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Thread: Tri-Ball Buckshot Scores!

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    Tri-Ball Buckshot Scores!

    The short and sweet of my first deer taken with buckshot:

    11/06/17 0706 hours Whitetail Doe walks out at 28 yards, two pellets entered shoulders, one pellet entered lungs, all pellets exited, Doe was DRT PDQ.

    For the Gearheads:

    Shotgun: Remington 870 Express Magnum 12 Gauge, 28 inch barrel, with Magpul Buttstock and Remington Factory Trap Trigger/Sear Spring (This alone dropped the trigger pull from 7 pounds to 5 pounds, really helps with precision placement of tight patterning buckshot and turkey loads) and Carlson's SS Sporting Clays .690 Extra Full Choke.

    Ammunition: Handloaded copy of 3 Inch Dixie Slugs Tri-Ball Buckshot using James Gates' data posted on this forum. Three .600 hard cast lead balls cast from a Double Cavity Lee Mold using an alloy of WDWW with 2% Tin added. Balls weigh an average of 318 grains each. The above shotgun/choke gives one hole patterns at 17 yards, 1.5-4 inch patterns at 40 yards, 6-8 inch patterns at 55 yards, and 10-12 inch patterns at 75 yards. This stuff is the B-52 Stratofortress of Buckshot...Speed, Range, and Payload.

    I started casting just to make the hard cast round balls for this load. 99% of my shotgun shooting is with buckshot and slugs and none of the buckshot on the market even comes close to Tri-Ball Buckshot.

    Just my .02,
    LeonCarr
    Last edited by LeonCarr; 11-10-2017 at 02:44 AM.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master

    Hogtamer's Avatar
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    Don't imagine there's anything in this country that load won't put down. Congratulations on your home rolled success!
    "My main ambition in life is to be on the devil's most wanted list."
    Leonard Ravenhill

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Well done and very informative post. If it is the load I am thinking about, it kills at both ends.

    You do know you only have to kill a deer once? LOL Any one of those balls would have done the job.
    Don Verna


  4. #4
    Boolit Master

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    Congratulation on your harvest. Always makes one a little more proud when you do it with one you loaded yourself. And thanks for the details on the load and performance, including the details on the shotgun and choke. Helps others know what works and what doesn't.

  5. #5
    Boolit Mold
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    Thank you all for the great feedback.

    Yes Mr. dverna they are pretty stout. I usually pattern them by standing up and resting the shotgun on a tripod type shooting rest instead of sitting and shooting from the bench. Going from Remington 3 Inch Magnum 000 Buckshot to Tri-Ball Buckshot was like going from a Roman Chariot Race to the Indianapolis 500.

    Just my thanksagainforallthegreatcomments .02,
    LeonCarr

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by LeonCarr View Post
    Thank you all for the great feedback.

    Yes Mr. dverna they are pretty stout. I usually pattern them by standing up and resting the shotgun on a tripod type shooting rest instead of sitting and shooting from the bench. Going from Remington 3 Inch Magnum 000 Buckshot to Tri-Ball Buckshot was like going from a Roman Chariot Race to the Indianapolis 500.

    Just my thanksagainforallthegreatcomments .02,
    LeonCarr
    Outstanding report! Yes, a standing rest is the way to test heavy 12 bore loads.
    And that is a fantastic analogy!

  7. #7
    Boolit Master Blood Trail's Avatar
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    That's outstanding, brother! I see we both live in the DFW area. I haven't had much success with the Triball load recently. My balls keep blowing through the basewad. I starting to wonder if it's because my shotgun is over-bored?

    Anyway, I'll give it another go once hunting season is over. I'm almost tagged out and aint even picked up a firearm yet. Waiting for the ducks to come down next.

  8. #8
    Boolit Mold
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    Mr. Blood Trail,

    There is a good chance the overbored barrel could be causing that.

    A buddy has a 3.5 Inch Winchester SXP that we tested Tri-Ball loads in. It has a .740 overbored barrel and the Invector Plus Choke System. The balls weren't blowing through the basewad, but the skirt around the base of the basewad was heavily damaged, like it was expanding to fill the extra .010 of space but there was not enough material in the wad skirt and it would start to rip. I could imagine that shooting them in something like a Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag with its .775 overbore would make the wad damage even more pronounced.

