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Thread: Round ball in a 500 S&W, anyone try it yet?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master 15meter's Avatar
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    Round ball in a 500 S&W, anyone try it yet?

    Tried several searches, both in and out of the forum and get massive number of suggestions, none which I'm looking for.

    Has anyone tried round ball in a 500 S&W. I've loaded RB in several different calibers just for tin can executions. I'd like to try it in 500 S&W.

    Hoping to find load data and recommendations for RB diameter. I was planning on using Ben's Liquid Lube. I've got .495 and .500 pure lead RB.

    Is it possible to load a RB into a fired case and crimp with a Lee crimp die?

    Or is this just authentic frontier gibberish?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master Jedman's Avatar
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    I have played around with round balls in strait walled and bottle necked cartridges and shotshells.
    For plinking loads I use about any fast burning pistol or shotgun powder and only use a small amount.
    With a case as large as a 500 S&W I might start at 5 grs. and load a .500 dia. ball coated with LLA and if it goes in the case with a little neck tension being the same dia. as a jacketed bullet I would seat it just maybe 5 or 10 thousands past the equator and your regular seating die should put as much crimp on it as you need.
    I haven’t used any filler to keep the small powder charge close to the primer but it might help with such a large case like a 500 ? You really don’t want much velocity as your barrel will have way to fast of twist for a round ball and it most likely will strip thru the lands and grooves anyway.
    I have done exactly what I just described with a 45/70 with a .457 round ball and it worked well enough to hit soda cans at 25+ yards. I also made a push thru die with a taper pin reamer where I push a .490 ball thru the die and it comes out with a small band about .460 dia. and coated with LLA shoot even better than the round balls.

    Are you going to shoot these thru a revolver or something like a single shot handi rifle ? In a revolver it might have enough recoil to make the ball move deeper into the case ?

    Jedman
    Last edited by Jedman; 01-21-2023 at 08:38 PM.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master Jedman's Avatar
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    I was thinking of how the inside ID of a strait walled case tapers as it gets closer to the web area so maybe a .500 ball would drop into a fired case and then lodge at some point lower in the case.
    That would make the powder space smaller which is good and with just a small push into the tapered section would keep the ball secure without any need to crimp.

    Jedman

  4. #4
    Boolit Master 15meter's Avatar
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    This is for a revolver and a "we ain't got ice" project.

    Buddy has a S&W revolver, I've got the reloading stuff and I was given a couple dozen pieces of once fired brass.

    I was hoping someone had already tried this and had first hand experience.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Loaded some in a 50 ae revolver. Was using 8 gr. unique, but it was pretty dirty. Shot well at 50 ft at our indoor range. Red Dot or bullseye might work better by being cleaner burning. I was using powder coated .500 rb, which came out to just shy of .502"

  6. #6
    Boolit Master TurnipEaterDown's Avatar
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    Not exactly what you are looking for, but further comment might get your kinoodler going to a place that you feel comfortable with:

    The 500 S&W uses a .500 bullet, so you'd want the .500 ball.
    Unsized cases, the .500 ball should fall in, which could be a problem w/ case volume. Things have a tendency to stick unpredicably w/ a sprue like I usually see on RB castings.
    Recoil will Pull a bullet in a revolver, IF great enough (light for cal ball, low velocity, it MIGHT not) so it won't seat deeper from recoil.

    I have a 500 Linebaugh long (really an ancestor to the S&W), which uses a 1.600" case and 0.512 bullets (nominally).
    I have light loaded 425 gr & 355 gr bullets over trail boss 8-10 grains, and 2400 with higher charges. Some loads really good accuracy.
    Was going to soon try a swaged 240 gr Hornady PA Conical made for BP 50 rifles, as the weather warms up. Planned on starting w/ 8gr Trailboss. If I can turn the 500 into a large 44 Spl, might be fun...

  7. #7
    Boolit Bub
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    Prime the unsized case, add the powder charge, drop the lead ball into the case. It will lodge somewhere below the mouth. Now run your case into a sizing die (with the priming punch removed) about a third or half way down from the mouth, stopping just above the ball. Now your round ball won't roll out of the case.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check