What to expect from roundballs

[vrh]

I just got thru weighing some .440 Roundballs that I had molded up earlier.
Had three different weights. 124, 125 and 126 grs.
Shooting with same powder charge, same patching...What can I expect from the impact on target from each weight.
Will each group impact at a different place on the target or will it even be noticeable?

[Hogdaddy]

Most cant tell 2/3 gn difference unlessyour in the top 3% of shooters, I say your good to go ; )
H/D

[Hickory]

Your ability to shoot accurately in the field (Off hand, setting or from the side of a tree) will far outweigh any difference in bullet weight you are getting.
I'd consider it a non-factor.

[oldracer]

I don't believe that you will be able to tell any difference. I shoot 540 grain Creedmoor grease groove bullets in my slug guns and group them by weight I.E. 539, 540, 542 and 544 and there is no difference in impact at 300 yards so yours should be fine. If any were way low say by 20 or 30 grains then you have air pockets probably?
John

[mooman76]

That's less than 2% difference. Like the others stated, you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. If you could tell, it would be very little difference. Tighten up your casting technique so if it concerns you. More practice makes more better.

[DIRT Farmer]

You can move the impact more with the loading pressure on your ram rod

[William Yanda]

1/125=<1% by my reckoning. Don't sweat the small stuff.

[indian joe]

I just got thru weighing some .440 Roundballs that I had molded up earlier.
Had three different weights. 124, 125 and 126 grs.
Shooting with same powder charge, same patching...What can I expect from the impact on target from each weight.
Will each group impact at a different place on the target or will it even be noticeable?

No Not noticeable at roundball range - (100yards) - eyeball em and chuck out the ones with visible faults and yre good to go - so no wrinkles and bumps - properly filled out.....

[arcticap]

Segregating each ball into groups of balls having the same weight might provide an important psychological advantage especially when shooting them together with a purpose.
That's one way to psych out any demons and competitors as well as to improve your personal psyche.
Plus you already weighed the balls so why not do it with a purpose?
It certainly shouldn't hurt to shoot them in a way that can maximize & justify your effort for weighing and segregating them in the first place. :-)

[thunderthud]

I been shooting & casting rb for over 30 yrs. In the early days I experimented with "wrinkled" balls from first poured when mould was not hot enough. I shot these out of an Uberti santa Fe hawken replica . I can tell you from my experience as the others have said it makes no difference.i did this test offhand and off a bench for a sanity check . Now for the confidence factor, I didn't shoot em during a match just at practice time. cast em and shoot em and btw , the same goes for pistols at least for me.

[indian joe]

I been shooting & casting rb for over 30 yrs. In the early days I experimented with "wrinkled" balls from first poured when mould was not hot enough. I shot these out of an Uberti santa Fe hawken replica . I can tell you from my experience as the others have said it makes no difference.i did this test offhand and off a bench for a sanity check . Now for the confidence factor, I didn't shoot em during a match just at practice time. cast em and shoot em and btw , the same goes for pistols at least for me.

That works ok until it doesnt work - mostly my experience is same as yours but I got caught bad one time on one lot of bought roundball (locally cast) once I figured it out I just ditched them - didnt think to check to see if they were pure lead or battery lead or range scrap or whatever - or to weigh em properly either just threw em and got some more Hornadys.

[country gent]

Set them on a towel or keep them contained so they don't roll all over the bench and on the floor.

[Drm50]

I'm not a big ML nut as far as repro and inlines. I have 2 very early TC Hawkins a 50 & 45. The only reason I keep them is in case I need one for deer season. The 50cal shoots balls much better
than maxi, ect. I cast my own balls and got small differences in weight. I use to weigh each one
and cull all that didn't turn out to uniform weight. Then a local ML expert, that shoots originals
told me I was over doing it. And I quit the bullet weighing. I had also been weighing charges on
powder scale, which he also broke me of. Now I use a flask with spring loaded gate and a brass
"Nozzle" for proper load. Sprew I still file off. I had no complaints on accuracy with my overkill
but found gun shot just as well without getting over technical.

[Edward]

45 to 62 cal (IF) pointed in the right direction all my round ball shooters will make a round hole ,on meat a bigger ragged exit hole :bigsmyl2:

[yeahbub]

With that kind of consistency, you've no worries from minor variations like that. I sweeten my lead with a 1-2% tin for good detail fill-out, and throw back the odd one with obvious visible defects. As for doing better in competition, every time you touch one off, proudly proclaim "Another ten!" loud enough for your competitors to hear.

[thunderthud]

yeah man, i'm with you. I should have stated the balls as cast from a reliable source, I use only pure lead for my ML rd balls. I did know an old gent that shot wheelweight alloy, he was a top shooter at our club quite a while, but...………..I still use pure lead for ml rb. just to be sure.

[Geezer in NH]

I doubt your platform and shooting will tell much difference. I would shoot all off the bench at 50 yards and expect X's.

Please don't make it harder than it is.

[Dvedw]

I been shooting & casting rb for over 30 yrs. In the early days I experimented with "wrinkled" balls from first poured when mould was not hot enough. I shot these out of an Uberti santa Fe hawken replica . I can tell you from my experience as the others have said it makes no difference.i did this test offhand and off a bench for a sanity check . Now for the confidence factor, I didn't shoot em during a match just at practice time. cast em and shoot em and btw , the same goes for pistols at least for me.

THIS holds true for me as well. Pistol included.

[indian joe]

THIS holds true for me as well. Pistol included.

How much trouble is it really to make decent roundball without the wrinkles? ...........throw a few back in the pot or get the mold to proper temperature before you start casting ............ not that hard to do ......................

[Dvedw]

I agree and that is what I cast, defect free. I also acknowledge that a perfect cast round ball is not really needed for accuracy. Especially if using pure lead balls.