    The next step in my testing will be using different materials inside the orange wad to determine if the extra cushioning from something like styrene cut from meat trays or cork might be beneficial for both better patterns and keeping the wad intact. I have done some limited testing comparing the OS20 card wad inside the orange wad vs. OS20 styrene cut from meat trays. The styrene OS20 kept the wad virtually 100% intact, but patterns were larger than the cardboard OS20. The load used to take the Doe used the cardboard OS20, and the wad was intact but showed incipient signs of the bottom ball almost blowing through, but no cracks or openings.

    Just my .02,
    LeonCarr
    Last edited by LeonCarr; 11-10-2017 at 10:55 PM.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master Blood Trail's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LeonCarr View Post
    Mr. Blood Trail,

    There is a good chance the overbored barrel could be causing that.

    A buddy has a 3.5 Inch Winchester SXP that we tested Tri-Ball loads in. It has a .740 overbored barrel and the Invector Plus Choke System. The balls weren't blowing through the basewad, but the skirt around the base of the basewad was heavily damaged, like it was expanding to fill the extra .010 of space but there was not enough material in the wad skirt and it would start to rip. I could imagine that shooting them in something like a Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag with its .775 overbore would make the wad damage even more pronounced.

    The next step in my testing will be using different materials inside the orange wad to determine if the extra cushioning from something like styrene cut from meat trays or cork might be beneficial for both better patterns and keeping the wad intact. I have done some limited testing comparing the OS20 card wad inside the orange wad vs. OS20 styrene cut from meat trays. The styrene OS20 kept the wad virtually 100% intact, but patterns were larger than the cardboard OS20. The load used to take the Doe used the cardboard OS20, and the wad was intact but showed incipient signs of the bottom ball almost blowing through, but no cracks or openings.

    Just my .02,
    LeonCarr
    Where about do you live? I’ve in Lake Worth.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blood Trail View Post
    Where about do you live? I’ve in Lake Worth.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    North Fort Worth 114/35

    Just my .02,
    LeonCarr

  11. #11
    Boolit Master Blood Trail's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LeonCarr View Post
    North Fort Worth 114/35

    Just my .02,
    LeonCarr
    Ok. You’re up there by Grapevine Lake and the speed way. I️ used to fish back in Denton Creek when the sand bass run. I️ would Park in Briarwood.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    Any loads available for 2 3/4" shells?

  13. #13
    Banned
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    Greetings LeonCarr, I really enjoyed reading your post, would love to see the load setup in a pictures like this:https://imgur.com/hssTVbG

    Please keep up the good work and I can't wait to see more, brother ! !

    Best regards,
    Ajay Madan

  14. #14
    Boolit Buddy
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    Awesome!
    Swaging. Keeping the 40's running for the price of .22's
    and .223 bullets for a fraction of a cent!

  15. #15
    Boolit Bub
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    Looks like a winner. Not a buckshot legal
    State here unfortunately but may pattern them just for the out of state hog hunts we keep talking about.

  16. #16
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    Congrats on the load and the kill .. meat in the freezer is a good thing
    [SIZE=4][B]Selling Hi Quality Powdercoating Powder

    I carry a Nuke50 because cleaning up the mess is Silly !!

    http://www.bing.com/search?q=nuke50&...7ADE&FORM=QBLH

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  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy
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    For the love of you shoulder, these calculate out at 73 ft/lb recoil.
    Swaging. Keeping the 40's running for the price of .22's
    and .223 bullets for a fraction of a cent!

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I'll echo both, the congrats on a good load and the query about a 2 3/4" comparable load. I'd like a "tamer" tri-ball load to try.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by anotherred View Post
    For the love of you shoulder, these calculate out at 73 ft/lb recoil.
    See below:

    https://www.beartoothbullets.com/res...50&cw=28&w=7.5

    Recoil Calculator

    Enter Bullet Weight in Grains:
    945
    Enter Bullet Velocity in fps:
    1050
    Enter Powder Weight in Grains:
    28
    Enter Gun Weight in Pounds:
    7.5

    Recoil Energy of 46 foot pounds, and Recoil Velocity of 20 fps.
    Last edited by RMc; 02-18-2018 at 12:21 AM.

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
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    I want say I calculated around 7# gun, 1250 fps, 29 gr powder and what ever weight the ones I cast came in at. Now I haven't cronoed yet, just going off the data I found. I hope mine figures are wrong, as my shoulder would appreciate your calculations alot better.
    Swaging. Keeping the 40's running for the price of .22's
    and .223 bullets for a fraction of a cent!

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check