Another .32 question

[billd]

A while back I posted a question about my .32 Paris barrel not shooting very well. I got many helpful replies. I had .311 balls and went up to .315 balls. This improved things tremendously.  It seems that .315 molds aren't made anymore, at least I can't find one.  The next closest size is .319.  The .315 balls are fairly hard to load, but managable.  My question is how much harder do you think .319 balls would be to load? I know I could use a thinner patch but would rather not go that route.

Thanks,
Bill

[Gene Carrell]

0.315 and 0.320 round balls both shoot and load about the same, with  the same patch and lube in my Curtis Martin barrel. I am using 0.018  washed pillow ticking.

[Daryl]

Bill- check the crown on your barrel. Starting the tight fitting ball is the hardest part. Once started, those little balls all go down about the same in a smooth bore.  Put a nice radius on the crown. I use the end of my thumb and some fine emery cloth.  320 will work well, keep rotating it in the muzzle and rotate the barrel 90 degrees every not and then. You can use Rapid-tap or just WD40 for a lube. As the emery breaks down, it'll cut less as it wears and really smooth out the crown so finer grits aren't really needed.  Wrapping the emery around a tapered object like a much tapered grinding stone for an electric drill also works.  The final finish using your thumb rounds any sharp corners and makes a gentle transition from taper to the tops of the lands and grooves. This is where the swaging comes in.  About any side ball should load relatively easy with a nice crown.  Here's the crown on my .40 barrel for an example of what I was talking about.
 

[Roger Fisher]

Yes, wot ol Daryl said and please take a short hold on that rammin rod (if you are using wood

[don getz]

You said you have a 32 cal. Paris barrel, which means it is the same as a Colerain barrel.   It has only six grooves, so the lands are probably wider than the grooves, this should make it load rather hard with a .315 ball.  I would prefer a ball
that measures .310 or smaller, with thicker patches.....I think this would load easier and shoot better.....Don

[billd]

Yes Don,   It is 6 groove square but it looks like the grooves are slightly wider than the lands, or at least equal in size.

With .311 balls and .018 pillow ticking it loaded too easy. One push and it was seated.  And it shot 3" groups. With .315 balls and the same ticking I shot about 1" on a day so windy it was moving the barrel around and actually blowing the powder out of the pan while I was trying to fill it. 

Different lubes, loads and patches didn't seem to have any effect. When I went up in ball size the groups came right down.  I just can't find a .315 ball mold and Hornady balls are $9.00 a hundred.  .319 molds are easy to get but I don't know if the balls will fit.

Thanks again,
Bill

[awol]

BillD,  there is or was a Jeff in England who advertized bullet moulds in Muzzle Blasts and maybe Muzzleloader.  NEI and LBT made round ball moulds, maybe they still do.   Rapine ?  Keep an eye out at gun shows too.

[Daryl]

Jeff Tanner is the mould maker in England.  Magmaengineering.com makes a .312".  If a single thickness of aluminum foil is glued to the blocks with high temp silicone(red) the blocks will cast a few thou larger and still make nice balls without seams.  Jeff Tanner in England makes single cavity moulds that don't have sprue cutters.  I have two large Tanner moulds and the balls are very nice.  I'm not sure I'd use one on a small ball, though- maybe OK. They are 1/3 the cost of other heavy block moulds. Lee will cut a mould in any caliber you want, but probably will cost over $100.00.  There's three options for you.

[albert]

Hi,Bill send me your mailing address,and I will send you  25 or so balls to try out,I shoot .319  in my Bill Large bbl.

[Michigan Flinter]

I use "O" ( ought ) buckshot in the three .32's I have  do the cone like Daryle suggests  .You can buy a bag or big box of them for a fraction of the cost  you would pay for them in the section of swagged balls at a sports shop. The I bought a five pound box of them a couple of years ago for $11.95 at Jay's near Clare Mi. and they are Hornaday manufacture.  Eric D. Lau Riverdale Mi.

[billd]

Albert,  You have a PM.

Thanks,
Bill

[albert]

Bill, If the Post Office doesn't lose them, you have some  .319 balls coming your way.

[billd]

Thanks Albert,   I'll let you know when they arrive. Do I owe you anything?

Bill

[BPB]

Hornady buckshot will run you aound $20.00 to $25.00 a box now days.
 Still cheaper than 5 boxes of Hornady RB~
 
 bpb

[Daryl]

Stores up here dropped Hornady's as they're getting rare. They started stocking Speer swaged- #20.95 per 100.

 Back to casting.

[rsells]

Bill,
I have an old .32 Colerain barrel that I just put in a rifle.  It is like the barrel Don was talking about.  It loads and shoots well with .310 diameter balls.  I did run into an issue with one brand of purchased balls when I started working up the load.  Some would load and some would not.  When I checked them, they were running from .306 to .320 inch.  No wonder!  I changed to another brand that sells .310 with good results.
                                                                           Roger Sells