Time to order round balls again.

[Stickburner]

My supply of roundballs is running low and I want to add some balls to try with my next project to my order.

I'm building a Chambers Smooth Rifle in 54 caliber and don't have any experience working up loads for smooth bores. 

What size balls, patch thickness, and powder charges do ya'll recommend as a starting point?  I have a good selection of different thicknesses of good cotton materials to try and will be using Stumpy's Moose Snot for lube.

[rich pierce]

Search in this forum using the words smoothbore and load.

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?action=search2

[Daryl]

Seems to me, LB uses a .515" RB with .022" denim patch in his 28 bore. It shoots amazingly accurate. Most of those little guys (the gun) seem to.

[bob in the woods]

Go to Track of the Wolf's site, and you'll find a list of different sizes of round balls.  You can order a few of the various sizes to try, before you invest in a large order. 

[B.Habermehl]

I have used .530 & .535 diameter balls whith my several 28 gauge smooth bores. Along with a couple different patch thickness. These are common rifle ball sizes used fo .54 caliber rifles. I shoot well against the rifles on our woods walk. Less so on paper. BJH

[Hungry Horse]

I believe a 28 gauge is actually 55 cal. Instead of .54. Cal. Which will make a small difference in the ball selection, if your one of those that can’t stop using patched balls in a smoothbore.

  Hungry Horse

[John Ciccone]

Have you considered roughing your balls?  Smooth bore shooters at N-SSA and the USMLIT both rough their balls for greater accuracy. There are several ways to rough them including the use of ferrier files, or, rolling them between a hard rubber sheet and a piece of 60 grit sand paper on a hard rubber sanding block. I use the latter method for roughing my balls for smooth bore pistol. The theory is that the rough texture mimics the dimples of a golf ball, and aids in the ball flying true. You should note that roughing the surface of the balls increases their diameter slightly. So, you should test the balls with different size patches.

I have not done a side to side comparison of roughed and smooth balls, but use this more on faith at this poiint. What does definitely contribute to greater accuracy in a smooth bore pistol is an increase in velocity. It has come to the point that many British shooters will use as much as 35 to 40 grains of 4F Swiss in .45 caliber pistol. They claim superior results. I am now using 25 grains of 4F in a Pedersoli Tatham & Egg repro with good results. 
Best regards, John C.
 

[Hungry Horse]

 Most everybody I know that shoots dimpled balls, do so in a smoothbore without patching, or wadding. The bare dimpled ball is from directly onto the powder charge, and covered with a card or some hornets nest. Bumping up the charge creates a cone of gas that centers the ball in the bore.

  Hungry Horse

[Daryl]

Really?

[Lee44shootercnb]

I believe a 28 gauge is actually 55 cal. Instead of .54. Cal. Which will make a small difference in the ball selection, if your one of those that can’t stop using patched balls in a smoothbore.

  Hungry Horse

Check it out at
http://www.cherrytreefamily.com/gaugetocaliber.htm

[Hungry Horse]

I would buy a mold instead of more precast balls. It is quickly becoming very politically incorrect to have anything to do with lead. So, I would suspect the sources are going to start drying up pretty fast. A local recycler told me lead turned in to him, is separated from other recyclables and taken out of circulation. Luckily there is still a lot of lead around that hasn’t been taken out of circulation.

  Hungry Horse

[bob in the woods]

I mentioned trying various sizes to see which worked best for your gun, [ or measure the bore if you are able to do so accurately]  because  I have found a good deal of variance in smoothbores .   One of my "20's " loves .610 balls, and another requires .600
I think .54 or 28 bores seem to vary the most.

[Stickburner]

Thanks for everyone's input.

Except for working up loads and roughing in sights all my shooting is done from the pouch and with the hickory rammer in that firearm's pipes.  I don't believe our ancestors used short starters or metal range rods in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  I try to shoot and hunt in a way that is as close to the way they did it as I can.  I don't enjoy shooting line matches anymore, I now prefer primitive matches and woodswalks that simulate shots that may have to be taken in hunting situations.  I don't hunt over bait or from stands.  I believe in fair chase hunting so I stalk my deer and squirrels and use whatever natural cover is available when I decide to sit a spell.

I am becoming intrigued with the idea of shooting bare balls in my smoothbores and if I can get three inch groups at fifty yards from the bench I will be well satisfied.  I look forward to learning more and exploring this concept that is new to me.


I do cast balls but I use commercially made balls for determining what size ball a firearm prefers.  Then I get a mold for that size ball.

[Daryl]

I believe a 28 gauge is actually 55 cal. Instead of .54. Cal. Which will make a small difference in the ball selection, if your one of those that can’t stop using patched balls in a smoothbore.

  Hungry Horse

Check it out at
http://www.cherrytreefamily.com/gaugetocaliber.htm

Interesting, showing .56 cal (.559") for 28 bore.  The chart I have says 28 bore is .550", at 250gr. for a pure lead ball.

As with many gauges, there is some disagreement on actual measurements, with many 4-bore guns having 1" to 1.1" bores although 1.052" is 4 bore according to Los Angeles Silhouette Club chart.

The Schalk chart shows 5 bore as being 1.15" - that is way out (5=.977"& 1,400gr.RB), just as 20 bore is .215", not .628".  Indeed, this chart shows 12 as being .748, which is actually .002" smaller than 11 bore's actual size of .751". We all (at least I thought we did) know 10 bore is .774", not  .790" according to the Schalk chart.

That chart is incorrect in my opinion.