25 caliber balls

[billd]

I thought I remembered a discussion here a while back about balls for a .25. The discussion was about different kinds of #4 buckshot, one being harder and the other being more consistant in diameter. Can anyone refresh me on this. My .25 is almost done and I need balls. Any recomendations?

I did a search for this but couldn't find it, or my memory is worse than I thought.

Thanks,
Bill

[steg49]

Check in the back of a Dixie Gun Works catalog, page 637 it give the sizes of each shot.  #4 buck is .24 Diam.  steg49

[Daryl]

Hornady makes (or merely sells in their red box) all buckshot sizes.  Now, all I've seen are hardened, ie: 3 to 5 % antimony. Track says they have pure lead Hornady buckshot - that would be nice. I'd give them a call or e-mail to make sure.  I'd ask them if they had hardened buckshot from Hornady and if it says so on the box - if they say yes, "do you have pure lead buckshot and does it say so on the box"?  Just an idea.

I have some #2 buck, which is .32 - pretty close and looking good, however they are harder than pure lead.  Due to the small size, they'll probably be just fine in the .32 rifle - I'm sure. Same with the .240's even if they are hard, normal buckshot. They are .010" to .015" smaller than the bore already and becasue they are small, they'll swage into the rifling just fine. Merely ensure you have a descent'ly smooth, radiused crown.

[billd]

Daryl, 
Thanks for the info but Track's website only lists 000 buckshot. I placed an order with them yesterday for other things and was going to add #4 buck to it but it's not listed any more.

Anyone know anything about slingshot pellets?  Just thinking out loud...............

Bill

[Daryl]

The only packaged slingshot 'projectiles' I've seen were steel ball bearings.  I'd just order up some #4 buck from a sporting goods supplier near you and use them. Better yet, CALL Hornady or write them - they respond to e-mail - even brought out a new bullet for my gopher gun after I whined at them for a year or more, then mailed me 6 months after my last letter to them, asking me how I wanted the first 50,000 bullets shipped! The mal titles - "Daryl, your dream bullet is now a reality, thanks. "   So - they will respond.  I'd contact 'em.

[northmn]

While I do not know th emake of your barrel, my Rayl will permit a #3 buck to fall down the bore (I am told they were made to permit a 1/4 inch ramrod)  If a ball will fall down the bore you can load it.  I got 5 lbs through TOW as Daryl mentioned.  Hardened ones are available through Grafs or Midway.  I almost went that route as a 25 is a small game gun and pure lead can do a lot of damage.  Proper nomenclature suggests that the Rayl 25 is a 26.  Levy uses #4 and has had good success with it.  In a hardened version a 24 cal ball or #4 misght load easier and work.  While someone will pop up and talk about using them farther a 25 is mostly a close range rifle.  I do not expect to use mine much over 30 yards.

DP

[billd]

My barrel is a Rayle.   Has anyone miced the Hornady buckshot to find actual size and a ball to ball comparison?

Bill

[northmn]

Just for kicks I tried about 20 of them.  Most were .248 with a few at .250 and .249.  #3 Buck.  Never really tried swaged ball to see how they vary.

DP

[ironsights1]

My box of Hornady #4 buckshot lists the diameter as .240 and it mikes anywhere from .239-.243. I use it in my Ed Rayl .25 caliber barrel in a Southern style flintlock made by Sitting Fox. At 25 yards with 25 gr. of Swiss 3F, .015 patching, and Lehigh Valley Lube, it will shoot a ragged hole off a sandbag. While I've taken a few squirrels with it this season, I need to figure out how to tote that sandbag through the woods with me to improve my shooting percentage! (Actually, I went to my optometrist today to get glasses that will allow better clarity of both the end sight and target. We got several strange looks and a few comments from passerbys as we stood in his downtown parking lot as I sighted down the barrel of my flintlock while trying various refractions. The new glasses will be here in about a week.) Even at .25 caliber, any centered head shot will leave little of that body part in tack, so keep that in mind when shooting any small game.

[northmn]

A 25 RB weighs about 24 grains.  A #4 about 22-23 grains.  relatively speaking a 25 grain charge of powder is pretty heavy. Yet those users I have read report that load as about the most accurate.  I do wish they would make a faster twist barrel for small bores to see if they could be tamed a little.  The 25 is great for most anything we would use a 22 for but would be kind of limited for bigger stuff.  It would take out a coyote, but a larger bore would be more effective. 

DP