Pure lead for patched round ball?

whenindoubtfixit

whenindoubtfixit

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I'm wondering why pure lead is called for in a patched cast round ball? I can understand the need with mini balls etc but the ball doesn't contact the bore so I'm wondering about the reason.
Thanks in advance
 
Generally the ball is deformed to fit the rifling when started in the bore and then obturates again on ignition to fit the rifling even more so.

If the ball is significantly smaller than bore diameter and patch thickness is properly matched to the dimensions between bore and ball it might work okay. Or it can be a royal pain to try hammering the ball in.

A good rifle, load and shooter can routinely stay in 2 inche groups at 50 yards with the traditional patched soft ball.
 
with a clean and uniform barrel it should not make any difference for target shooting. If you are hunting the pure lead ball will deform a lot more, in the animal. If you are casting your own, the pure lead ball will shrink more than an alloy ball and you may need to use a slightly thicker patch

cheers mooncoon
 
mooncoon said:
with a clean and uniform barrel it should not make any difference for target shooting. If you are hunting the pure lead ball will deform a lot more, in the animal. If you are casting your own, the pure lead ball will shrink more than an alloy ball and you may need to use a slightly thicker patch

cheers mooncoon
Click to expand...

I agree. Moreover you could even shoot glass marbles if they were adequately patched.
 
When shooting a muzzle loader with a proper fitting ball and well fitting patch, after shooting if you recover the patch, you will see the weave of the patch and the rifling marks on the patch.
A well fit patch will be almost useable when recovered.
It should not be scorched, torn, or ragged. If the patch has any of the previous conditions...........something is wrong.
You can shoot hard lead balls, but the will not perform well and will not group well also.
Good luck on your journey!
Fred
 
A properly sized soft lead ball/patch combo will show the weave of the patch material around the equator of the ball so that as the ball is propelled out of the barrel it will be made to spin by following the twist of the rifling. If the ball is a hard alloy such that the patch does not grip the ball then the ball, because of it's inertia, will not spin or spin less as it is propelled down the barrel and thus will not shoot as accurately as a properly paired ball and patch. Same effect as a patch/ball combo that doesn't fit tight enough or shooting a patched ball through a smoothbore barrel. Unlike a conical bullet that takes the rifling over the entire length of it's parallel sides, a round ball contacts the rifling only around it's narrow equator and will strip if the rifling twist is too fast: anything faster than about 1:50 whereas modern in-lines and some slug guns had 1:28 or so twist. Wheel weights and the like work as well as pure lead balls in smoothbores but not with barrels intended for patched balls, in my experience.

If you think that a lead ball has a lousy ballistic coefficient, I can only imagine how inefficient, and less accurate a glass marble would be...
 
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