Ballistic Products shot

[MuskratMike]

I have now developed a load for my new .32 caliber. it seems to like .310 round balls best. Ballistic products Inc. sells their .310 lead balls in something like 8 lb. kegs for much less than buying balls. However their balls have 3% antimony in them. That seems like very little and I would think that little should not affect accuracy or loading. Has anyone used their product and if so your results. Shipped to my door it comes to something like 4 cents a ball, much better than 11 cents for Hornady. Really would like some input before I order them. As always thanks to my friends on ALR.

[Bob McBride]

I don’t have much experience with hard lead in small calibers and I wouldn’t want to shoot them in a bigger caliber but it seems something like .32 or smaller would still maintain a lot of relative malleability and ease of loading wouldn’t be affected as much as with a larger diameter. I’d give it a shot. I know some folks shoot them but I haven’t really heard from guys who load tight and shoot 3% balls. Ill be following this. Daryl?

[Fyrstyk]

I have used the Hornaday #1 buck shot in my .32 with good results.  It too has some antimony in the lead mix which makes the balls harder, but not too hard.  Never tried the Ballistics Products balls, and now I cast all of my own cause I have a good supply of lead sheeting.

[Clark Badgett]

Does Hornady put antimony in the mix for all their round balls?

[Bob McBride]

Does Hornady put antimony in the mix for all their round balls?

Just the ones that fall in the ‘Shot’ categories and are sold as shot I believe.

[577SXS]

Most buckshot is hardened. I don't think hardened shot would be a be issue, maybe a slightly thinner patch to ease loading. I'd still use the thickest patch that was easy to load. The hard ball isn't going to bump up to fill grooves. A soft ball probably doesn't either with the light charges in a small caliber. Try a box of Hornady since you don't have to buy as much. 

[Daryl]

The only stroe-bought buckshot I have tried, was Hornady 0 buck, which measured .320". They were VERY tight getting them into the bore due to the hardness, however, once in
the bore down they went.
I bought a DC Lee mould in .319", which cast .320" round, in each cavity. They loaded easily in the .320" bore, using .022" patches, almost identically to the .311's I normally used
in the barrel. I did not need a short starter with either the cast .320's nor the .311's and demonstrated this several times on the trail. The .320" red box buckshot needed a short
starter and  a good whack with the palm on the starter's knob.
It is a very fast casting session to cast up 100 .32's using Lee DC moulds.
I would think the #1 buck, at .310" would load quite easily, with a .022" patch.
This is the crown on that .32 bl. Note the wider lands than grooves, yet it still loaded easily due to the size of the balls.

[Robin Henderson]

I just ordered a bottle of them(.310) from Ballistic Products after I saw this post. Have been wanting some for a while but they have always been out of stock. BTW, thanks for the heads up because they were in stock today.

I use to shoot the Hornady "0" in a .32 flinter for years with exceptional results. Well, I sold the gun but I missed it so much that I built another. The new one has a much tighter bore and was extremely difficult to load with the "0". Pretty sure the 1 1/2 will do the job in the new gun.

[Bassdog1]

I have shot them in 3 different 32s with no issues at all. Have used Hornady, Speer and cast pure lead in these same guns and see no difference. For a guy who doesnt cast 32 they are the best priced option.