Pritchett Ball molds?

[Walt-MT]

Hallo the board!

I am working on a project. (Hint: something to do with Enfield rifles and paper cartridges) 8-)
Can any one tell me what choices there are for Pritchett Ball Molds?
Suggestions for availability?

Thanks
WA


note: same as post in Cast Bullets

[NickSS]

I do not know of any maker that makes the smooth sided hollow base mold as a regular commercially available mold. A custom mold maker may be willing to make one for you. The Pritchett bullet used in enfield ammo was .540 diameter and smooth sided with a small hollo base with a wood plug in it. It was wrapped in a paper cartridge with 73 gr of powder with the base forward. The end of the cartridge with the bullet in it was dipped in melted lube. To load the power end was opened and powder poured down the barrel then th base of the wrapped bullet was inserted in the muzzle and pushed down paper and all till level with the muzzle and the remaining paper torn off. The paper patched bullet was rammed home and the rifle capped and it was ready to fire. Perhaps you could use a 54 cal minnie ball in the same manner with an thicker paper.

[Buckshot]

http://www.fototime.com/5A94DEA526A1BFB/standard.jpg

................Raphine makes'm. Sorry for the poor quality photo. Old camera and old photo. On the right is an 'As Cast' 580gr Pritchett and to it's immediate left is one lying on it's side to show the base cavity. From my mould they drop at .580". I'd made a swage die and was altering them via swaging to form heavier skirts, a shorter base cavity and add a HP (3 specimens on the left). I shoot these from a Parker-Hale P58 Naval Pattern 2 band Enfield with a 48" twist. They do very well.

...............Buckshot

[Baron von Trollwhack]

They also used base plugs of clay. You can make base plugs by drilling the proper cavity in a poly chopping board, spraying with pam as a release and filling the cavity with bondo, squegeeing it off.

BvT