Ball sizing between revolver and single/double shot pistol.

[dgray64]

First I was wrong on the caliber of my Snake eyes pistol. It's a .36 caliber. The barrels mic to .357.

The question is, I know that I need a larger ball for a revolver to cut a ring when the ball is loaded in the cylinder and I need a smaller ball for my muzzle loading rifle (.490 for 50 cal). For this snake eyes muzzle loader, what size ball would I need? I assume that it should be smaller so that I can wrap the ball in a patch., right? Thanks for the info.

Dave

 

[mykeal]

The answer lies in how the powder and ball are loaded into the breech. Revolvers do not use a patch (and thus require an 'oversize' ball) because they are fired from a smooth chamber across a gap and into a rifled chamber (the bore). A patch would not stay with the ball, so the ball itself must engage the rifling and serve as it's own gas seal, thus it must be oversize.

If the ball is loaded into the muzzle and does not have to transition between chambers then it should be undersize and use a patch (or a sabot), which will serve as a gas seal and engage the rifling (if present).

 

[scrat]

good answer

 

[Donny]

dgray

Your snake eyes pistol wil shoot a .350 diameter ball with a .010 or .015 thickness patch. This is the same ball patch combo you would use in a .36 cal ML rifle. A .36 cal revolver takes a .375 ball without a patch.

Don

 

[arcticap]

A .350 ball and a .010 patch would total a diameter of .37 because the thickness of the patch must be doubled to account for being wrapped around both sides of the ball. When a barrel doesn't have rifling, there just isn't much if any room (or grooves) to squeeze the excess patch material into. So compression of the patch is more difficult, especially after a few shots and the resulting build-up of fouling.
A .350 ball will be easier to load with an .005 patch though, since it totals .360, and target accuracy isn't really the purpose of shooting it anyway. The patch might rip because it's so thin, but it's worth a try since .350 balls are readily available.

Smoothbore long gun shooters often select balls that are .020 under the bore size, unless they're shooting a smooth rifle and want the highest level of accuracy and don't mind swabbing between each shot (and hammering the tight PRB load into the muzzle ).
You could also try a .330 ball with a .15 patch which would total a diameter of .360. The thicker patch might be a little easier to compress than a .350 even with the .005, and the accuracy still shouldn't suffer much (if there's much if any to lose! )
This one outfit sells a jug of #00 buckshot. Too bad the jug is so big and expensive. Maybe you can find something similar in a smaller package elsewhere?

http://shop2.mailordercentral.com/bpicart/prodinfo.asp?number=SBK20

See all of their buckshot sizes:

http://shop2.mailordercentral.com/bpicart/products.asp?dept=65