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View Full Version : How do you size Lee buckshot balls or Musket balls?


stilly
08-19-2015, 11:13 PM
You can not can you?

I was going to get the lead out adn cast again in a few days and I was going to invite someone over because they wanted to check out their musket or buckshot mold but when I was going over what would be needed, I have no sizer for a 00 buckshot mold. BUT I also have no idea how you would properly size one anyways...

So just cast them and then PC them and hope they are sized yeah?


I was thinking of making a dual buckshot .38 (or .357) load to test out at the range as well... Maybe replace my home defense loads with those.

Fordtrucks
08-19-2015, 11:24 PM
Generally buck shot or muzzle loader boolits are cast in soft lead, so no sizing is needed cause they will conform to the bore diameter. The velocity is less than 1000 fps mostly anyways so nothing is really needed.

Not sure how the powder coat will affect the fact that u have to force it down the musket but if u size them in ur .358 Lee die just make sure u place them in the shell properly....ie the sized edges next to the case walls.

That's just my general observations, I could be wrong.

mark501w
08-20-2015, 7:41 AM
They patch them.

J-cat
08-20-2015, 8:20 AM
You can roll them around between two steel plates while applying downward pressure... I dunno, just thunk it.

Divernhunter
08-20-2015, 8:36 AM
No sizing and use pure lead for BP

maxx03
08-20-2015, 8:45 AM
As others have stated. No sizing is required for buckshot or shotgun slugs.

CSACANNONEER
08-20-2015, 8:46 AM
You can roll them around between two steel plates while applying downward pressure... I dunno, just thunk it.

Most people just trim the spure, patch them and shoot them. But, I believe that some of the larger manufacturers, like Hornady, uses a method similar to what you're suggesting.

stilly
08-20-2015, 9:06 AM
Yeah I was just thinking that it would be cool to make some for the 357 or 38 loads that I had seen in an older guns and ammo pdf somewhere.

J-cat
08-20-2015, 10:23 AM
Most people just trim the spure, patch them and shoot them. But, I believe that some of the larger manufacturers, like Hornady, uses a method similar to what you're suggesting.

U mean I spontaneously thunk of what a professional outfit already does? I'm gonna give me a pat on the back!

Divernhunter
08-20-2015, 12:46 PM
j-Cat you deserve one.

Stilly---What has happened to you? You went from I know everything and have THE only correct answer/method to anything. I am the top expert. To asking simple questions that you can answer by just reading a beginner book. You are starting to scare me and cause me to loose faith in you. Is it possible you are really human. :)

stilly
08-20-2015, 1:02 PM
j-Cat you deserve one.

Stilly---What has happened to you? You went from I know everything and have THE only correct answer/method to anything. I am the top expert. To asking simple questions that you can answer by just reading a beginner book. You are starting to scare me and cause me to loose faith in you. Is it possible you are really human. :)

I was only asking for a confirmation.

I KNEW ALL OF THE ABOVE, I was just seeing if I was alone on this plain...


Reminds me of the story of when three of us were at lunch one day talking about Mission Impossible (the movie) where Tom Cruise grabs a glock out of the sand and fires it. I said that was BS since sand and all in the barrel would have caused issues and if not made a ring in the barrel, it would have jacked it up for sure. I said this because of the hunters safety course I had back in the day when it was explained to me that even a cobweb in the barrel can put a ring in it or cause it to blow up... (I think someone is full of **** though...) So then it was brought up about firing a gun underwater. I thought, Hmm, never done that and I dunno, water is an obstruction, but you see the navy seal pics and all hmm, I dunno, so I started asking around at PD and Talked to Sgt. Leggit and asked if he knew if a gun would fire underwater. He avoided the question and asked why I wanted to know. I told him about the discussion and then he got called out and had to leave. So later that week when I was dropping off my 180s at the PD front office one of the ladies there said "Hey Stilly, did you fire your gun underwater yet? " and started laughing as did a few others. I told her I would let her know when I did. I had to put up with the teasing for about 5+ months...

SO, fast forward a year later when I was diving off the Commiefornia Coast I was on the Second Stage Chartered dive boat and I had my Taurus PT-99 in my pocket of my BC. I hit the water and this was the BEST spot all day and the LAST spot that we were going to hit so I decided to do it. I dropped down and I was NOT thrilled about shooting 90' under water, but that was the floor and the Olympic was the stop so I went over (since it was a ship) and explored a bit and then got on the Starboard side (I think, the right side) and got on my knees, adjusted my hand held flashlight and held my video camera and pulled out the 9mm and aimed straight ahead and pull the trigger firing a single 9mm round down the length of the deck/ side of the boat (or about 15-20' in my estimation) while aiming and looking through the camera.

