Author Topic: Sources for round balls (Read 15508 times)

tddeangelo · « **on:** January 12, 2015, 01:39:47 AM »

Our hunting season is just about over here in PA. I have 2 weeks to go, maybe will get out 3 or 4 times around work and family stuff in that time. After that, I want to spend time shooting my rifle more.

It's a 62-cal, shooting 0.600 balls. I live near Dixon's, so I can always go there and buy more, and I don't begrudge them a nickel, but at $8.95/25ct plus 6% tax, they sure aren't cheap. Granted, big bores fling a lot of lead and there's a cost associated with that, but if there's a cheaper way to do this, I'm all for it.

I did some quick google-fu and couldn't find them any cheaper anywhere else.

I plan to get situated with casting at some point, just because I want to, but in the mean time does anyone know or is willing to recommend any sources for round balls with a to-your-door price lower than about 37 cents a ball?

Thanks!

Virginiarifleman · « **Reply #1 on:** January 12, 2015, 02:45:23 AM »

Several out there, and .600 RB are not cheap. but try Track of the wolf, cainsoutdoors.com, Muzzleloading builders.com for a few.

wattlebuster · « **Reply #2 on:** January 12, 2015, 03:10:00 AM »

Give Ed May a call 706-581-8225

David R. Pennington · « **Reply #3 on:** January 14, 2015, 05:10:07 PM »

You certainly need to start casting. All you need is an iron pot and a gas camp stove and the correct size mold. I keep my .62 fed with a bag mold from Mr. Callahan.

HAWKEN · « **Reply #4 on:** January 15, 2015, 09:05:57 PM »

td, You certainly need to get into casting. I cast out of an RCBS bottom pour pot that I have used for 20+ years. All of my molds are Lee, primarily because they cost much less than other brands, and they work just fine. I figure that my .50 and .54 caliber balls cost me .10 to .15 cents each. The bullets for my center fire guns are about .5 cents each, cast out of used wheel weights..........Robin

Hungry Horse · « **Reply #5 on:** January 15, 2015, 11:58:36 PM »

Why would you put yourself through the hassle of finding a R.B. source, only to have it dry up. And, then go on another search, get some bad balls, pay a lot of freight, wonder how much lead is in the balls, and how much heaven knows what. Just get a good mold, a dipper, and a small casting pot, and stop the hunt. And have better ammunition to boot.

Hungry Horse

Standing Bear · « **Reply #6 on:** January 16, 2015, 02:05:32 AM »

Last time I bought lead it was $65 for 100 lbs of lead pipe or $0.65 per lb for lead at recycle center so about $0.017 to $0.022 per ball for just lead.

Last Goex I bought several split a case for $13.65/lb. so a little under 12 cents per shot for 60 gr load. I buy flints a doze or so at a time for $2 ea and average > 65 shots per so 3 cents there. About $0.17 per shot. The .40 is a little cheaper.
TC

tddeangelo · « **Reply #7 on:** January 16, 2015, 04:41:59 AM »

Well, part of my reasoning for a source for balls now is that I don't have a good, well-ventilated inside area to cast, and I don't want to run a lead pot in my basement work area. So, when it gets warmer out, i'll start. In the meantime, I still want to shoot!

Dan · « **Reply #8 on:** January 17, 2015, 05:01:41 PM »

TD, you have a terrific potential supply source right here. Maybe one of the fellas could tide you over until the weather warms? Postage ain't that painful and you probably don't have a need for a brazillion balls.

Anyone willing to cough up a few balls for cost?

I'd do it myself but do not have a .60 rb mould.

Standing Bear · « **Reply #9 on:** January 17, 2015, 05:54:53 PM »

Quote from: Dan on January 17, 2015, 05:01:41 PM

TD, you have a terrific potential supply source right here. Maybe one of the fellas could tide you over until the weather warms? Postage ain't that painful and you probably don't have a need for a brazillion balls.

Anyone willing to cough up a few balls for cost?

I'd do it myself but do not have a .60 rb mould.

X2

tddeangelo · « **Reply #10 on:** January 17, 2015, 07:39:37 PM »

Quote from: Dan on January 17, 2015, 05:01:41 PM

TD, you have a terrific potential supply source right here. Maybe one of the fellas could tide you over until the weather warms? Postage ain't that painful and you probably don't have a need for a brazillion balls.

Anyone willing to cough up a few balls for cost?

I'd do it myself but do not have a .60 rb mould.

Why, sure...if someone's willing to sell/send me 600's, I'm more than willing to pay them for their efforts.

Right now, I'm up to my eyeballs in trying to sort out just what the heck I really need/should get to start casting, but I know I've got about 30 balls in my shooting box and 10 in my hunting bag kept aside for the last week of the season (ends Jan 24). That'll last me 2 range sessions, or thereabouts.

