
I shoot target's,
I want to know when I hunt that I will hit the exact spot to the best of my ability that I aim.
X's count beyond the paper target.
The gun is a mechanical tool that I use during and at the end of each "hunt".

 

[fleener]

Cost savings?

Do you golf? It is a hobby like ML, however you cant eat the golf balls.

Being able to shoot and eat a critter is just a side benefit.

Fleener

 

[Vaino]

Formerly did cast RBs but then tried swaged RBs and have used them ever since....both Hornady and Speer interchangeably.

When I buy a new box of swaged RBs, I mike a couple and then go squirrel hunting. The accuracy w/ both brands of RBs is sufficient to head hit 99% of the squirrels. Whether on the range for sighting in or hunting, haven't had a flyer due to a lousy swaged RB...me yes.

Shooting MLers should be kept simple and the accuracy is amazing w/ so little effort. Surprised me.....Fred

 

[Tinker2]

About a year ago I bought an Uberti 1861 Navy to go with my Uberti 1851 navy, both .36 cal. When I went to the range the first time with the 1861, the balls rolled out of the muzzle, or were very poorly fitting. I posted a thread here and was admonished by one poster to not malign Hornady. I was not wanting to do so, but the balls from that box were < .375 (actually were below .36, everyone of them), and therefore not safe to shoot in a gun requiring at least a .36 diameter. Everyone makes mistakes.....even Hornady. BTW, balls from another box were perfect. I was upset at first because I thought two different sized balls would be required for my .36 cal revolvers.

Hornady does sell two sizes of 36 cal round balls
one at .35 for .36 cal rifles and one at .375 for 36 cal pistols

My pistols need a .380


William

 

[OBX-TXN]

My error. That should have read 223.5 to 225.5 or plus or minus 1 grain for the tolerable balls ...

Soooo....How does that translate on the target?

Do you really expect them to all be exactly the same? :shocked2:

My point (which was somewhat lost in my posted error which stated 235.5-255.5 instead of the intended 223.5-225.5 ) was that in one box there were 2 (two) balls beneath my self declared limit of + or minus 1 grain and in another box there were 24 (twenty four) balls which were more than 1 grain low including one which was more than 7 grains low.

 

[cynthialee]

my .36 also takes the .380 roundball
The .375 won't shave lead and are loose.

 

[USMA65]

About a year ago I bought an Uberti 1861 Navy to go with my Uberti 1851 navy, both .36 cal. When I went to the range the first time with the 1861, the balls rolled out of the muzzle, or were very poorly fitting. I posted a thread here and was admonished by one poster to not malign Hornady. I was not wanting to do so, but the balls from that box were < .375 (actually were below .36, everyone of them), and therefore not safe to shoot in a gun requiring at least a .36 diameter. Everyone makes mistakes.....even Hornady. BTW, balls from another box were perfect. I was upset at first because I thought two different sized balls would be required for my .36 cal revolvers.

Hornady does sell two sizes of 36 cal round balls
one at .35 for .36 cal rifles and one at .375 for 36 cal pistols



My pistols need a .380


William

Thanks for that information. I will check that out, and hopefully that is what the problem was.

 

[Artificer]

When I began shooting muzzleloaders in 1971, there were no swaged balls available that I knew of, so one had to cast their own balls. Just part of what you had to do to shoot these guns.

No one in our county shot muzzleloaders back then and even my Grandpa (a WWI veteran) had never cast a ball. However, he had cast lead fishing weights and even good size lead rings that we used for anchors on duck/geese decoys. So with his help, I got my first balls cast.

After that, I could not afford a Lee Production or other Pot, so I cast a WHOLE LOT lead balls in an old Iron Skillet and even on an electric stove burner. Didn't know back then about the health hazards of casting indoors and inhaling the lead vapor fumes.

Cynthialee's advice about good protective clothing is a "must do." I got away with casting in just socks on my feet couple of times until I slipped and dropped the ladle into the melted lead. A little plume of lead came up and over beyond the pot, beyond the stove and on the way to the floor. With my luck, that meant it hit the sock on my foot. I did the infamous one legged "hot lead dance" as I was trying to tear off the sock to get it off my foot. After that, I learned to wear heavy work boots when casting.

Gus

 

[sidelock]

The meat is free. The cost is in the ticket to hunt (not to kill) wild game and the fun of shooting which is indeed expensive. I have paid the price for over seventy years and regret none of it.

 

[sidelock]

One of my best friends died a few years ago and his wife gave me about 10 boxes of round balls (and a pound or two of synthetic BP which I burned in my driveway). I checked some and found many out of round and not in the weight range of .5 gr. I expect. I gave them all away to men who did not cast. I'll shoot my own thank you.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Perhaps the best thing to do, would be to call this number....
1 (800) 338-3220

Hornady customer service...

 

[fleener]

I have been to Hornady in Grand Island NE a couple of times. They give a very good tour if you are ever in the area.

On each machine that is making bullets, they have a test target attached to each machine that is shot with that machines current bullet run.

They have their own 200 yard underground range, right there on the edge of town.

The dont shoot the round balls for each run however.

I assume that the different sizing dies are not exactly the same and that is where the difference is coming from.

Give them a call, they are a good company and if enough people call, something might get done. They might not know that they have this issue and/or that it matters to RB shooters.

I buy Hornady RB's and will most likely continue. Even though I have molds and 600 lbs of lead.

Fleener

 

[BigBoreBLR]

I weigh my hoready too. I get around 20 rejects. 40 that are real close, and 40 so-so's.

The 20 rejects I usually use for fast 25 yard hunting practice shots.