round ball

[bluecow]

dose anyone use this anymore?  how it do?

[Catfish]

I was never able to get the accuracy from the round ball that I could get with the Foster slugs, but I didn`t play with them alot.

[Rustyinfla]

 I've been thinking of working up some loads for this myself. I know shooting a RB from a smoothbore ML can result in some pretty amazing accuracy. A lot  better than most folks would think.

[Couger]

Round balls or pumpkin balls are what was once used in a shotgun before Foster then saboted slugs.

Plus as late as 1863-64 both the North and South still used muskets in some units, and a "buck and ball" combination load could be especially deadly to 75yds or more.

Besides pumpkin balls, if you need devastating stopping power in a 12 or 20 gauge, you might want to learn about the "buck and ball" and how to make some.

[FLNT4EVR]

Sportsmans guide has factory made buck and ball loads,in 12 ga.I think they are of italian manufacture and sell for about $1 per round.

[Rustyinfla]

  Actually most all the troops in Mr. Lincoln's dirty little war used muskets. Even the Enfields were considered muskets even though they were rifled, they were refereed to as rifled muskets. some units did use smooth bore muskets, while others such as Berdan's Sharpshooters had full blown rifles capable of amazing accuracy even by today's standards.

  In the fur trade era most of the mountain men used a smooth bore trade gun. The copies of which are becoming more and more popular. Even a trade gun with it's smooth bore and bead front sight can rival a rifle at 50 yards and less.

  That's all the accuracy I need here in Florida with our hardwood swamps. Around here 75 yards is a long shot unless you set yourself up along a clear cut.

[Oldtimer]

I must not have had enough to do once and worked up some round ball loads for a .410.  I used .444 Marlin cases, large pistol primers, a case full of Pyrodex CTG (50 grains) and a patched .395 round ball.  It was surprisingly accurate, but the fouling kept the shotgun (a Brazilian singlebarrel) from locking up after the fifth shot.  The cases were not obdurating at the pressures I was getting.  It was an interesting experiment, but I never tried it on game, as I sold the shotgun shortly afterward.

[RMc]

From my 12 bore New Englander:

.690 round ball (500 grains) with pillow ticking patch lubed with Slip 2000
3/8th inch fibre cushion wad and 1/4th inch over powder card
100 grains Goex FFg
CCI Magnum #11 percussion cap.

Groups 3 shots into 4 inches at 40 yards to point of aim with the factory bead sight.

RMc

[RMc]

Does big buckshot count?

From my 870 Express, 26'' vent rib, bead sight, Briley extended full choke:

Dixie Tri-Ball Buckshot shoots to the point of aim putting the three .60 caliber, 3/4th ounce balls into a  4" pattern at 40 yards.

Type Dixie Slugs into your search engine.

[PreciousVideoMemories]

Greetings the round ball load can be very deadly if you do your homework that is try different configurations untill the that shoots well in your perticular gun.

Hope it helps.
Ajay
VideoMemories
www.PreciousVideoMemories.com

[tacklebury]

Interesting discussion on this and some good links over at Beartooth's forum also:

http://www.shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=67439

[SHOOTALL]

I think Dixie Darlings might be a good place to check. two round balls in same load. To 40 yards they might work good.

[RMc]

Dixie Darlings?


Dixie Slugs ammo co. makes the 12 bore Tri-Ball buckshot round.

[coyotejoe]

Greetings the round ball load can be very deadly if you do your homework that is try different configurations untill the that shoots well in your perticular gun.

Hope it helps.
Ajay
VideoMemories
www.PreciousVideoMemories.com

Good photos, thanks! I've had good luck in 12 gauge with a .648" ball inside a plastic shotcup as shown. In 20 gauge I load a .570" ball the same way. Once you find the right combination it's easy enough to keep five shots inside 3" at 50 yards with just a single bead sight. In my experience hard balls cast from wheel weights seem to be more accurate than soft lead and they sure do penetrate.

[gcrank1]

Cyl. bore and a ball that fits it close, either through those shot cups or a thin lubricated patch and you will have a performer. There is a reason they were used in Africa and India, etc. If you have a choke at the muzzle the ball has to be small enough to get through it, and bouncing side to side in the preceeding bore length is not conducive to accuracy once it exits. Most agree that W-Wt alloy is better and will penetrate deeper.
My 410 experiments were dismal, and expected to be so because of the typical fixed full choke of those models, though good enough that at 25yds I would have had a 4-6" kill zone. With a makeshift rear sight taped on it would have been maybe better.
The 20ga cyl. bore was awsome.
But Fosters work so good that I would just use them because my rifled 1870 Snider.577 (basically close to a 24ga.) takes the place now.

[Rustyinfla]

  I was thinking of trying a patched RB loaded ML style in a brass case with a .410. RB's don't get enough respect in my book.

[gcrank1]

What will give or detract from the round ball for accurracy, patched or otherwise, is it's fit in the actual bore, not the case mouth. The Foster slugs will compress enough to go through choke, but dont trust that to happen with a solid ball; you'll need a cylinder bore.
The forcing cone of the chamber will affect this too in the transition from case mouth to bore. The longest case you can chamber, along with the biggest ball for bore, will probably be the ticket. If that wont shoot in you gun better than Fosters then Fosters it is.

[coyotejoe]

I recall hearing that some old timers inserted the ball into a finger cut from a buckskin glove so that the trailing leather acted as a rudder or kite tail to keep the ball going straight. Buckskin gloves being so expensive I just wrapped cloth around the ball, gathered it in tight, secured by wrapping and tying with thread and cut off the excess cloth so that it fanned out like a shuttlecock bird. Those were loaded in a 20 gauge plastic shotcup wad. One 20 gauge gun was amazingly accurate with that load, another 20 gauge was not at all accurate so who knows. Shotguns really will insist on asserting their individuality.
As to loading a conventional cloth patched ball as in a muzzleloader, I doubt the ball would retain the patch during the transition from cartridge case through the forcing cone and into the bore but I must admit I've never tried it.
 Right now Zanders has a sale on Italian slug loads, like $2.49 for ten rounds. They have Brenneke style slugs and rounds with one or two .650" balls. Seems like a great chance to try out some oddities for cheap.

[gcrank1]

I hope that will work in my soon to be here cyl.bore 12, though at that price for factory and/or the Federal Tru-Balls they are pretty attractive. Still, I always like to know what I can 'build' at the bench if I dont get to the store, and with that big a ball I dont really need more than about 1000fps MV for a 50yd. deer or Buick load.