Lead Round Ball

OK, thanks for the info DiMP & Harrier.45 . Consensus seems to be, never mind with the wadding and get the oversize balls, which is fine with me. As long as I know what works one way or the other. Now I gotta figure out what to do with the box of .350 balls I stupidly bought (instead of .375") on the not-so-good advice from that salesperson.

You know the great thing about BP pistols is: if you invest in a mold you can always make your own balls. That's what made me buy one. No matter what, I can always resort to my trusty 1858 in a last ditch effort. It's all part of the fun in black powder pistols plus you can always melt down incorrect sized balls, or lead flashing(my favorite) or any other soft lead you can muster.

Originally Posted by slyty

You know the great thing about BP pistols is: if you invest in a mold you can always make your own balls. That's what made me buy one. No matter what, I can always resort to my trusty 1858 in a last ditch effort. It's all part of the fun in black powder pistols plus you can always melt down incorrect sized balls, or lead flashing(my favorite) or any other soft lead you can muster.

Good point.
I just haven't gotten to that level of dedication or self-sufficiency yet. Not ready to take the plunge on casting my own lead,... yet. But I really should look into it.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by slyty

You know the great thing about BP pistols is: if you invest in a mold you can always make your own balls. That's what made me buy one. No matter what, I can always resort to my trusty 1858 in a last ditch effort. It's all part of the fun in black powder pistols plus you can always melt down incorrect sized balls, or lead flashing(my favorite) or any other soft lead you can muster.

That's on my to-do list. I should stop by the Black Powder part of the forums and looks for the answers to a few critical questions. One that has been in my head for a bit now but I can't figure out how to put it in google for a quick answer: can a revolver that shoots roundball also shoot conical bullets (as many multi-bullet moulds are conical shaped instead of round)

Originally Posted by DiMP

That's on my to-do list. I should stop by the Black Powder part of the forums and looks for the answers to a few critical questions. One that has been in my head for a bit now but I can't figure out how to put it in google for a quick answer: can a revolver that shoots roundball also shoot conical bullets (as many multi-bullet moulds are conical shaped instead of round)

I'm not positive but I don't think it's recommended. Not to say it hasn't been done but one would think the conical castings would be much heavier and much longer leaving less powder space resulting in pressure issues. I use a lee double cavity and you'd be surprised how fast those little balls get punched out

Originally Posted by El_Monty457

Good point.
I just haven't gotten to that level of dedication or self-sufficiency yet. Not ready to take the plunge on casting my own lead,... yet. But I really should look into it.

Cheers.

It is very easy to learn, and satisfying to do. Finding soft lead can be a pain though.

Originally Posted by DiMP

That's on my to-do list. I should stop by the Black Powder part of the forums and looks for the answers to a few critical questions. One that has been in my head for a bit now but I can't figure out how to put it in google for a quick answer: can a revolver that shoots roundball also shoot conical bullets (as many multi-bullet moulds are conical shaped instead of round)

The short answer is yes, you will find such molds on our site John

Originally Posted by DiMP

That's on my to-do list. I should stop by the Black Powder part of the forums and looks for the answers to a few critical questions. One that has been in my head for a bit now but I can't figure out how to put it in google for a quick answer: can a revolver that shoots roundball also shoot conical bullets (as many multi-bullet moulds are conical shaped instead of round)

I shoot both round ball and conical in my Pietta 1858. My molds are from Lee. The conical needs to be loaded with the cylinder out of the gun, as the clearances are just a bit tight to load with it in the revolver. I'm not sure if an 1851 would have this issue, just food for thought. Pressure wise, I have no concerns between the two, round ball being 135-140? grains and a conical around 200 grains. I mean, don't fill the powder flush to the top of the cylinder and use a cheater bar to ram it, but 20-25 grains should be no problem.

Originally Posted by johnone

The short answer is yes, you will find such molds on our site John

I found the moulds and the only one in .36 moulds one round, one Ogival (Google tells me its a fancy term for conical)
http://www.marstar.ca/dynamic/produc...roductid=76305
A double round-ball would be nice. The only thing stopping me right now from casting my own is I don't have a shop at the new house and I don't want to stand in my backyard at a table made from sawhorses and I don't think it'd be the smartest thing to cast 'em in my basement lol