As Cast size dropped using a LEE .690 Roundball mold

[rhouser]

I am looking for information on the as cast diameter of the round balls from the Lee .690 round ball mold. I know the box says .690, but, sometimes that's not what a mold delivers.

I have moved off my 20 gauge, because I have it pretty well sorted out. I am moving on to my new used 10 gauge bps.

I had some old ballistic product round balls that measure .692 and was playing with the BPI VP100 wads. Place 3 each - 1/8" 16 gauge cards and a 12 gauge felt wad with a hole punched into the middle into the wad and drop the .692 roundball on top of the felt wad with the center hole. Lo and behold, it all fit perfectly. It LOOKS like a really nicely packed round ball load.

The ball comes in at 1 1/8 oz so I have no problem with load data. I love the fact that my new used BPS came with removable chokes, so "push through" testing is very easy.

Full was too tight. Mod was about all I could do using my finger, a little tight. The IMP CYL is just perfect. It is about a one pound push. Snug, but, smooth.

I am going to try this in both a 3.5" hull application and a 2 7/8" cut shell version. Whichever proves easiest and most accurate is what I will choose. I will also try both a roll and a fold crimp. I intend to keep these in the low end charge ranges for the 2 7/8 hull. If all goes well, I can always up the powder.

If anybody has a lee .690 RB mold they are willing to part with at a fair price, please PM me. They are not expensive, but, sometimes people buy molds they really don't use. I am a master of that.

Anybody used this or another "in wad" roundball load for the 10 gauge?

thanks in advance. rch

[Hogtamer]

6pt Sika and Bikerbeans are thr go-to 10 ga guys. Do a search of their posts in that order and you ought to find your answer.

[rhouser]

Hogtamer, thanks I did.

They seem to be concentrating on using the full bore diameter ball and driving them at top speed.

I will be working for a more sedate (lower recoil) round ball load. I have already decided to use the 2 7/8" short shell format. By using the BPI wad cup, I lose diameter and weight on the ball. I also gain some stack advantage.

Before I give the impression of it being a total wimp load, this is still a 1 1/8 oz. round ball and I am looking for the 1000 - 1100 fps velocity ranges and 25 -30 yard accuracy. Should be possible.

I did note all the loading data that BB and 6pt Sika were using etc. They did some fine work.

BB, 6pt Sika, and You (Hogtamer) have been trail blazers in this slug shooter forum.

Thanks to all who make this forum great. rch

[bikerbeans]

rhouser,

I have cast and loaded several hundred of the lee .69" rb, but all have been for 12ga. I don't have any laying to measure but 0.685" is what I remember using 80% range lead and 20% type metal. The 69 rb is a killer, a friend of mine dusted a pig last month with one of my handloads using this slug.

Send me a PM if you want to try some hollowbase 10ga slugs. I have shot my 10ga slugs from an 1890 lc smith sxs using a light charge of unique. Makes for a big grin.

BB

[rhouser]

BB, PM sent.

The question about the lee .690 round ball can because I found a bunch (50 +) of commercial cast .692" (micrometer) round balls in one of my boxes. These are very old and I acquired them in a box purchase I made one time to get a bunch of Alcan wads, new Active Hulls, and Activ wads for a 12 gauge project. I found that if I drop a 3 - 1/8" 16 gauge nitro cards and then a 12ga felt doughnut on top, I have a really nice round ball package that passes push though in the I/C and a little tightly through my MOD choke tube. Only had to build a stack to roll crimp a few of these into a 3.5" hull. I have since cut my hulls to the 2 7/8" especially to take advantage of the low pressure loads for the lc smith / parker guys. I joined a Parker Collector forum just for access to their load library.

I would love to try a few of your hollow base slugs. I wanted a 10 sxs but so far, all are beyond my reach. They are on the someday list. I have a BPS now (2007 safe queen) that I bought at a LGS at a very fair price. I believe this will be a fun ride, but, I intend to do it without personnel injury.

Please share any load data as well. I believe that this 10 gauge BPS can be a highly flexible platform. I intend to take it to a skeet or trap range this weekend with a box of commercial 3.5" steel loads and see if I can "kill a goose". I have a roll crimper, a steelmaster, and a hundred new hulls.

Wish me luck. rch

I was thinking I might get away with the Lee Mold because it is cheap. If it had cast "large", I would have jumped on it. I need to do better than .685 to get my nice Wad fit. I tried the SP-10 as well, but, the petals are too thin. Now that I have a target diameter for this wad, I want to see if I can hit it. I am trying to get some RSI 10 gauge wads as well because the shot cup looks smaller than the VP100.

[Hogtamer]

Totally hijacking, but if you have any of those activ hulls you don't plan to use I've got a good home for them. Also Goodsteel (banned) had a thread avout 10 ga RBs but don't recall the specifics.