weight of .62 cal cast balls?

[adkmountainken]

finally had a chance to run some run ball today in my new Lee aluminum ball mold. was pleased how well it worked BUT the balls I cast were all 20-25 grains lighter then the balls I had been using. every one I cast weighed between 310 and 312 grains. the ones I had been using weighed between 327 and 330 grains of which I have 9 left.  that should be well more then enough for deer season as I do not have any time to hit the range and see how the new cast balls will do. I realize there are MANY factors on the difference such as ball mold, type of lead ect..., so what do your .62 balls weigh??

[smylee grouch]

What sized round ball is the mold casting. I had a Lee .600 that threw a .595, another Lee .600 double cav. that threw a .600  A .595 should throw a 317 gr. ball, a .600 should throw a 324 gr. ball. I use a .610 in my 62 and that throws a 340 gr. ball. I also have a Jeff Tanner .605 that throws a 333 gr. ball.

[Dobyns]

Balls from my Lee mould drop .605" and 326gr.

[mountainman70]

You may have to run a bunch  before mold and lead temp settle in. Make 50 and reweigh,see what you get. Using only pure lead,no wheel weights,etc. I have had weights all over the scale til it got going good. I hate to make 50 rounds,and dump em all back in pot, sometimes ya have to.
Good shooting,welcome to the forum.
What kinda cannon are you shooting? Dave F

I dont cast my own much anymore,but have all I need to do it. I prefer to buy the swaged balls when I can ,and will til     

[smylee grouch]

Mountain man 70 makes a good point as there can be as much as a 10 grain variance in a ball of that size if you have wrinkles,voids, and the various purity of lead in your cast material. For me, I get more consistent weights if I cast hot so that is what I prefer to do. I get less wrinkles and voids when I do it that way.

[taco650]

Mountain man 70 makes a good point as there can be as much as a 10 grain variance in a ball of that size if you have wrinkles,voids, and the various purity of lead in your cast material. For me, I get more consistent weights if I cast hot so that is what I prefer to do. I get less wrinkles and voids when I do it that way.

This is true of any bullet casting in general from my experience.  Also, some of my Lee molds drop light, some drop heavy compared to what's on the label.

[Dobyns]

finally had a chance to run some run ball today in my new Lee aluminum ball mold. was pleased how well it worked BUT the balls I cast were all 20-25 grains lighter then the balls I had been using. every one I cast weighed between 310 and 312 grains. the ones I had been using weighed between 327 and 330 grains of which I have 9 left.  that should be well more then enough for deer season as I do not have any time to hit the range and see how the new cast balls will do. I realize there are MANY factors on the difference such as ball mold, type of lead ect..., so what do your .62 balls weigh??

With only 2gr variation and "20-25gr light" leads me to think your "lead" has a considerable amount of tin and or antimony in it.  I KNOW that the cable sheathing that I've been casting with isn't pure because of what I skim from the surface AND the readings I get on my hardness tester.  9bhn is harder than I would like, but it works OK and does expand, but is more difficult to load.  Harder alloy can be shot from smoothbores.

[wattlebuster]

It other metal in your lead that is causing your weight difference. The more pure your lead the closer to the advertised weight for your mold. Save your questionable lead for your smoothbore an your purest for your rifles

[hanshi]

I cast from a Lee DC mold.  The ball measures a consistent .600"; and the weight - I've only weighed them once or twice in the past - is somewhere between 325 and 330 grains; I call it 330.  WW ball casts about .606" and weighs closer to 315 grains and makes good bare ball loads.  Your lead is an alloy and should still shoot okay.

[adkmountainken]

had some time to hit the rang, first shot with the 330 grain ball hit right on the mark. next shot I used one I cast a 312 grain ball, cut the same mark! guess I didn't have to work after all.

[Daryl]

What range? 50yards, not likely - 100yards no chance. 25 yards, anything is possible, even to shoot a one hole, 1" group of 5 with a 20 bore smoothbore. I'd like to witness that at 50yards. Not likely to happen more than once, if that, in a man's life-time.

[smylee grouch]

It might be worth your efforts to shoot some 10 shot groups with each of those balls and see if your one shot success's hold up. Almost all of my rifles shoot off just a bit on the first shot from a clean barrel.