I had expected the water to eat up the noise and muzzle gas and all. But I was clearly not thinking. That ****er was so loud it made my ears ring and all the fish instantly dissappeared from around me. There were bubbles everywhere and when the water cleared and things settled down, my gun was jammed (stupid aftermarket mags) and the camera was still rolling... Apparently it was very loud for OTHER divers too. So loud that they all checked eachother thinking someone had blown a gasket or valve in their rebreather or cylinder and my "buddy" came over to see that I was okay and I showed him and he shook his head... Later on when we surfaced, The dive master was waiting and he knew what I had planned and he said, "Hey we heard that." and then the other people that were on the boat said, "Yeah, we ALL heard that!" My ears were still ringing so all I could say was, "WHAT?" That was only about 8 years ago.

So you see, I have done some crazy things and picked and chosen my adventures but there are always those little things that I have not done that I still need to discover.

I just discovered that a SP primer and a LP primer do NOT sound the same. For what it is worth, the cat under the truck thinks I was shooting at him. I DO believe the SP was louder...

Divernhunter
08-20-2015, 1:13 PM
OK .....I feel better now.

J-cat
08-20-2015, 2:58 PM
Couldn't you find a 5 gallon bucket?

CSACANNONEER
08-20-2015, 6:31 PM
I have a .36 roundball mold that could be used to cast RBs and then run them through a .358 sizing die to load .38 specials with. I wonder how they would shoot? Damn it Stilly, now I've got another thing to get around to doing someday.

BTW, as you well know, a firearm can fire underwater if there is no air pocket in the barrel. If there is air in the barrel, it will blow the barrel just like those shotgun barrels that many hunter safety instructors tend to have laying around. I still remember my hunter's safety course in 1977 and the barrel that some dumb hunter had to replace after sticking the muzzle in a few inches of water to blast a crawdad.

Capt.Dunsel
08-20-2015, 7:06 PM
The round balls I cast and shoot out of my BP rifles get sized when I cram them into the barrel . I know they are properly sized for the bore then .

As to sizing cast round balls for 38 spl they are good for gallery loads .Have been doing it for more years than I can remember . Great for novice shooters to get used to trigger control before moving up to heavier loads .

TKM
08-20-2015, 7:14 PM
And then there are the weirdos who stack .50 balls in a 500 S&W case.

stilly
08-20-2015, 11:22 PM
I have a .36 roundball mold that could be used to cast RBs and then run them through a .358 sizing die to load .38 specials with. I wonder how they would shoot? Damn it Stilly, now I've got another thing to get around to doing someday.

BTW, as you well know, a firearm can fire underwater if there is no air pocket in the barrel. If there is air in the barrel, it will blow the barrel just like those shotgun barrels that many hunter safety instructors tend to have laying around. I still remember my hunter's safety course in 1977 and the barrel that some dumb hunter had to replace after sticking the muzzle in a few inches of water to blast a crawdad.

Well I aint gonna fill my barrel with air under water. That is the entire purpose of being underwater...

But maybe I will if I attach a compensator on the end, so the air can escape when the bullet is fired...


:stuart:

sghart
08-21-2015, 7:55 AM
If you are concerned with the size of round balls that you cast yourself, you can mic' them and compare them with your bore dimensions. Any "slop" or variance in diameter can be made up with varying thicknesses of patch material.

I cast mine from a Lee mold that has two cavities. One is a round ball and the other is a "REAL" bullet. Through trial and error I have found that I have to use a slightly thicker patch with my Lee round ball to get the same accuracy as I get with the store bought Hornady round balls.

The Lee REAL bullet gets lube in the grooves and a fiber wad under it.

Shooting round balls is a blast and something I have been doing for a long time. A .36 caliber ball in a 357 case over 2 or 3 grains of any pistol powder is fun and cheap.

A 32 caliber ball loaded into a 30-30 or 30-06 case over 4 or 5 grains of the same powder is also fun.

Not very practical at long range but it is something different to try.

stilly
08-21-2015, 10:15 AM
I too want to shoot my balls at people. I mean paper. I mean on paper, Err, at screens, but not on the TV screen.

Dammit!

I wanna start making balls too!

Lead Waster
08-21-2015, 11:21 AM
How on earth can you size a solid sphere of lead?

sghart
08-21-2015, 12:30 PM
How on earth can you size a solid sphere of lead?

You don't.

If the ball is oversized for your bore it will seat and seal on the way down.

If it is undersized you use a thicker patch, similar to paper-patching a conventional lead bullet.

Hope this helps.

Fordtrucks
08-21-2015, 12:35 PM
U make "not" a sphere. Lol


Still there are some vids on YouTube about loading a double stack round ball load in 44mag by FC-LC. I'm sure there are others also.

stilly
08-21-2015, 12:53 PM
U make "not" a sphere. Lol


Still there are some vids on YouTube about loading a double stack round ball load in 44mag by FC-LC. I'm sure there are others also.

SWEET! Now THAT sounds cool- to Deagle Double Ball someone.

I will look into collecting some ball and double ball recipes.


Ahh ****. Not THAT guy... Dammit. I was hoping it would be from someone that 1. did NOT refer to me as a you-tuber and 2. not tell me their silly name at the beginning of each video and also 3. not sound like a loon who likes to hear themselves talk.

I do not care if he knows a lot, his delivery needs improvement.

I will FORCE myself to watch this video...