Gotta get some more 2F, too, while I'm thinkin' about it.....gonna have to save up my Goex bottles, then buy in bulk to cut that cost. Love my 62, but it'll eat me out of house and home if I don't get smart about funding shooting supplies!

(Or maybe I "need" a 40-cal to shoot at the range?

)

moleeyes36 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 17, 2015, 09:50:31 PM »

Quote from: tddeangelo on January 17, 2015, 07:39:37 PM

Quote from: Dan on January 17, 2015, 05:01:41 PM
TD, you have a terrific potential supply source right here. Maybe one of the fellas could tide you over until the weather warms? Postage ain't that painful and you probably don't have a need for a brazillion balls.

Anyone willing to cough up a few balls for cost?

I'd do it myself but do not have a .60 rb mould.

Why, sure...if someone's willing to sell/send me 600's, I'm more than willing to pay them for their efforts.

Right now, I'm up to my eyeballs in trying to sort out just what the heck I really need/should get to start casting, but I know I've got about 30 balls in my shooting box and 10 in my hunting bag kept aside for the last week of the season (ends Jan 24). That'll last me 2 range sessions, or thereabouts.

Gotta get some more 2F, too, while I'm thinkin' about it.....gonna have to save up my Goex bottles, then buy in bulk to cut that cost. Love my 62, but it'll eat me out of house and home if I don't get smart about funding shooting supplies!

(Or maybe I "need" a 40-cal to shoot at the range? )

TD,

Track of the Wolf wants $8.99 for 25 hand cast .600 balls plus shipping and handling. That's like shooting gold nuggets. I happen to have a supply of .600 balls I cast a while back that I'm not needing for awhile. I sold my smooth bore in the spring and haven't gotten around to building another one yet. If you'll PM me with your mailing address I'll send you 60 or more (whatever I have in the jug) in a priority mail small box. You can stuff $6 bucks into a envelope and send it to me when you get them to cover the cost of the shipping. The cost of the balls is on the house. Sound like a plan to you?

Mole Eyes

tddeangelo · « **Reply #12 on:** January 17, 2015, 10:07:38 PM »

That's a heck of an offer! Thank you! I'll pm you shortly.

2longhunt · « **Reply #13 on:** March 02, 2015, 08:48:47 PM »

Would anyone have any .595 RB's they'd like to sell?

Daryl · « **Reply #14 on:** March 03, 2015, 06:58:45 PM »

Quote from: tddeangelo on January 12, 2015, 01:39:47 AM

Our hunting season is just about over here in PA. I have 2 weeks to go, maybe will get out 3 or 4 times around work and family stuff in that time. After that, I want to spend time shooting my rifle more.

It's a 62-cal, shooting 0.600 balls. I live near Dixon's, so I can always go there and buy more, and I don't begrudge them a nickel, but at $8.95/25ct plus 6% tax, they sure aren't cheap. Granted, big bores fling a lot of lead and there's a cost associated with that, but if there's a cheaper way to do this, I'm all for it.

I did some quick google-fu and couldn't find them any cheaper anywhere else.

I plan to get situated with casting at some point, just because I want to, but in the mean time does anyone know or is willing to recommend any sources for round balls with a to-your-door price lower than about 37 cents a ball?

Thanks!

A .62 calibre smoothbore will use .590" or .595" balls, pure lead or hardened- the smaller ball size is necessary to allow enough patch to carry lube to keep the fouling soft, so you can shoot, not spend the day wiping the !@*% thing. There is not rifling to fill, so the ball needs to be smaller than for a rifle.

A .62 calibre rifle uses a .610" to 615" ball with appropriate patch- .020 to .025" as the grooves give a place for the patch to go. A .62 cal rifle, with .012" rifling, actually has a groove diameter of .644"- you HAVE to fill that with patch or the gun will have blowby, which will burn the patch and destroy accuracy. A .62 with a Rice rounded rifling barrel has .016" rifling depth thus a groove diameter of .652". That requires an even thicker patch to get a seal.

It all boils down to you - it depends on what you want from the gun, a gun that hits what it's aimed at, or merely a gun that goes boom, hits bugger all and then says wipe my bore, I'm dirty.

tddeangelo · « **Reply #15 on:** March 03, 2015, 08:47:13 PM »

I'm finding 610's are probably where I need to go, although 600's with 024 patching is working relatively well. It gives hunting level accuracy, and using Hoppes at the range doesn't require any cleaning till I go home for the day.

I have some 610's and will experiment with them some more. I've tried them with 018 patching and predictably it didn't like that much. Next I want to shoot it with the 610's and the 024 patching I have. I have more hope for that combo.

I'm a handloader with my cartridge rifles, so I somewhat enjoy the experimentation phase.

Leatherbark · « **Reply #16 on:** March 04, 2015, 04:25:17 AM »

If you could get by with a .595 inch ball Track of the Wolf sells 50 of them for $12.10 vs. $8.99 for 25 .600 inch balls.

