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Casting mini balls

CaddmannQ

CaddmannQ

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I have a welding torch set & also about 300 lbs of big lead plates laying around. They're weights I poured for my dad's tractor, 35 years ago from surplus lead.

Anyhow, I intend to pour my own slugs for a black powder gun, just for fun and the experience, but the one I own is trash & I haven't bought a new one yet. Dunno what make to buy yet but I suspect it'll be a .50 cal that uses shotgun primers.

I was thinking of making my own mold, but it's probably not worth it. What's the best type of mold to buy for casting up small quantities of mini-ball type stuff? Should the mold cool fast or slowly? steel or alloy?

I have a ton of questions & they're probably all the wrong ones . . . :rolleyes:

I've done a little reading on the web, but I need to find a good book on modern black powder shooting.

Any suggestions are welcome.
 
Iron molds are more desireable but require more maintenance to prevent rust and to clean up before casting. Brass molds are cadillacs. The Lee Reloading aluminum mold does a remarkably good job for a very affordable price and they need almost zero maintenance. I own more Lee molds than any other type.

Best of Luck and have fun!!!

Oh, I hope the lead is dead-soft almost pure and not a lead alloy which could very possibly be too hard.
 
I only have a lee 1 oz slug mold.

But listen to nitesite. He has forgotten more than many people have ever learned about reloading and casting.
 
Thanks guys. I've cast some weights and some trinkets from lead, but never cast a single bullet.

I don't know what the lead I have came from, but it is pretty soft. I suspect it was all from old wheel weights.

I see Lee makes a kit you can use to test bullets for hardness. Is this worthwhile for casual shooting?

Accuracy isn't my main concern, but is there much chance a too-hard ball could cause a blowout?

I'm thinking, the ball is almost loose, and only the patch holds it in the bore, but do they expand and jam?
 
Well then, the thing that made Minie ballls so devastating in their day was that the base expands to more fully seal the bore and better engage the rifling to get them spinning. That, combined with their more aerodynamic shape, made them fly faster and more accurately.

The expansion of the base would indicate the need for soft lead.
 
Thank you so much, guys.

I guess I was trying to be too generic, and I use the terms balls and slugs interchangeably.

Anyhow, I have an old CVA smoothbore pistol that needs restoration, and it will shoot round balls.

But I intend to get a rifled black powder muzzle loader that shoots Minie's, so I will be trying to cast both.

I would also like to have a cartridge single-shot like a Ruger #1 or similar.

When I was young, I was enamored of automatic weapons; but now that I'm old and the lure of psychotic mass lead-slinging has worn off, I'm more interested in target practice & the social aspects of shooting, and I think that large bore single-fire shooting and maybe the black powder club would be ideal for me.

Once I figure out how to do it all. :rolleyes:
 
Short answer::::

If your lead ingots were from wheel weights and you cast some round ball bullets for stuffing down the muzzle to seat against the powder charge...

And the lead balls are a little too hard AND maybe a 0.005" oversize it'll be difficult to cram a round ball down the bore with your ramrod.

But it can be done if you figure it out.
 
Thanks again Nitesite, and be assured that I'll read the long answers with great interest, should you feel inclined to post such. :cool: Also, please recommend some reading if you have a favorite guide to this business.

I will certainly test the lead for hardness first.

I did expect to have to "size" my castings, but is this commonly done?

Or is it normal just to cast and shoot?
 
I think your going to find that there aren't many, if any, molds casting a true Minie' that will work in the 50 cal. I could be wrong, won't be the first time, LOL! In my experience, the solid base bullets that are engraved by the rifling when seated usually shoot more accurate in the 45, 50 and 54 cal. Hawken type rifles. The true Minie' shoots very well in my 1863 Zouave when I run them through a sizer to bring them to .577" after casting with pure lead. I don't cast nearly as much as I use to. I get well cast Minie' bullets from Track of the Wolf.
 
CaddmannQ said:
Thanks again Nitesite, Also, please recommend some reading if you have a favorite guide to this business.
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The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. And also lots of good casting info at the LASC (Los Angeles Silhouette Club) website http://www.lasc.us/castbulletalloy.htm

CaddmannQ said:
I will certainly test the lead for hardness first.
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Sorta hard to conveniently do. Better sometimes to buy known BHN lead from a foundry if you aren't going to make thousands of boolits but want custom tailored bullets based on hardness. Those Minie projos with hollow bases are pretty tough to make even a FEW of.

CaddmannQ said:
I did expect to have to "size" my castings, but is this commonly done?
Click to expand...

Minie Balls if they are soft enough with that soft skirt are "under sized" during ramrod loading and expand to fit the bore on combustion. Solid base hard cast bullets (not muzzle loaded) normally get sized beforehand in order to fit the bore due to their hardness and solid bases. Round ball starts out a bit oversize in a BP revolver and gets crushed into the rifling during firing but it's gotta be soft lead. Round ball in a musket is undersized and cloth patched or paper patched to fit the bore.

CaddmannQ said:
Or is it normal just to cast and shoot?
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Flat based bullets can certainly be sized. Are we still talking black powder shooting from a muzzleloading rifle?

I might consider buying a mold that casts a hard flat base bullet and then get some appropriately fitting sabots and shoot sabot slugs for cheap compared to the complications of tryng to make your own concave based soft lead minie ball bullets that ride the bore.
 
I was assuming they could be cast easily, but evidently that's not the case.
I may just stick to musket balls. ;)
 
CaddmannQ said:
I was assuming they could be cast easily, but evidently that's not the case.
I may just stick to musket balls. ;)
Click to expand...
They can be easily cast. I go an extra step and size my Minie' bullets but for normal shooting, it's really not necessary. Get a mold that's a few of thousandths smaller than groove diameter and shoot them as cast.
 
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