how is shot made?

eltorro

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I came across some lead. But it is chunks/deformed slugs. Seems high antimony.
How is shot made?
I'm not talking about #9.
000 buck, #2s or such......... How can I make shot?
Tried pouring drops in the water...... just so I can say I did it. It doesn't work.
Any info?
 
000 you could cast in moulds. I recall seeing ads for a home shotmaker years ago. Don't know if it worked. Drop shot needed a tower up to 8 stories tall. Nowadays an airblast simulates the fall.
If its high antimony, it should mke good cast bullets, perhaps with a bit of tin added.
 
anyone tried cubes, or cut shhet of lead?
I remember the old folke using such for bush-waking (maybe a literar term for once)
I'd stick ot the 000, 00 and 0 s for the moment.
 
For the smaller sizes, there is a tool called the Littleton Shot Maker, which is essentially a hotplate with a series of nozzles that drip lead onto an angled plate, then into a bucket filled with water and oil. I believe the largest shot possible with this tool is #5.

I guess the demand isn't large enough, but I've always wondered why Wolf, DRG, or the other casters in Canada don't make 00 or 000 shot? AFAIK, the Magma Engineering automatic casters will work with odd combinations of molds, so they wouldn't need to buy a full set of 8.
 
you can buy moulds for round ball down to .30 cal. but to use as shot in a shotgun you would be casting for ever, you are better off to buy the shot.....large round ball is different as you could cast a .715 or so round ball and load in a 12ga....deadly up close!!!!
 
however you make it, be careful about lead exposure, either solid or especially vapour if you are heating it. check out your provinces health and Safety Department's website for safety info
 
How to make buckshot

eltorro said:
I came across some lead. But it is chunks/deformed slugs. Seems high antimony.
How is shot made?
I'm not talking about #9.
000 buck, #2s or such......... How can I make shot?
Tried pouring drops in the water...... just so I can say I did it. It doesn't work.
Any info?

I'm swimming in homemade buckshot. First you need this mold

http://www.do-itmolds.com/products/...2.176.61.182&category=sling_shot_pellet_molds

the BB-20-M2 is the one. It drops 11 .30 cal balls a throw. They drop with one big sprue attached. Use tin snips to cut the balls from the sprue. There is a trick to getting full fillout of the cavities. If you buy the mold PM me and I will describe the technique for you. These 30 cal balls nest nicely in the shot cup. I have about 400 rounds made up with 12 balls in each, cast from wheelweights.

Also, the vapor pressure of molten lead at normal casting temps, 750 deg or less, is insignificant and poses no danger. Do be very careful with dross and lead oxide.
 
I use 19.2 grs Clays, 12 pellets, wad is an Activ T42, Win primers and CIL Target Load 3-9 hulls. The Activ wad is deep enough but not high enough and I had to put 2 homemade wads of corrugated cardboard over the pellets to get a good crimp. The hulls and wads were what I had a lot of so I wanted to use them up. When I make up my next batch I'll see if the W-32 works better and avoid the tedious cardboard wads.

Due to popular demand, here is the method I use with the Do-It mold.
I've only used mine with a Lee 20 lb bottom pour melting pot. First use acetone then boiling soapy water to degrease the mold cavities like you would any other mold .Mark the aluminum base of the pot under the spout so that when the mold is resting on the base the first (nearest the hinge) of the 11 cavities is directly under the pour spout. Use a marker pen and make it an "L" shape so you can put the do-It mold starting off in the same place each time. Have the mold pre-heated .As the flow of liquid lead starts, move the mold ahead fast enough so that just as one cavity fills, the next is available. IOW don't keep the mold stationary so that the cavities are filled by spillover alone. when you get to the 11th cavity, nearest the handle, quickly reverse motion and go back and forth until the space for the sprue is filled and you get a bit of a puddle on the top flats. Open the mold and hit the puddle to get the casting to drop away if needed. Hit the side that you are holding, so there is no strain put on the hinge.

If you don't get satisfactory fillout doing the above, use a drill bit that is the smallest size that just barely won't go through the top of the cavity openings, and drill out all the openings by that amount. I had to do that. Deburr if necessary.

The mold will get hot rapidly. Cool it from time to time by laying the sides on a damp towel, a second or two a side. I oil the hinges every 20 min or so with a drop of quality synthetic oil.
 
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eltorro said:
I came across some lead. But it is chunks/deformed slugs. Seems high antimony.
How is shot made?
I'm not talking about #9.
000 buck, #2s or such......... How can I make shot?
Tried pouring drops in the water...... just so I can say I did it. It doesn't work.
Any info?

Pouring drops into water is one way of making shot, the biggest problem is the drops have to fall about 150 feet before they hit the water... not easy to do at home.
 
Has anyone used the Littleton's lead shot maker.The price of lead shot here is now $33.00 for 25lbs plus taxes.I know a flat of shell can be purchased for $42.00 ,which makes reloading hardly worth while,but I do like making my own.The Littleton machine can be bought for $375.00 US ,but I would like to here for someone that has one.Topgunner
 
We at MT Chambers Supply make lead shot and don't use a tower, right now we make lead shot in #8 and can offer it for sale at below the going price, one needs to experiment alot with the coolant liquid you use as unless this is just right you won't get good shot, alot of screening/separating follows, the cleaning and drying of the shot, the last step is to tumble it in grafite to keep it from balling up...we use dry moly instead as it is slicker and patterns better, the only major problem other than the many steps in manu. is the cost to ship!!
 
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