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Thread: Tri-Ball Revisited!

  1. #41
    Moderator Emeritus / Trusted loob groove dealer

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    I wonder if coating the lower ball with talcum powder may let it release a bit easier?
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
    John Taylor - "African Rifles and Cartridges"

    Forget everything you know about loading jacketed bullets. This is a whole new ball game!


  2. #42
    Boolit Buddy Dixie Slugs's Avatar
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    Interesting indeed! Be sure the cuts in the wad sidewall are all the way down to the inside of the wad. The bottom ball should be tight, but not so that it will not release as the wad opens up......James
    Last edited by Dixie Slugs; 06-27-2011 at 10:30 AM.
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  3. #43
    Boolit Buddy Dixie Slugs's Avatar
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    To answer the post about powder on the bottom ball.....I would not do that. There is always the chance that the wad would be push forward over the balls...as what happens many times with sabot loads with a bullet inside.
    I would rather think the wads were not cut all the way down the side. We ran into that problem with one run of the orange wad, but they were suposed to have correctted (sp) that.
    Alsp check the diameter of the ball. Some that are cast a little over .600" will stick. Too tight! Better patterns if the balls are from .590" to .600". We have even seen good results reported from the field with casters using hard .575" balls. Our production molds drop .599" balls from our harder alloy. We have gotten no reports of the balls sticking except when the run of orange wads were not cut properly (sp)......James
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  4. #44
    Boolit Man
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    Hogs are not wimps

    If you go to the Dixie Slugs website you will see James talking about Hogs being dangerous game.
    A lot of people blow this off, thinking he is just trying to sell something.
    Let me tell you, He is not.
    My brother has a skull mount of the 450 pound hog that almost killed me. He didn't want to mount it since it did so much damage but I insisted.
    We were in the heart of the Green Swamp in north Polk county Florida. Its a long way from a road and we were after trophy class hogs. I thought it would be a great place since there was no hunting pressure.
    The palmettos are very very thick there, your longest shot will be measured in feet not yards.
    The plan was we would move about 100 yards apart and push the game together. BAD PLAN.
    I had a good size hog show its self and I hit it twice with a Browning Auto5 two shots at about 10 yards with 000buck loads. It went down with out problems. In the next second everything changed. A massive black hog came tearing out of the palmettos at my right. It moved in a fast arc my way. I fired 3 times hitting it twice in the right shoulder area, it never slowed down. The hog took out my right knee and cut my right let to the bone. I fell behind it, the hog turned and went after my head. I covered my face with my arms and rolled over exposing my back that he promply attacked.
    Now this felt like it went on for days although a think it was just about 10 to 15 seconds. My brother shot it off of me with his 30/06 with a miricle shot as far as I'm concerned since there was no way he could see us.
    My brother is quite the survivalist and when he wiped out the duct tape and Stay Free MaxiPads I knew what they were for, I was bleeding pretty bad.
    Fortunatly we had Cell phone reception and called for help. I was in the hospital about 3 hours later via chopper.

    Dont ever believe these Hogs are a joke, or you'll end up with 52 staples and an a hole in your shoulder blade. I honestly have no idea how many stitches I had, to many to count, I only counted the staples.

    Cheers, John

  5. #45
    Boolit Buddy Dixie Slugs's Avatar
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    First of All, Thank goodness you are alright! I know the area you hunt in as I was born and raised in Sumter County. Thank you for your kind words indded! I post recipes here as I know most reloaders do not buy finished ammo...and because I have many loyal friends here!
    Now. I have seen people sewed up with over a hundred stiches! The problem is that many hunters only see these small (less that 100 pound feral) hogs and then one day run into a real Tusker!The real Tusker may have as much as 2 inches of shoulder shield, plus a very small brain. They are much slower nerve animals indeed. They do not have as much blood system as deer!
    I have been told that to posters have killed big hogs, in a pen, with a 22 Short in the ear. So what? If a true wild is under your feet, it takes a lots of punch to put him down!
    I have been hunting true wild hogs in the Florida swamps since 1956 and can tell you that they are the finest big dangerous game anywhere. And....you better learn to shoot quick and accurate!
    Regards, James
    Dixie Slugs (dixieslugs.com)-Home of the Dixie Terminator

  6. #46
    Boolit Buddy
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    I am insanely jealous that there are no hogs where I live. There were at one time some Russian boars that escaped from Corbin Park Game Preserve in Croydon, NH (after a hurricane in the 1930's), but the last I've heard of anyone seeing one in the woods was 1994. Of course that doesn't mean they aren't there, but news about big game animals like that is very hard to keep secret. If anyone does know if they still exist and where where I can find them...please, I am all ears!


    Anyway, I just want to to chime in here and thank James for sharing his load data on the Tri-ball. I shot my first 10 rounds of Tri-ball ever last Monday. I loaded these rounds using your information (I've been following your posts and the evolution of this awesome load) and very hard cast .575"round balls. What fun! My results were awesome for close range: four shots at 25 yard averaged in the neighbor hood of three inches each (I'm writing this from memory), three rounds at 35 yards averaged about 8 inches each, and at 50 yards I would only get two balls on a 12"x 16" target board. Any idea where the third one went?

