so how do you patch roundballs

[mike_kaleigh]

i tried some lee 7/8 oz slugs and was not really impressed with accuracy. i was always getting wad septation but who knows. i am going to keep trying for a while but i was noticing some people were having good luck with round balls. and they would defiantly be easier to cast. i have a 870 with removable chokes, but with fund limitations right now i am stuck buying the lee .690 rb mold. i use win aa hulls and have real aasl pink wads, and claybuster aa12r and aa12. i would love to use a shot cup, i was hoping a pink wad and a .690 would work but from what i have read i don't think that will work. and i noticed that some people were using patches, but i could not find a thread on how you guys did it. i am just looking for a good round ball for 50 yards, hopefully with what i have. i have skeet, improv, mod, full chokes. so how do i put it together. :-?

[longbow]

Not sure if I will be much help but...

I like round balls and so far have gotten good dependable accuracy of 3" to 4" at 50 yards. Groups open up at longer range but some are reporting paper plate groups at 100 yards. I think it all depends on fit and the ball leaving the muzzle and wad with no spin.

So far I have had best results with undersize balls in shotcups and with bore size (0.735") balls. Unfortunately, I have had dismal results with 0.690" balls. In almost all cases, even when ball/wad to barrel fit seemed good, I got pinched petals and poor accuracy.

BPI lists a load for 0.690" ball in one of their shotcups so it has to fit. Also, from what a few other people have posted. Federal shotcups work well with 0.690" balls. Due to lack of reloading components locally I have not tried Federal wads ~ I have to order in.

Also, a donut wad or some other cup to center the ball and keep it there down the barrel should work.

I have not tried patching either but some people are doing it and it is working for them so is worth a try. Lee makes a 0.690" ball mould so that would be a small expense to buy one and try wads and patching.

I have patched undersize balls into a shotcup in the hull and I do it just like patching for a muzzleloader ~ patch laid over the open case mouth, place the ball centered on the patch (I place sprue up), press into the patch and down into the hull, seat with the loader. I have to assume patching the 0.690" ball would be the same. What you want is a snug ball & patch fit to barrel.

So, the short story is round balls can provide quite decent accuracy to 50 yards, they do not flatten out into lead washers like about all soft lead Foster styles and there are loads listed for them BPI has 0.690" ball loads and Lyman has 0.690" ball loads.

Before going that route though how have you been loading the Lee slugs?

- wad?
- load recipe?
- have you been putting a nitro card wad or two under the slug?
- how tight is slug/wad to barrel fit?
- choke? (best with cylinder bore or maybe I/C choke)
- have you searched here for what others have had success with? In particular look for VDOmemories (Ajay's) posts. He has posted lots of good info on loads and fit of slug/wad/barrel.

Not trying to steer you away from the round balls, I like them but you may get what you want from your slug if you try a variety of components/loads.

I am afraid that's all I have but I am sure others will chime in too.

Do a search and I am sure you will find good info here as well.

Good luck!

Longbow

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Hello Mike, welcome to this wonderful family of Slug Shooters!

First thing first, lets do this before you start loading a bunch of loads:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/Wadslugfitinbarrelcopy.jpg
try pushing it through with each wad just to get an idea of the fit in your barrel.

Please report back with your findings, this test will help you with slugs or round ball.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/LeeDriveKeysluginwadcopy.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/Leesluginwad.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/690RoundBallwadset-upjpg.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/690RBwadset-upjpg.jpg

Thanks to Lee Precision who gives us the Best Bang for our money!

Warmest regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.BlazingSabots.com
http://www.facebook.com/BlazingSabots?ref=hl
www.PreciousVideoMemories.com

[longbow]

Ajay:

I was hoping you would show up here! You always have such good photos and info!

Sorry, I always get your handle wrong to must be dyslexic.

I will have to order in some of those brush wads to try. So far my best results are using regular shotcups and 0.662" or 0.675" balls. Those still out shoot the Lee 1 oz. slug. I am trying to improve the slug accuracy but to 50 yards the round ball is still the best for me.

That should give Mike something to work with.

Longbow

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Hello LongBow, its always a pleasure to read your posts, you are a gentleman and a Dear Friend!
If you happen to have an old Lyman Foster slug mold of .705" dia. then try this
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/HollowBaseSlugswithstem.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/HollowBasePins.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/Hollowpointpinwithstem.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/SlugMouldsPIns.jpg
easy project to turn it into a one piece design!
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/BPILB12with678and690RB.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/DSC00142.jpg
Hoping it helps!

Warmest regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.BlazingSabots.com
http://www.facebook.com/BlazingSabots?ref=hl
www.PreciousVideoMemories.com

[45 2.1]

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/SlugMouldsPIns.jpg
easy project to turn it into a one piece design!

Hoping it helps!

Warmest regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.BlazingSabots.com
http://www.facebook.com/BlazingSabots?ref=hl
www.PreciousVideoMemories.com


Ajay-
A questrion please. How does the Lyman with base wad attached directly above 4 shoot?

[longbow]

I'll ask another question about that basewad ~ what is it made of? Looks like nitro card wads and felt or fiber of some sort between.

Any I tried like that were a disappointment. I figured really dense felt and maybe real thick hard leather washers top and bottom would hold together but have not tried that yet.

As always Ajay ~ great photos!

Longbow

[mike_kaleigh]

well i did a few things ajay. first i am using aa hulls, aa12sl wads, and 18 grains of red dot. i cronied them and i was getting 1200 fps in a 18 inch barrel. i put a card board disk under the slug. i was using a improved choke, and i did your fit test and it was real tight. i could not push it threw the the choke by hand. i want and found some wads and i noticed that the pedals looked like they had a fold in them at one time. and 1 in 5 wads had a missing pedal. the next smaller choke i have is skeet and i test fit it with a slug it slide right threw with about 1/2 lb of force.

so i guess this is my next step, first switch to skeet choke. next since i cant put a nitro card under slug to bring the slug up in the wad ( because i would not be able to crimp) so it does not fold the pedals is to trim the pedals down a little.

any other suggestions
thanks everyone

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Greetings, the Lyman Foster slug of .705 can be turned into Brenneke style one piece by doing minute modefication to the HB pin
like in the pictures above.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/Feltwads_zps6e1ce3c1.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/Bettertypefeltwads_zpsc74a1729.jpg
you need to push just the slug through the choke to see which choke setting needs 4 to 6 lbs pressure to push it through then go ahead and make the modification to the HB pin!
Even the Lyman 525 slug in wad can be modified but then you need a longer wad to cover up the whole slug & wad attached,
perhaps a 1/4" felt to Lyman 525 slug, be careful not to drill too deep into the HB pin or else it will cost you the price of yet another pin ( Lyman prices are not cheap like Lee precision pins that only cost $1.50 )and cause further delay in your project!

Hoping it helps!

Warmest regards,
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.BlazingSabots.com
http://www.facebook.com/BlazingSabots?ref=hl
www.PreciousVideoMemories.com