New to this

[Brice1985]

Like the title says I’m new to this, a good friend of mine gave me a pot . I am wanting to get into casting round ball for my 12 gauge. Wanting to know about best molds, powder, any supplier websites, etc. any information would be helpful thanks

[rancher1913]

Shotgun reloading is not the same as reloading for pistol or rifle, make sure you do your homework and get several manuals. There are multiple threads on your subject, just use the search box in the upper right corner

[GhostHawk]

For supply's it is hard to beat Ballistic's Products.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/

I would agree with Rancher about a good manual or 2. Find a recipe and stick with it. No juggling, no substitutions. Even a small change like a primer can mean large differences. Shotguns are essentially thin walled beasts that live close to the edge.
One or two small changes can mean the difference between safe and kaboom.

[OnHoPr]

Track of the wolf should have RB moulds. Do a lot of research here for loads and wad combinations depending on what size ball you are thinking about.

[Brice1985]

I found a guy in England who makes custom molds from brass

[Brice1985]

What’s the best powder to use? So many options

[MBTcustom]

I hope the pot will work for you. I got it right from a guy that was getting out of the hobby and I haven't tried it yet, but it's a Lyman, and Lyman is good stuff.
The advice I gave you was tuned specifically to your interest in round ball loads, specifically to which, data is skethcy to non-existent. Don't worry about load workup with round balls. We will do that together, and I'll make sure you don't wind up with a pipe bomb.
In the mean time, you're wise to listen to the advice above. Get several manuals and read the front of the book. That will answer many of your questions, and raise many more which these guys are very adept at helping you with.
When you're ready, and you have gathered your tools and information and you're confident about trying a load, I'll be glad to help walk you through it.
Just remember this is science and A+B=C. With shotgun loading, you will follow the instructions exactly. Primer, hull, wad, shot weight, and crimp must be EXACTLY what is written in your manual. With the round ball loads, I will help devise a recipe for you and you must follow those instructions exactly.

Now, the powder choice is based on what you will be doing with the load. Different powders produce different effects. For round ball loads, I will often use Longshot, and I have upwards of 12 pounds of it. I also use Unique, because it can be used for low pressure rifle loads with cast bullets (such as those that you used in my 44 magnum to kill that deer). There are many factors that govern the choice of powder. The first thing you have to do is decide what type of loads you want to make. Personally, I see no percentage in reloading standard shot loads for duck, goose, and squirrel, because that ammunition is so cheap, I barely break even and I see no discernible advantage to my reloads vs. the best factory load I can buy for cheap.
For me, reloading shotgun is a buckshot and round ball proposition.
Fortunately, there are many buckshot recipes available for 12 gauge. BPI sells shot, but I often buy my buckshot from ACME bullet company.

[vzerone]

That's good advice goodsteel gave ESPECIALLY following the loading instructions exactly!!! Shotguns aren't very forgiving to exceeding their pressure limits. One of the most common errors is you didn't follow the instructions and your BB column doesn't fill the shell enough for a good crimp and you add more. That's a big NO NO. Like goodsteel said follow the instructions exactly...which means same brand and type of shell, same primer, same wads system.

[PerpetualStudent]

Glad to see you've got a mentor in this. You can self teach but you have to be ok doing your own research. And doing it WELL.

In addition to what the others have said.
1. Search for LongBow's posts. He's done a lot of great work on using roundballs and comparing them to slugs.
2. Check your local library. I've found more than one older manual in local libraries with good info. Especially helpful when you are learning and don't want to drop a lot of money on books.
3. Sub out weight BUT volume can cause issues. You can't swap out steel for lead in your data. But you can swap out lead bird or buck loads, weight for weight. The problem you'll run into is volume. The bigger buck wastes more space.

[Brice1985]

Thanks to all who gave input and anymore is welcome. Yes goodsteel is a good man. He is knowledgeable about his craft and glad he is willing to teach

[DerekP Houston]

Wow you lucked out with your mentor, I'm just happy to see Goodsteel back on the forum again.

[longbow]

My opinion... 0.678" RB's are about the easiest to load for and are a standard mould size from Lyman and RCBS.

They fit several standard shotcups very well and with a 16 or 20 ga. nitro card wad or two underneath generally shoot very well.

They are just over an ounce in pure lead and about an ounce in range scrap so lots of slug and birdshot load recipes that can be used. Pretty much any 1 oz. to 1 1/8 oz. recipe will work. Obviously slug specific recipes will provide higher velocities and energies than birdshot recipes but both are useful. Plus you can replace factory birdshot loads with the 0.678" round ball if necessary (lack of reloading components).

I wouldn't shoot them through a full choke but other than that there is little negative about them.

Good loads should group under 4" at 50 yards.

And... good to see you back Tim!

Longbow

[MBTcustom]

Hey, I'm around. Just busier than a frog hoppin in a skillet.
I told Brice1985 to check this out, and pay attention to longbow. Looks like I've still got it. :wink:
Now I tried the 687 round balls in the shotcup, but I got far better precision from having a .737 round ball lubed with 45-45-10 directly against the barrel steel like a standard cast bullet would be. I had to watch the barrel heat (it would start getting a little sideways after 5 shots, but as long as the barrel was cool, I could pretty much drop them all in a 2' square at 125 yards. Not that that is any kind of hunting precision mind you, but considering I could cut off pop bottle caps at 50, it gives you an idea of the "wine glass stem" dispersion characteristic. I figure my loads are good for 75 yards reliably (I get about 4" groups-ish?).

[vzerone]

Hey, I'm around. Just busier than a frog hoppin in a skillet.
I told Brice1985 to check this out, and pay attention to longbow. Looks like I've still got it. :wink:
Now I tried the 687 round balls in the shotcup, but I got far better precision from having a .737 round ball lubed with 45-45-10 directly against the barrel steel like a standard cast bullet would be. I had to watch the barrel heat (it would start getting a little sideways after 5 shots, but as long as the barrel was cool, I could pretty much drop them all in a 2' square at 125 yards. Not that that is any kind of hunting precision mind you, but considering I could cut off pop bottle caps at 50, it gives you an idea of the "wine glass stem" dispersion characteristic. I figure my loads are good for 75 yards reliably (I get about 4" groups-ish?).

Hey that 4" at 75 yards that's pretty darn decent!

[MBTcustom]

Hey that 4" at 75 yards that's pretty darn decent!

Well I thought so. I tell you what I really want to do is to find an old SXS and send off to have some microgrooves cut 1-80 in the barrels. I think that'd be sweet as sourwood honey.

[vzerone]

Well I thought so. I tell you what I really want to do is to find an old SXS and send off to have some microgrooves cut 1-80 in the barrels. I think that'd be sweet as sourwood honey.

Now you're talking. Have you thought about a rifling setup???