    Anyway...thanks again for the data. I am going to have fun with this load.
    Last edited by diehard; 07-09-2011 at 06:11 PM.

  7. #47
    Boolit Master nanuk's Avatar
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    up here, we are getting more and more areas "Contaminated" with wild boar

    seems the locals can't kill 'em fast enough

    my hunting buddy and I are planning a hunt one day.

    I hear they make GREAT sausage and chops

  8. #48
    Boolit Buddy
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    up here, we are getting more and more areas "Contaminated" with wild boar
    Yes, I can see how they could be considered "invasive species" (as some states classify them here). After all, I suppose they compete with deer and other game for the same food, not to mention crop damage etc, etc.

    I just would like something to hunt (besides coyotes) between March 31 (end of hare season) to Sept 15 (beginning of bow season for deer). I'd move down South, but I'd miss ice fishing too much.

  9. #49
    Boolit Buddy Dixie Slugs's Avatar
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    I have been hunting true wild hogs for a loooong time indeed! So...lets talk about wild hogs 101.
    First of all, a sow pig can breed at 6 months, and every six months there after. A little math can show how many hogs you have in a year from one mama sow. And consisder how much a hog eats in a day.....and you can see that where they take over an area, everything else has to move for food. In the Southin the Fall, it's acorns indeed. A medium size herd of hogs can clear out the supply quick!
    Now, if you see a place rooted up, it only shows where they have been! In areas where you can get away with it.....baiting works. A putty bucket full of whole grain corn that has water and yeast added, and set in the sun for a few days works extra good. A putty bucket of dry whole grain corn with a little diesel (sp) (about a cup) mixed well will work and not hurt a hog at all...but will keep the Coons away. Left over oil from a fish fry is excellent indeed! Dig a hole about a foot accross and a foot deep....pour in the oil. By the time you get back it will look like a bomb crater! OIf you are hunting from a stand, carry a tin of cheap sardines and scatter them around you stand. In fact I have kill a hog and field gutted it, only to find the herd came back and ate the guts! The will eat a dead human body also! In tidal areas the fiddler crads breed on the full moon...millions of them turn red and swarm at low tide. Hogs will coome from miles to eat them...but the hogs meat will be fishy for about a week. The best pork comes during the acorn fall. Wild hogs are not as fat a tame porkers though. The real hog hunter after meat will always shoot the smallest in the herd. To find out how much *** you have in you pants.....take on the leader Boar hog!
    So much for the nice stuff about that critter!.....Regards, James
    Last edited by Dixie Slugs; 07-24-2011 at 07:28 PM.
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  10. #50
    Boolit Master
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    When they probed the gunshot wound in the back of Abe Lincoln's head one doctor found his probe went in one direction while they other dr's probe went in another direction.

    John Wilkes Booth's diary says he "double loaded" his deringer. They always figured that meant he used a double charge of powder, but from the nature of the wound I'm pretty sure he loaded two balls.
    No way to know unless they opened Lincoln's head during autopsy, if they did one, and even then a extra bullet might get lost.

    The old half round smoothbored buck and ball guns some hunters prefered over the long rifle were often charged with two or more bore sized balls for close range Deer hunting.
    The impact of multiple hits within a few inches of each wound can be devastating to the nervous system , ensuring rapid takedown or at least a short chase.

  11. #51
    Boolit Buddy Dixie Slugs's Avatar
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    Seems like at one time I saw a half-ball the pull out of his head????.....James
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  12. #52
    Boolit Master nanuk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dixie Slugs View Post
    I have been hung true wild hogs for a loooong time indeed! So...lets talk about wild hogs 101.
    ......
    In areas where you can get away with it.....baiting works.

    A putty bucket full of whole grain corn that has water and yeast added, and set in the sun for a few days works extra good.

    A putty bucket of dry whole grain corn with a little diesel (sp) (about a cup) mixed well will work and not hurt a hog at all...but will keep the Coons away.

    Left over oil from a fish fry is excellent indeed! Dig a hole about a foot accross and a foot deep....pour in the oil. By the time you get back it will look like a bomb crater!

    OIf you are hunting from a stand, carry a tin of cheap sardines and scatter them around you stand.

    The best pork comes during the acorn fall. Wild hogs are not as fat a tame porkers though. The real hog hunter after meat will always shoot the smallest in the herd.

    To find out how much *** you have in you pants.....take on the leader Boar hog!

    James
    Good stuff here James. Thanks for that!

