cast RB's vs store bought/swaged?

[samwithacolt]

I just checked on my supply of .495 rb's, hoping to get some practice in before the season.
I just started casting boolits this year(tinkere a little before), but I have used Hornady
RB's up til now. I tried the mike on a few, as I had some .490's laying around and I had some loose in my possibles bag. They are all around .495", but they vary by 2 or 3 thou, and they are'nt even round. I'm thinking I should pick up a .495" mold(I know where I can get one locally), and just melt these and recast them.
Anyone have shooting experience in comparing self cast v store bought/swaged?

[Boerrancher]

I do in the 32 cal squirrel rifle. I still have 2 1/2 boxes of hornady .310 RBs left. I will melt them down someday. They are out of round with several flat spots on them and the half a box I shot were horrible for accuracy. Had I not been able to get a .311 mold I probably would have given up on the 32 cal.

[bob208]

at the matches it seams like the guys shooting their own cast ball are the one winning. all i have ever shot was ones i have cast.
for the price of 2 boxes of bought balls you can get a lee single cavity mold. by the time you get to the 4th or 5th box of balls you are ahead of the game.

[1Shirt]

If you are a serious front stuffing shooter, a double cav lee mold will quickly pay for itself compaired to factory swaged. Just remember sprew side up!
1Shirt!

[Dean D.]

I have shot some factory swaged RB's but for the most part I cast my own. I never thought to check accuracy on the swaged RB's. As 1Shirt says, make sure you load them sprue up and centered in the bore. If the sprue is off center it will cause the ball to leave the bore out of balance. I don't think this matters for up close shots but I'm a firm believer that down range it will cause accuracy problems. JMHO

The last box of .54 cal Speer swaged RB's cost me $21.99 at the LGS, a Lee DC .530 mould is $19.99 most places online. Buying a mould is a no-brainer to me.

[Hanshi]

I shoot home cast ball only in all calibers. I use mostly Lee molds and high quality is a given.

[Squeeze]

I shoot more and more self cast now, many cals. I usually throw a few hundred at a clip in a cheap roller style tumbler (cheapo harbor freight rock tumbler) for a few hours, they come out round, but also slightly covered in tiny dimples. To me it seems almost like a tiny golf ball, and it puts to mind the mythbuster episode that did tests on different golf balls that showed the dimple design greatly improved distance aerodynamics.. one day Im actually going to buy that chrono Ive wanted for years and see how my dimple swaged, factory swaged, and plain old sprue up really compare. as far as accuracy...well they all seem so close to me, I cant really tell one from the other...I just dont like trying to align the sprue perfect up all the time, so my version of self swage I just like better

[OverMax]

Difference between cast & swagged is little other than the need with Cast to keep its sprue nub side facing outwards when short starting down the barrel. If a cast ball has not filled out correctly in its mold (a air pocket within) could cause the ball to behave inaccurately down range. Swagged ball. There is no sprue nub or a air pocket/s in its manufacturing process.
When I target my rifle I shoot swagged. When I hunt. I prefer using my cast for that purpose. As doing so gives me some gratification knowing I harvested that animal pretty much on my own abilities. [Since I have no way to make them myself. The only items I store bought was the rifle itself and its percussion caps.] The rest is of my own doing. {Its accuracy, charging components, and its overall appearance.}


O/M

[samwithacolt]

Picked up the mold, and finally got to cast some pure lead last night so I tried the .495(lee double cavity)
They look good, much smoother than swaged. They do have a noticeable flat spot from the sprue.They are more round than Hornady swaged(apart from the flat spot) and they measure about .496/497 compared to the .493/494 for the swaged. I'm curious how they'll shoot as I have been loading the .495 Hornady with 20 thou patch and wiping between every shot. I find that my gun shoots best with the tightest patch/ball I can get down the bore, so these bigger balls will be good if they will still fit with 20 thou patch.

[mooman76]

You'll more than likely have to drop down to a thinner patch so I would have some thinner patch material ready. If they do fit, then great.

[Whiterabbit]

Anyone have shooting experience in comparing self cast v store bought/swaged?

Sort of. Rifle sighting happened in between so I can't tell you anything about POI shifts. But the group size (I was shooting off sandbags at the time) did not shift. Both balls could stack with ease.

[JeffinNZ]

I find my cast .395 balls are more consistent than swaged in the same caliber.

[Guido4198]

Picked up the mold, and finally got to cast some pure lead last night so I tried the .495(lee double cavity)
They look good, much smoother than swaged. They do have a noticeable flat spot from the sprue.They are more round than Hornady swaged(apart from the flat spot) and they measure about .496/497 compared to the .493/494 for the swaged. I'm curious how they'll shoot as I have been loading the .495 Hornady with 20 thou patch and wiping between every shot. I find that my gun shoots best with the tightest patch/ball I can get down the bore, so these bigger balls will be good if they will still fit with 20 thou patch.

My Green Mtn.slow twist 50 cal. "roundball barrel" also likes a very tight combination. My best groups have been shot using a .500 ball, and .022 patching. This load is started with a mallet and special short starter, patch cut at the muzzle, then smoothly rammed home with a heavy brass range rod. On a calm day, if my aging eyes cooperate it will print a "big ragged hole" kind of group from a rest @ 100 yds.