swaged balls "out of round"?

[Mike from OK]

You guys downplaying the variance in in swaged balls need to hush!!!

All these years I just figured that I was a lousy shot... Now I find out I could be blaming my poor marksmanship on the variance in the roundness and weight of my round ball... And you guys are saying that isn't it either!

Oh well, I still have "lock time" and "inconsistent loading" to hide my shortcomings.

Broad sides of barns everywhere can still rest easy.

 

Mike

[okawbow]

Most shooters are not going to notice the difference between a ball that is perfect and a ball that is out of round and off weight at 50 yards or so. I shoot over the log matches at 60 yards. The groups I get with swaged round balls average only slightly larger than the best groups I get with perfect cast balls. However; at the end of the match, for the top few shooters, 1/10th of an inch can be the difference, so anything a shooter can do to be more consistent will be worth it.

[Daryl]

Exactly. I need every advantage I can get.

[Tim May]

Or once the powder charge is ignited behind the ball it is no longer round . Just my 2 cents worth .

[WadePatton]

Most shooters are not going to notice the difference between a ball that is perfect and a ball that is out of round and off weight at 50 yards or so. I shoot over the log matches at 60 yards. The groups I get with swaged round balls average only slightly larger than the best groups I get with perfect cast balls. However; at the end of the match, for the top few shooters, 1/10th of an inch can be the difference, so anything a shooter can do to be more consistent will be worth it.

Exactly, horses for courses. 

[Scota4570]

Sometimes I tumble balls in steel shot with graphite.  They come out black and have no indication of the sprue location.   I doubt it matters on how they shoot. 

IF you want balls of a particular diameter you could run them through a size die.  That could be a tapered hole in plate that was nicely polished.  The balls would then be slightly elongated.   The diameter would be consistent.  I used to do this to Benjamin 22 caliber balls for use in a 22 ML. 

[Daryl]

Easiest way to get consistency in round balls, is to cast them.

[Smokey Plainsman]

Easiest way to get consistency in round balls, is to cast them.

Indeed!

The old timers would use a scissors mold and cast them over a campfire.

Not a darn thing wrong with doing that today, either. You DO NOT need a multi hundred dollar sophisticated casting setup. Make friends with local roofers and you might find yourself with free soft pure lead roof flashing. Go somewhere where you can relax and legally harvest firewood and have at it under the stars, away from people and the virus!

[Clark Badgett]

Easiest way to get consistency in round balls, is to cast them.

Indeed!

The old timers would use a scissors mold and cast them over a campfire.

Not a darn thing wrong with doing that today, either. You DO NOT need a multi hundred dollar sophisticated casting setup. Make friends with local roofers and you might find yourself with free soft pure lead roof flashing. Go somewhere where you can relax and legally harvest firewood and have at it under the stars, away from people and the virus!

I don't think I would call most era molds, scissor molds. And most of them weren't truly round either. I would also suggest you do you casting under an overhead of some kind unless you enjoy sudden lead tinsel.

[Daryl]

This is a sweater I was wearing while casting at the basement door. A moth - brown one, dropped into the 20 pound electric pot and the pot emptied itself, immediately.
 I was wearing eye glasses and a hat. Good thing. I only had a few small burns on my face.  The basement door, a steel one, still has flecks of lead stuck to it, from the
ground to the top.

[OldMtnMan]

Easiest way to get consistency in round balls, is to cast them.

Indeed!

The old timers would use a scissors mold and cast them over a campfire.

Not a darn thing wrong with doing that today, either. You DO NOT need a multi hundred dollar sophisticated casting setup. Make friends with local roofers and you might find yourself with free soft pure lead roof flashing. Go somewhere where you can relax and legally harvest firewood and have at it under the stars, away from people and the virus!

Did the old timers use roofers?


Settle down. Just some old man humor.