  13. #53
    Boolit Buddy Dixie Slugs's Avatar
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    Seems we drifted away from Dixie Tri-Ball data, but this general info is needed when dealing with Tuskers indeed. True wild hog hunting is new in many areas and some hints always help.
    The fact is.....there are more people cut up each years from wild hogs than Griz! You just don't hear much about it. The other problem is this 1st or 2nd generation ferals hogs!!!! The hunter gets used to them and then runs into a real Tusker!
    We have been hunting hogs down here for a long time indeed! They are nature's tanks and never...never under estimate them!.......James
    Dixie Slugs (dixieslugs.com)-Home of the Dixie Terminator

  14. #54
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    re: Dixie Slugs

    Folks,

    I've known James for quite awhile and he's probably the foremost known hog hunter/caster/ballistician I know. I wish he would write a "How to Hunt Hogs" guide since he has a warehouse of knowledge how to safely harvest this menace.

    Wild hogs are rapidly becoming an epidemic here in SC. Many farmers and landowners are trading out seasonal hunting rights for "depreadation" services for those who come and erradicate feral hogs and coyotes [another problem predator]. I've hunted hogs a few times and have yet to find one in range; but I agree with James, "Don't take these animals lightly".

    I have an 870 Remington with a fully rifled barrel in which I use Dixie Slugs; on other occasions I've been known to use my Marlin 45-70. I've talked with the locals who displayed their battle scars from shooting feral hogs with sub caliber weapons to suffer the wrath of the hidden tusker in the bushes.

    SC Dept of Natural Resources report on feral hogs:

    http://www.dnr.sc.gov/news/yr2011/ma...rch17_pig.html

    Keep doing what you do James, more is definitely better!

    John Kirk in SC
    HiVelocity
    Last edited by HiVelocity; 07-26-2011 at 05:35 PM.

  15. #55
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    Anyone who is jealous because he doesn't have any wild hogs in his area should count his lucky stars. The damage they do to the habitat, quail and other ground nesters, fawns, crops, and other things is just not worth the hunting benefits. That said, I do enjoy hunting them and do so at every opportunity.

  16. #56
    Boolit Master peter nap's Avatar
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    James, thanks for the information. I've been following it for a long time.

    Question for anyone.

    Has anyone tried these in a rifled barrel and what were the results.

    I want to load some for my H&R slug gun.

  17. #57
    Boolit Buddy Dixie Slugs's Avatar
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    Well........Thanks for some of the comments here! Yes, I have hunted wild hogs since 1956, mainly in the swamps along tge St Johns River, then later overseas, and then back in the States.
    This year we plan a section on Dixie Slugs where manuscripts can be sold at a resonable price......no syndicated writers or advertisings!
    We have about four ready, but as of yet not a complete write-up on wild hogs.
    Wild hogs are both a curse and blessing indeed!
    Regards, James
    Dixie Slugs (dixieslugs.com)-Home of the Dixie Terminator

  18. #58
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dixie Slugs View Post
    Let's talk about Dixie Tri-Ball for a moment. As you know, I have put various recipes here on Cast Boolits for reloaders (they buy few factory rounds) and have had trouble in the past by loaders wanting to use components other than those I have listed.
    Now.....the first Tri-Ball loads were with Blue Dot and they worked very good. Over time we were able to buy Primex 513 and since it was a all-temp powder, we moved to that.
    We have seen very little difference when sub'ing the following:
    (1) Hulls...Fiochhi, Cheditte, Federal (as long as they were not tapered hullls)
    (2) Very little difference in primers
    (3) Most important to use the Precision "orange "wad
    (4) Very little (if any) difference if heat treated balls or not....as long as they are as hard as at least 10 to 1 (lead.tin). Only those with antimony can be heat treated. Some of the best balls can be made from melted high antimony shot!
    Now....Primex 513 is getting hard to get and we are now testing Primex 516 (Lil'Gun). 28 grains of Blue Dot equals 28 grains of Primex 513 equals 32 grains of Primex 516 (LiL'Gun)....all are the same volume for crimp index with a rolled crimp and pressure.
    When our testing is done and I am satisfied with all the results....I will post the revised recipe....don't ask me yet! And don't ask we about other componenet either.
    At present we are working very hard to keep up with nationwide orders on Dixie Tri-Ball!!!!!
    Regards, James
    James, anything come out of your testing of those new powders?

  19. #59
    Boolit Buddy Dixie Slugs's Avatar
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    We just got another shipment of primex 513 and that has delayed our testing with Primex 516 (LiL'Gun).
    We are very pleased with our testing of LiL'Gun (Primex 516) in both thr 222 Hornt and .44 Magnum!
    If Primex 513 dries up, we will re-continue the tests on Primex 516....Regards, James
    Dixie Slugs (dixieslugs.com)-Home of the Dixie Terminator

  20. #60
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by DLCTEX View Post
    Anyone who is jealous because he doesn't have any wild hogs in his area should count his lucky stars. The damage they do to the habitat, quail and other ground nesters, fawns, crops, and other things is just not worth the hunting benefits. That said, I do enjoy hunting them and do so at every opportunity.
    Amen to that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    Phatman I have hunted greenswamp and richloam and know about ranges being measure in feet There are some big hogs that are no dummies too I know of a hog that would slow down and let the hounds fight him in open areas so you couldn't get a shot as soon as he got in the brush he lost the dog and headed for the dairy farm /privite land
    James the last place I lived in Fla. was center hill
    Roy

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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