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randyrat
01-28-2007, 09:46 AM
I like that idea. What are some safe loads for this, diameter of the ball,shot wads,powder?

357maximum
01-28-2007, 12:50 PM
From a similar thread I just replied to....

For those who are new to venturing into the RB shotgun arena,,I suggest you get your mits on a copy of Lyman shotshell handbook 3rd edition, priceless data there... the 20 gauge loads using .575 rd's and a shotcup, are quite deadly through the average smoothbore... My buddy has used my #1 handload ( bottom load on pg. 276) to harvest several nice michigan whitetail at distance up to and beyond 100 yards. They work awesome out of his old 870 with a saddle mounted 4X weaver....made my fully rifled barrelled high dollar sabots look a bit sad. I have since sold the fr barrel and went to a single shot win mod. 37a with an weaver encore mount and a straight 6 leoupold....accuracy is sweet.. and one of these years I will kill my buck with MY RB handloads....too enamored with the peestol right now...

My cast round balls are made of air cooled ww , BTW

Federal rheifenhauser case
25.0gr 800X
win 209 primer
one fed 20s1)(old style stiff wad)
1- 1/2 in fiber under ball
fold or roll crimp ( I use folded crimp)
Book= 1650 fps........actual for our guns= 1670+
all balls are lightly coated in motor mica for a smoother release from wad(in theory anyway)

randyrat
01-28-2007, 02:09 PM
Thanks that will get me started.. That gives me another outlet for more casting lead. Also i knew there had to be a way to make my own slugs i just haven't read anything on it. It's great to know they will work out of a smooth bore shot gun and accurate. I have the Lyman shotshell #2 book but haven't found anything on RB loads.. I'll pick up the #3 and do some reading.

Jack Stanley
01-28-2007, 08:29 PM
I bought a Dixie mold of .729 diameter many years ago and loaded it with loads approipriate to the weight of the ball . I did cut the charge back some of course . After a lot of foolin' around with wad types things turned out pretty well , except for one thing .......... never had a deer wander out in front on the gun :roll: :(

Jack

Ohio Rusty
01-28-2007, 09:45 PM
Being the round ball is used in a shot shell, the lead the round ball is made from isn't critical. You can even cast them up in pure soft lead. That is a real flying ashtray !! I've shot hundreds of round ball from a shotgun, but it's been all patched round ball out of flintlock and percussion shotguns. The normal inner diameter of a shotgun is .729, and how ever thick the walls of a shotgun wad are, that will give you the size of ball that you can shoot. I shoot a .690 round ball. Remember that a round ball shoots best out of a cylinder bore/choke.
Ohio Rusty

randyrat
01-28-2007, 11:25 PM
keep talking I'm all ears... does it mater what kind of crimp or what kind of wad your using?

piwo
01-28-2007, 11:37 PM
Cast .690 roundball and shoot them out of a Navy Arms double barrel percussion shotgun.. Killed a few deer with it... they're nice!

Jack Stanley
01-29-2007, 09:24 PM
I used both roll and fold crimp . For me it seemed that the wad used was more important .

Jack

Leftoverdj
01-30-2007, 02:56 PM
I'm using a Dixie RB mould, but mine is .735 since I'm shooting two fully rifled guns and a Rem 870 with a Hastings paradox tube. Weight goes up fast as diameter increases, and the ball weighs 1 3/8 oz. Recoil goes up fast, too, and I no longer shoot it much. Performance is good, but I'm nervous about one of those loads finding its way into a choked gun

longbow
02-02-2007, 02:40 AM
Take a look at Ballistic Products here:

http://ballisticproducts.com/bpi/articleindex/articles/slug/slugs1.htm

They have lots of stuff and also offer reloading manuals for standard shot, buckshot and slugs as well as individual pages for round ball loads and other specialty loads.

The Lyman Shotshell Reloading manual is also good.

Speaking from experience - don't experiment with shotgun load recipes. Use what is in the book. Some seemingly minor changes can result in major pressure increases.

I have used .69 cal round balls and made up a slug similar to their AQ slug which by the way is real nice - pricey but they do shoot. Mine worked pretty well too.

BAGTIC
04-10-2007, 05:10 PM
I have been shooting round balls from shotguns for about 25 years. WW is perfectly okay. I, personally, use HTWW.

Some people use an undersize ball in a shotcup but a full sized ball is possible. I have rifled barrels in 20 gauge and 12 gauge from which I shoot full caliber (.615 and .735) HTWW balls.

I have used roll crimped cases but they become a pain. I now use regular star crimp, the same as I use for shot They feed perfectly from my 1100's.

piwo
04-10-2007, 10:14 PM
I shot a doe at 48 paces with my .690 patched roundaball (barrel slugged at .721) and I thought I missed. She ran with her tail held high: for @ 25 yards.. Dead as a door nail, ball passed right through her 1.5 inches behind the knob of her shoulder.. Pity I had a double barrel, and no other deer in sight!

Ricochet
04-10-2007, 10:24 PM
I've read warnings from American cartridge companies that the ball must be small enough to pass freely through the choke. Dunno if this was just a concern for the old Damascus barrels that were paper-thin at the muzzle, or whether stouter modern barrels would have trouble swaging down a slightly oversized soft lead ball at muzzle velocity as well.

