what is the best size mold for Uberti .44 round ball

[andy2175m4@verizon.net]

I just bought a mint condition Uberti .44 caliber 1860 colt, and the Lee round ball molds I see are .451 and .454, and I measured the cylinder at about .454, but that was not an ideal measurement, used a vernier caliper, and my eyes are not what they used to be...

in general what lead ball mold works best with a Uberti .44 colt ?

thanks

Andy

[prob]

I’ve used both .454 and .457 balls. Both work well, but I found that the .457 balls tend to be bit be a bit harder on the loading lever when forcing them into the chambers. Therefore, I’d recommend the .454.

[NapalmCheese]

I would think .460 would be the way to go.

My Pietta measures 0.369 at the front of the cylinder and 0.375 balls cut a really nice ring when seated, but aren't too hard to seat. My uberti measures 0.371 (IIRC) and 0.375 balls don't always cut a nice ring, so I tend to use .380 balls in that one, which are a pain to seat.

Original Colt's were not bored straight all the way through, and were almost conical, swaging the lead ball down into the cylinder instead of cutting a lead ring when loading. I imagine that would have been easier on the loading lever. I don't like loading the .380 balls on the gun, they're hard to load and I'm worried about bending something in the long term, so load them on a cylinder loader stand.

[Jeepergeo]

Buy a box of both and give them a try. You want a ball big enough to shave a ring of lead as the ball is pressed into the the cylinder but not so big it requires a lot of force. The shaving means you are getting a tight seal.

[2761377]

if you're going to use round ball, buy Hornady swaged .454.

if you want to cast, buy an Eras Gone .44 Johnston & Dow conical mold.

conicals are more correct, historically.

[rmnc3r]

I ream my cylinders with a worn/refreshed 29/64" (nominally, >.4531") hand reamer and use .457 Swaged Balls or .456 Bullets.

That way, I'm assured my Balls are over-sized and will be forced to grip the rifling.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1198/1/LEE-456-220-6C

I also clean up the forcing cone with a Brownell's 11* forcing cone reamer

[19K]

if you're going to use round ball, buy Hornady swaged .454.

if you want to cast, buy an Eras Gone .44 Johnston & Dow conical mold.

conicals are more correct, historically.

But then you need to worry about the bullets fitting under the ram when using a reproduction.

[2761377]

^^^ Pietta's yes, Uberti should be fine.

[RNE228]

What about for a Walker? Would round or conical be more period correct?

if you're going to use round ball, buy Hornady swaged .454.

if you want to cast, buy an Eras Gone .44 Johnston & Dow conical mold.

conicals are more correct, historically.

[2761377]

^^^

honestly, I did not have a good answer until just now.

apparently, original Walkers shipped with a conical mold; the bullet cast did not have a heel like the Johnston & Dow. Reproductions of the correct mold were made briefly.

all things considered, I would think a Walker used in the War for Southern Independence would have been used with standard conical paper cartridges.

[M1NM]

The manual says .454-.457 for balls and .454 for conical.
Ball uses 22-30 grains and conical 19-25 grains

I'm thinking of getting this to make loading faster: https://gunsoftheweststore.com/produ...kit-44-caliber

[NapalmCheese]

The original Walker colt was a very limited production run that ran out long before a group of traitors formed an official separatist movement to secede from the United States; with about 1,100 of the large guns made in 1847. I can't find any original colt Walker bullet molds, but early transitional Colt Dragoon bullet molds can drop both picket bullets and round ball. Period correct for a Texas Ranger Walker would be either.

While there were undoubtedly Walkers used in that failed, treacherous, secession movement that ended up being the Civil War; Colt Dragoons would have been more common as there were approximately 18,500 made between 1848 and 1860 (the year prior to the southern state's act of treason).

The bullet mold for the dragoon could produce a conical or a round ball (or both if you're swift with the ladle). It seems reasonable that a group of starving, battle worn, traitors, being hunted by the United States military and possessing a lackluster/broken supply line, might occasionally opt to simply load round ball in the absence of paper cartridges. Paper cartridges, when available, would have used conicals.

[moleculo]

I use a Lee .457 mould to cast round ball for all of my Uberti .44s and the Ruger Old Army. Works fine.

[RNE228]

The Dragoon fixed the dropping charge rod issue; that would be a + over the Walker.

The effort to load and casting would be reasonable to assume a round ball would be a preference.

The original Walker colt was a very limited production run that ran out long before a group of traitors formed an official separatist movement to secede from the United States; with about 1,100 of the large guns made in 1847. I can't find any original colt Walker bullet molds, but early transitional Colt Dragoon bullet molds can drop both picket bullets and round ball. Period correct for a Texas Ranger Walker would be either.

While there were undoubtedly Walkers used in that failed, treacherous, secession movement that ended up being the Civil War; Colt Dragoons would have been more common as there were approximately 18,500 made between 1848 and 1860 (the year prior to the southern state's act of treason).

The bullet mold for the dragoon could produce a conical or a round ball (or both if you're swift with the ladle). It seems reasonable that a group of starving, battle worn, traitors, being hunted by the United States military and possessing a lackluster/broken supply line, might occasionally opt to simply load round ball in the absence of paper cartridges. Paper cartridges, when available, would have used conicals.

[RNE228]

That's interesting. I have not had my replica Walker out in a long time, but I had used round ball.

A quick web search found this...

https://www.dixiegunworks.com/index/page/product/product_id/1341/category/341/category_chain/578,342,341/product_name/CA0907+.44+Walker+Bullet+Mould

^^^

honestly, I did not have a good answer until just now.

apparently, original Walkers shipped with a conical mold; the bullet cast did not have a heel like the Johnston & Dow. Reproductions of the correct mold were made briefly.

all things considered, I would think a Walker used in the War for Southern Independence would have been used with standard conical paper cartridges.