.31 revolver balls?

[Ragnarok]

Got a .31 Cimarron/Uberti Baby Dragoon for Christmas...Cool huh? Yes it's cool. Fits right in with my Cimarron .36 Navy and Uberti third model Dragoon .44

The only downside to the little .31 revolver is there is not much selection for lead balls or molds larger than LEE molds rated .319"

To get some idea what ball size I might need and to get some shots off...I cut the tops off a couple 12ga buckshot shells...an Estate buffered 9 pellet had some nice round .320" balls. A old cheap S&B 12 pellet shell had some cruder made balls that are approx. .325" diameter. The Cimarron destruction manual says to use .330" balls.

The .320" balls fit ok but don't really shave any lead....The .325" buckshot crams in about right and peels a lead ring. I couldn't tell too much difference between the two sizes in actual shooting. Track of the Wolf show .32 cast balls... have not checked Dixie Gunworks

Looks like as far as .32 caliber balls go .310 and .315 are about all you can buy unless you buy some buckshot which is harder shot. Or buy the Lee .319" dual cavity mold(or Have a bigger custom mold made!). Does anybody have the LEE .319 round ball mold...and just how big are the balls it casts??

I have a LEE .562" round ball mold and it casts balls from plumber's lead a bit bigger than spec. If the LEE .319" mold casts a touch bigger than spec it might be serviceable for me. Any other ideas or suppliers for molds or suitable lead balls?

Thanx Rag

[mooman76]

My Lee 319 mould drops .320/1. Did you look at the Lee Buckshot moulds. I think they drop like .330.

[rodwha]

mooman is right. Think the Lee 00 buckshot mold is about all you'd find without going custom. Of course you could also go with a conical...

https://leeprecision.com/00-buckshot-mold.html

[Good Cheer]

Got a 2nd hand Lee .319 to lap out.
I'd much prefer to have a mold that would include a sprue as opposed to an oversized flat spot on the front of the ball.
But I'll make it work.

[rodwha]

Why would you prefer the sprue? That's one thing I like about my ball molds from Lee.

[Ragnarok]

Why would you prefer the sprue? That's one thing I like about my ball molds from Lee.

Yeh..I own two LEE round ball molds a .562 and a .600 and they leave things pretty smooth and it's hard to tell exactly where the sprue is.

I think I more or less mis-stated the buckshot diameter from the one shot-shell I robbed. The 12 pellet shell is/was an 'Eley'...and measuring some more of this shot with a bit more care reveals that it ranges from .325" to .331" on the same ball!!...My assumption being that this is #00 buckshot and it's just not all that consistent.

The LEE #00 mold may be about my only real choice for the Baby Dragoon as about all the #00 shot I've found for sale is a harder alloy and or chilled...not sure I can stuff a larger hard ball into the little gun!!

[bob208]

I found a old lyman .330 mold.

[Good Cheer]

Why would you prefer the sprue? That's one thing I like about my ball molds from Lee.

On small diameters the flat moving a little bit towards the center rather than being tangential makes for an oddly flying projectile.
In a percussion revolver maybe it wouldn't matter? I'd rather smoosh a sprue under the plunger.

[KCSO]

I don't know where I got it but I have a 340 lee mould that casts about 337 with pure lead and will cram into a 32 nicely. My Remington shoots 320's just fine. I would lap and beagle your 319 mould and see what you can get.

[swathdiver]

.310 and .315 are rifle ball calibers.

[rodwha]

A sprue turned 90* will shave off in a cap n ball situation.

[AllanD]

I have a .32cal replica Remington and back about the time I got it I found a #0 Buck 4-cavity Lyman buckshot mold One weekend Using a dipper pot on my woodstove I managed to cast a 1lb coffee can full of balls.

I recently dug out that Lyman 4-cavity, I need to clean it up and make some new balls.

20years in storage have not been kind.