went to a .380 ball

[inlikeflint]

All I can say is wow. I had been shooting the .375 balls I can get locally and the gun was not accurate. Now it is. I used 15 grains of 3f and filled cyl with corn meal, seated the .380 and it fills cyl just under the top. I had guessed at the amount to raise the front sight, and glued a thin brass tube over the bead. Measured after wards and it came out to .267 from the top of the barrel. When the weather permits I am going to put a dovetail sight on it. The gun is a brass cva 1851 I bought used a couple years ago. I also noticed it is a lot louder than it used to be. My ears are still ringing so next time I will have some protection. john

 

[FishDFly]

.380 balls are more accurate.

 

[FishDFly]

Guess need to clarify, a round ball is a round ball, one is not more accurate than another.
Most folks shoot .375 balls in .36 pistols as that is what folks can find.

If you want to shoot .380, then you need to get a mold and start gathering up lead and start casting. .380 gives move shaving on seating.

.380 seems to be more accurate than .375, at least my pistols agree.

 

[Zonie]

(Just a note to any newbies here.)

Cap and Ball pistols shoot balls that are larger than the bore size.
Muzzleloading single shot pistols, like single shot rifles shoot a patched ball that is smaller than the bore size.

 

[wulf]

I reamed all my 36's out to 380 because the ryfling is so shallow the ball needs a wider belt.
No problem getting a mold and casting my own.
However, it does put a lot of back pressure on
the nipple and may semi cock the hammer. Bigger
ball in the entry funnel....your mileage may very
Wulf

 

[FishDFly]

However, it does put a lot of back pressure on
the nipple and may semi cock the hammer. Bigger
ball in the entry funnel....your mileage may very

What is back pressure on the nipple?

"Semi-cock the hammer, no experience with that.

Please elaborate.

What is the entry funnel?

Terms I have never heard of.

 

[Zonie]

Many call it the "forcing cone".

As for increasing the ball diameter, a .375 diameter ball weighs about 79.1 grains.
A .380 diameter ball weighs about 82.3 grains.

I think it unlikely that a 3.2 grain increase in weight is going to have much effect on the chamber pressures blowing back thru the nipple and half cocking or blowing back a hammer unless the nipples were worn out or had been drilled out by someone.

 

[cynthialee]

When I went to home-cast .380 for my .36 it made a world of difference over the .375's

Finding .380 roundballs was proving to be a hassle so I bought a Lee mold for it and have been very pleased that I did so. I figured it was worth the $20.00 bucks (I think that is what I paid for the mold) to take a chance on things. Worked out well.

 

[inlikeflint]

I got my .380 balls at track of w. Not real cheap and I don't shoot enough to get a mold. Never can tell though, tonight it was like I had a different pistol in my hands. Will have to get out in the shop and make a dovetail front sight soon, I am starting to like this gun.

 

[AZbpBurner]

When you seat a roundball in the chamber, a small ring of lead is shaved off. This creates a flat spot 'round the circumference of the ball, called the Engagement Band. As the ball passes through the forcing cone, the engagement band becomes wider, creating more surface area for the rifling to engage.

The larger the ball, the wider the Engagement Band.

How do you know the ball is too big? When it takes excess force to seat the ball in the chamber and the loading lever breaks.

 

[FishDFly]

Agree.

 

[FishDFly]

"The larger the ball, the wider the Engagement Band.

How do you know the ball is too big? When it takes excess force to seat the ball in the chamber and the loading lever breaks."

Thanks, learned a new term.

I only load revolver cylinders with the loading stand from Powder Inc.

Much easier on the hand and does not stress the loading lever on revolvers'. In Limited Time Fire matches the stand is much quicker to load a cylinder.

 

[swathdiver]

Your CVA was likely made by Armi Sam Marco and they historically used .380 round balls as their chambers were nearing the mid .370s.

 

[Tinker2]

When I went to home-cast .380 for my .36 it made a world of difference

Me too.

William Alexander

 

[Grenadier1758]

I have two Uberti revolvers. The cylinder chambers all measure 0.375" in diameter. To get the shaving of lead, I need a 0.380 ball.

The point here is to measure the chamber in the cylinder and get the ball that will shave some lead off during the loading. Use pure lead so you don't break the loading lever.

 

[nhmoose]

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Super-Buck-Lead-0000-8-lb_jar-380/productinfo/SBK40/

Ballistic 0000 buck measure .380 cheaper than ML balls

 

[fistmil]

I have a Uberti 51 navy, London model. I purchased the gun in 1979 and the paper work that came with it, recommended using a .380 ball. I purchased a .380 Lyman mold soon after receiving the revolver and that has been the only size ball ever fired in it. It's very accurate.

 

[AZbpBurner]

"The larger the ball, the wider the Engagement Band.

How do you know the ball is too big? When it takes excess force to seat the ball in the chamber and the loading lever breaks."

Thanks, learned a new term.

I only load revolver cylinders with the loading stand from Powder Inc.

Much easier on the hand and does not stress the loading lever on revolvers'. In Limited Time Fire matches the stand is much quicker to load a cylinder.

That Powder Inc benchtop loader is awesome.

Initially I didn't want to pay their price, and got one of the Traditions models instead. It was the "improved" version that looked to be sturdier, and about 1/3 the price of the Powder Inc. Nevertheless, I bent the loading lever on the Traditions after only a couple of trips to the range. Got the Black Dawge loader, likely one of the last ones before they had the long dry spell of no more being built. Don't know if they have them for sale again, but they're invaluable for shooting multiple revolvers.

I later rebuilt the cheap-0 Traditions loader, using a hardened shank from an on-sale (49¢ with coupon) screwdriver from Harbor Freight & now it will never bend - nevertheless, I only use it for the .36 cal's.

 

[Pete44ru]

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Super-Buck-Lead-0000-8-lb_jar-380/productinfo/SBK40/

Ballistic 0000 buck measure .380 cheaper than ML balls

FWIW, those balls are not pure lead, like I usually shoot in my .36 C&B revolvers - they are an alloy, meant for shotgunning deer/etc.


.

 

[nhmoose]

Uh Alloy costs more, at the price I would try