Bob

tddeangelo · « **Reply #17 on:** March 04, 2015, 04:37:28 AM »

Well, at this point, I have a lead furnace and nearly 300lbs of soft lead, so once I settle on a ball size, I'll buy a mold and make them myself.

The furnace/pot I got from a friend at no cost, and the lead cost me $100 for 270lbs of what appears to be clean, soft lead in 43-45lb bars that I'll have to smelt into ingots and then can use to cast balls.

That supply will make me over 5000 balls, which should keep me supplied for a little while.

tddeangelo · « **Reply #18 on:** April 18, 2015, 06:13:31 PM »

The Lead Fairy smiled on me again.....stumbled across several hundred pounds (haven't weighed it all yet) of pure lead for a very low cost and grabbed it all up. I got a lead pot a bit ago...just have to shoot some more to decide the ball size, and then buy up a mold and get to making 'em!

jamesthomas · « **Reply #19 on:** April 20, 2015, 02:56:06 AM »

Quote from: Standing Bear on January 16, 2015, 02:05:32 AM

Last time I bought lead it was $65 for 100 lbs of lead pipe or $0.65 per lb for lead at recycle center so about $0.017 to $0.022 per ball for just lead.

Last Goex I bought several split a case for $13.65/lb. so a little under 12 cents per shot for 60 gr load. I buy flints a doze or so at a time for $2 ea and average > 65 shots per so 3 cents there. About $0.17 per shot. The .40 is a little cheaper.
TC

You are lucky, my recycle center has dried up for lead, but I was able to get around 200 Lbs. before he did. I still drop by to check but the last 3 times he didn't have any. Those lead roof flashings are the best to melt down and easy to cut up for the pot.

tddeangelo · « **Reply #20 on:** April 20, 2015, 03:01:40 AM »

This last haul I got is lead lining from sheetrock that was used in an x-ray room. It was removed during a renovation and wound up being available from a guy who got some from that project in hopes of casting bullets, but he never got to do it. He contacted me through a "lead wanted" ad I had on craigslist and offered me the pile of it for 50 bucks. I weighed it piece by piece on my bathroom scale to get a rough idea of weight. It came to 381 lbs.

I also got 6 bars that were machine shop ballasts (mentioned before). They weight between 43 and 45lbs each, so I have 250-270lbs in those, and they sure seem to be dead soft as well. I'm going to keep them separate when I make ingots, and I bought a letter punch set so I can label the ingots.

So, roughly, I have aroun 650lbs of pure or near pure lead for a total of $150 out of pocket, or around 24 cents a pound on average. I think I did well.

That will also keep me in round balls for a good while, once I have it in ingots and a mold in hand to make the round balls. There is some real work to be done between here and there.

jamesthomas · « **Reply #21 on:** April 20, 2015, 07:40:59 AM »

That ought to last you for a while!

. So far with my scrap dealer out of lead, I go to my local tire shop and get all those lead stick-on weights they are using now on some cars an trucks. I can usually get at least 5 to 10 pounds and some times more between 2 shops. I really need to hit up a Big Ten tire shop an see if they will let me go through their buckets.

tddeangelo · « **Reply #22 on:** April 20, 2015, 12:43:15 PM »

I also have about 80lbs of ingots I made from a bucket of wheel weights a buddy gave me (he runs an auto shop). I haven't done the stick-on's yet, but out of that bucket, I might have 15lbs of them, and not all are lead. The Clip On weights made into ingots will be for my centerfire rifles/handguns. The pure stuff is saved for the flintlock.

jamesthomas · « **Reply #23 on:** May 13, 2015, 01:34:10 AM »

Quote from: tddeangelo on April 18, 2015, 06:13:31 PM

The Lead Fairy smiled on me again.....stumbled across several hundred pounds (haven't weighed it all yet) of pure lead for a very low cost and grabbed it all up. I got a lead pot a bit ago...just have to shoot some more to decide the ball size, and then buy up a mold and get to making 'em!

So, how is the lead casting coming along? 395 lbs. ought to last you a long time.

tddeangelo · « **Reply #24 on:** May 13, 2015, 02:08:31 AM »

I haven't cast any round balls yet. I've been making my lead stash into ingots first, and with 380lbs of sheet lead from the x-Ray room lead and 270lbs from the ballast bars, I have a ways to go! I finally gave up on my grill side burner recently and got a fish fryer, which is much better. I got three Lyman ingot molds as well to speed things up.

I also have to shoot my rifle with some 0.610 balls to see how they do compared to the 0.600 balls I've been using. Once I know, I will then buy a mold accordingly. Then I'll be casting away!

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Author Topic: Sources for round balls (Read 15508 times)

HAWKEN

2longhunt

jamesthomas

jamesthomas

jamesthomas