Casting for 16 ga.

[JoseBob]

What can be done to cast either round ball or slug type for a 16 ga. modified choke?
Inquiring minds want to know.... Thanks... Bobby

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Greetings Bobby, I have my own ways of doing things. Lets keep things simple get a socket set and try different sockets in your Modified choke and find one that is a close fit. Now get a scotch tape wrap it around the socket once and re-check the fit if still loose put one more tape around the socket until its a fiction fit by hand. Now just measure your socket dia and add another .005" to it and start looking for a RB mold by Lee for around $18 at MidSouth.
**--**Now if you want a RB or Slug in wad then you need to have a bunch of different wads and put the RB in wad and keep trying by pushing it through your Modified choke till you find one that is a fiction fit by 6 to 8 lbs.
I personally do not own a 16 gauge or else I would have done the test to help you.
Hoping it helps.

Best regards,
Ajay Madan
SuperBlazingSabots
https://imgur.com/2nkY5pd

[Joby]

What hulls were you planning on using. Also felt/cardboard or plastic wads or both.

[longbow]

You might find that a 0.600" or 0.610" RB will fit a shotcup reasonably well. Hmmm, more likely you'd need to cloth patch to get a snug fit. Petals will run around 0.015" to 0.020" I think so 0.662" - (0.020" x 2) - 0.61" = 0.12" so 0.006" clearance around. Two wraps of paper in the shotcup should take care of that. You might get thin cloth patch on a 0.600" RB. I've both cloth and paper patched 0.662" RB's in 12 ga. shotcups with great success.

There is always Jeff Tanner in the UK, He will make whatever size you need.

I'd go with Ajay's suggestion of a Lee mould in 0.600" or 0.610" though. Cheap and easy to try and I have to say that I am quite impressed with the new style Lee moulds. Good value for money in my experience.

Longbow

Oops! Adder... you are shooting through a choke so you want the ball/shotcup combo to be no more than about 0.003" over the choke minimum diameter (general rule of thumb). You will likely get away with using a 0.610" RB in shotcup with no patching through your choke but depends on as cast ball size, wad petal thickness and actual choke diameter.

[Joby]

A while back I made a mold for 16 gauge slugs using a 5/8" drill into a block of graphite. .625" conical of sorts. Used a Winchester AA wad and numerous stack ups of felt or cardboard wads to get the column height for a roll or fold crimp. They certainly weren't great but it scratched the itch.

[rking22]

There's always this
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?331988-GB-16ga-Lyman-clone-(for-use-with-plastic-cup)-slug-mold-april-2017

[Tracy]

16 gauge Modified choke should be around .640-.642". Theoretically.

[rking22]

Just checked my REM m31 , mod measured .652
My Ithaca 37r is .651, both are original as to appearance but ????

Josebob, what are you shooting in 16ga ? And there is a dedicated 16ga forum, if your interested, Google is your friend.

[JoseBob]

Sorry for not replying in the last few days. I have been out of town. Thanks for the great suggestions.
I have several 16 ga shotguns, a H&R single barrel, 2-Winchester model 12s, one is full choke the other is modified, and also a Tula TOZ-63 double barrel. It is modified and full. So, most likely Ill try to dedicate the H&R for the slugs. The Tula is for squirrels, and the Model 12's are for pheasants.

I have .600 RB's from Muzzleloader shooting. Probably the easiest start will be to use one in a shot cup over some longshot or bluedot...May try to load some this week.
A patched ball in a shot cup? MMMMMM? ok... Would probably help center the smaller ball... Ill report my results...Thanks again... Bobby...

[rking22]

Watching with interest, I like 16s. I suspect a round ball of 5/8 inch will likely put venison on the table just fine. Shot mine this year with a factory slug from the M31 , sure tasted good :)