26Charlie
04-10-2007, 10:39 PM
In High School (1957) I had a H&R 12 ga single barrel which I cut the choke portion off of, leaving a 26" cylinder bore. Shot a soft .715 ball, using either 3 1/2 drams of black powder, or a smokeless charge (how much of what ?? came out of a Lyman manual). I used a plastic H-wad over the powder - these were free for the collecting, at the skeet range - and then a dipper of cornmeal before putting the ball in the case. The six-fold crimp was turned in and dished in onto the ball a bit, then candlewax dripped into it that kept it from unfolding too easy in handling and to keep moisture out. The cases then were paper. The cornmeal seemed to center the ball and help it slug up a bit into the bore, as well as fill space in the case. It had to be a granular material - I tried flour once, but the pressure rose drastically & cracked the head of the case. I put a post front sight on it and an aperture rear, & had a deer gun that weighed about six pounds and was a real thumper. Hit a jackrabbit once at 60 yards - instant demise - but never saw a deer when I was out with it. That was about twenty-five years before H&R started putting rifle sights on these things.

Leftoverdj
04-11-2007, 09:41 AM
I strongly suggest roll crimping for those of us shooting bore sized RBs. I do NOT want one of those loads finding its way into a choked shotgun and hitting a .040 constriction at 1400 fps. If I were still doing much with RBs, I'd break down and buy some of the transparent hulls to be even safer.

randyrat
04-11-2007, 07:57 PM
I bought a Lee mold for the 1 oz 12 ga. Started loading in trap hulls, i mark each shell and the box they are in.. Back a bunch of years ago i shot a few(only 3) 12 ga slug out of my 1300 win with the full choke screwed in the only thing it hurt was my shoulder----- pain-----. I still have that choke today and no damage. But it wasen't a solid round ball.

Paladin 56
04-12-2007, 04:34 PM
About 40 years ago my dad came up with a 58 cal. round ball mold of some sort from who knows where. I cast some balls up for whatever reason, as I had nothing to shoot them in, but found they fit loosely through a 20 ga. bore of an Ithaca 37 I still have. I loaded up some in regular shogun shells with whatever powder and charge was in our old Texan 20 ga. loader and crimped them just like a regular shotgun shell. Tried them out on a persimmon tree about 4” in diameter. Three shots at about 30’ cut it in two. I was impressed. My dad never said anything about the tree, but he had to have seen it. Anyway, I then shot a ¼” steel plate we had laying around that I had shot with really hot 158 gr. SWCHP cast bullets that did nothing but splatter on it. The 20 ga. was different. It left a hell of a dent in it, and sent it flying back about 10’. I was impressed again (maybe I was easily impressed in those days). So, I took it out to see what it would do on deer as I knew the 38 had taken 15 deer without problems with the same load I use on the plate and I had killed several javelina with it myself. I managed a shot on a running doe but missed. I never took it out again, but still wonder how it would have done. Pretty well I’m sure.

As far as loads go, I’d use the same powder data for the same weight shot charge as the ball weights, so long as the ball fits loosely in the bore. You should be able to use powder data for shot charges the same as, or heavier than the weight of the ball, but don’t make the mistake of using powder charges for shot charges lighter than the weight of the ball.

When I loaded my 20 ga. RB’s, we used the old fiber wads and had to pay close attention to the different wad lengths and pressure on the powder, so I just made sure I had enough pressure on the wad and didn’t worry about fillers or anything. Plastic wads were around but we never used them for whatever reason. I may one day load some more up and actually use them to kill something. I suspect they will perform like piwo said, shoot right through, leaving a big hole and doing an otherwise admirable job.

Regards.
David

BAGTIC
04-17-2007, 01:05 AM
I always loaded roundballs using plastic shotcups. I use full sized balls (.615 and .735). I cut the petals off short enough with scissors so they don't reach the ball. I seat the wad then insert a styrofoam 'plastic peanut' piece of packing material. I place the ball over the 'peanut' and seat it a little high so that when I apply the final crimp the crimp will push the ball down to the right depth. Don't seat the ball too deep when first inserting because the styrofoam has absolutely no rebound once crushed. Usually one 'peanut' suffices for 20 gauge loads. Depending on cases and wads 12 gauge sometimes need two 'peanuts'.

I start with a powder charge recommended for the same weight shot charge. Ball will probably develop less pressure because of less bore contact. My experience has been that it is possible to increase powder charges considerably, when using slower shotgun powders, without pressure or functioning problems.

I never had problems with regular star crimps feeding or functioning and long ago gave up fooling with rolled crimps. Too much hassle and I couldn't see any difference in accuracy out to 100 yards or so.

A 12 gauge round ball should give through and through penetration of deer at 50 yards with velocities as low as 1,000 fps. A mild and relatively quiet load. Have fired as many as 50 rounds in a row from an 1100 off a bench with no discomfort at all.

Both of my slug guns are rifled. Both give minute of deer accuracy to at least 75 yards and I would not hesitate on a broadside shot to 100-125 yards. if I were firing from a solid rest.