[adkmountainken]

just shy of 20 yards, only there to dirty the barrel before deer season. took 2 shots and soe guy at the range that never saw a flintlock asked if he could shoot, of course I told him, he did well, hit the paper with his first shot ever from a flintlock and a smoothbore to boot. where I hunt it is THICK most all my shots are 30 yards and under, mostly under.

[hanshi]

where I hunt it is THICK most all my shots are 30 yards and under, mostly under.

That's the reason I like my smoothbore where I hunt, in Va.

[smylee grouch]

If you call it good at 20 yds. then it's good for 20 yds. but if you sight it in for 120 yds. then its good for every thing from 20 to 120. JMHO

[adkmountainken]

it takes a $#*! of a lot better man then me to sight in a 62. smoothbore at 120 yards!!!! $#*! my rifled guns I only sight in for 50, I have no need or want to shoot 100 yards way to many variables to insure a clean kill.

[smylee grouch]

Ok adkmountainken, I missed the smoothbore in your post but I still think something longer that 20 yds. would work better for you just in case. Some thing like 50 yds may be. Other smooth bore shooters might have some better advice.

[Daryl]

just shy of 20 yards, only there to dirty the barrel before deer season. took 2 shots and soe guy at the range that never saw a flintlock asked if he could shoot, of course I told him, he did well, hit the paper with his first shot ever from a flintlock and a smoothbore to boot. where I hunt it is THICK most all my shots are 30 yards and under, mostly under.

You foul your bore BEFORE the deer season, then it is left loaded in the fouled bore ALL season?

To find where your gun shoots with a clean bore and hunt all season with a clean, but loaded gun would be a much better scenario.

If it is a cheap production gun like a TC, CVA or Lyman, maybe it doesn't matter much.  I would still be concerned about the interior condition of my barrel.

[Daryl]

I cast from a Lee DC mold.  The ball measures a consistent .600"; and the weight - I've only weighed them once or twice in the past - is somewhere between 325 and 330 grains; I call it 330.  WW ball casts about .606" and weighs closer to 315 grains and makes good bare ball loads.  Your lead is an alloy and should still shoot okay.

good note hanshi : .606" WW ball weighing 315gr.

my chart shows pure lead .626" weighs 368.4gr.
my chart shows pure lead .615" weighs 350.0gr.
my chart shows pure lead .606" weighs 333.3gr.
my chart shows pure lead .596" weighs 318.2gr.

I should also note, that round balls of the same diameter, but from different moulds,

will weigh slightly differently when cast of the same alloy. This is due to truthiness of spherical shape as well as the sprue's shape itself.

[hanshi]

I sight in at 50 yards with the .62 smoothbore.  The bore I have is rather tight; I've been told it was .610".  Trying to patch a .606" WW ball is tough but the .600" lead ball works fine as long as the patch isn't too thick.  I do have a Tanner .590" mold that WILL take a thick patch even when cast from WW.

[Fiftyfour]

I have just gotten into patched round ball rifle shooting. If the patch is what engages with the rifling, does hardness matter?
Is hardness being measured mainly to check the consistency of the lead to strive for a uniform unit weight?

[bob in the woods]

My .62 rifle will happily take a patched .610 ball  .    I make up paper cartridges for the same rifle using .600 balls cast from a Rapine mould.  These cartridges shoot as does the patched .610 balls.  When hunting, I only carry the cartridges.
My 20 bore won't take a .610 with my normal patch material, but the .600 balls in the paper cartridges work well, so I've standardized on those. A few cartridges, a shot container + wadding in my bag , powder horn and I'm set to go.

[Maven]

All, I find the Bear Tooth bullet weight calculator to be very useful and precise:  http://www.beartoothbullets.com/rescources/calculators/php/roundball.htm?v1=.495&v2=2876.1

[wattlebuster]

Got up early yesterday morn an molded enough 600 ball to do me quite a while. After I was done I weighed a few from different spots in the pile of balls an most was within one grain of each other. 320/321 grain an thats close enough for my intended purposes. Im a hunter an not a line target shooter. If I shot matches I of course would be more particular about it but I dont think 1 grain makes much of a difference on a deer standing at 35 yards or at least it aint in the last 35/37 yrs

[Hungry Horse]

Throw your scale away, and shoot more. Everybody wants to shoot like a champion, but nobody wants to practice like a champion. I have quite a collection of antique round ball molds, and virtually none of the throw a ball that is even round. Range time is the answer nobody wants to hear, because it too much work.

  Hungry Horse