rodwha. Thank you so much for your advice. I actually have read some great info on THR and other sources as well and there were many opinions. I have been reading as much as possible over the last 9 months about every aspect of shooting/cleaning/preventing chain fires/preventing rust etc. in a black powder cap and ball revolver. There is a lot of awesome information out there. I am so glad and appreciate everyone's willingness to share their experiences with those who are trying to learn. A few weeks ago, I finally decided after much reading and weighing the pros/cons and opinions and went ahead and bought Ballistol. I am certainly open to anyone else's advice as well. I appreciate your time and advice. Thanks again. Tim
shortage of guns
- Thread starter paul harm
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So what revolver(s) have caught your fancy? Do you have a brand preference? And will this be a range toy or might you be considering hunting with it?
I’d suggest you look into making much of your needs. For instance I got into casting my own projectiles as I wanted a bullet with a wide meplat for hunting but didn’t find much that fit my needs. Kaido had Lee modify their 255 grn bullet, which is a good design, but it cost me $40/100 + shipping. Scrap lead was $1/lb so I could have about as many for about $3, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it being in stock or having mailing issues. I went to Accurate Molds and created designs to fit my needs. And what I’ve found with my revolvers, both 1:16” twist, is that the more accurate load stayed the same no matter what projectile I’ve tried so you can measure the excess space and figure out what the OAL of a bullet might be.
Of course some people are in to the traditional bullets, and others have found a ball more accurate or prefer slinging less lead to stretch it out. Some hunt with a ball too.
Punching cardboard cards and felt wads, cutting patches for my rifle, making my own bullet lube (Gatofeo’s #1 lube), rolling up less than traditional paper cartridges, along with casting has been rewarding and fun for me, though often a little time consuming.
Oh, and did you buy the pump or aerosol version?
Rodwha. Hi. Thank you for asking. So far I have 3 uberti’s and thinking about a Pietta 1861 Navy. Considering making lead balls but don’t know enough about it. Bought some felt today from company out of Arkansas that ClemBert mentioned on this site. Heard others like yourself mention cardboard. Man I Open to trying anythingGoing to get a punch set at H. Freight tomorrow. When I got thinking about the cost of Just wads alone at midway I figured why not try my own. The lead thing seems a little intimidating but I am open for that. Just want to shoot at the range basically. Cap and ball revolvers are what I am interested in most. I bought the 16 ounce non aerosol cans of Ballistol. Can’t I do the initial cleaning of a brand new out of box revolver with just Ballistol or should I mix with water to clean the factory grease off? Your thoughts/advice are appreciated. Thank you, Tim
It’s been quite some time now so I don’t recall what I used, something I found online, but it wasn’t Ballistol.
Sounds like balls are mostly what you’d want to cast, though Lee makes an inexpensive 200 grn RN.
rodwha. Good morning and thank you. Interested in seeing the Lee product you are referring to. Could you provide a link possibly? Thanks again Tim
I'm assuming you have an adjustable powder measure. 20 to 28 grs in a 44/45 pistol is a great target load. A little corn meal on to of the powder to keep the ball near the top of the cylinder and either grease on top of the ball or one of the wafers/sandwiches of homemade lube under the ball. I use to shoot all day at the national range using just one hole in the cylinder, lube on top, with that load in a Lyman 1858. I used 20grs at 25 yds and 28 at 50. At the end of the day that one hole would have fouling built up about a 1/4" deep. A beer or two and a bucket of hot soapy water to soak it in and then use a small screwdriver to dig it out. There were four of us who shot pistol all day and sat around drinking and cleaning em every night. Funny thing was that the pistols were put away for about 10 months with just Rem oil on them and they never rusted. Now a days most are against petroleum products. Oil is what I use on all my long guns also without problems.
Paul. Hey. Thank you. It’s so interesting to hear many different ways people shoot and clean their revolvers. I read, what I thought was an interesting and thorough perspective from someone who calls himself geojohn? He is an advocate of powder then wad/grease then ball. Guess I can try it all different ways and find methods that I like and use those. I’ve got a CVA field flask on the way and have 15, 20, 25 and 30 spouts already. I have .36 and .44 cal revolvers. I’m so glad you addressed where the ball should be in the cylinders. Somethings a person just doesn’t get even reading ya know? That was very helpful and thank you. Where does one get corn meal?
Captain*kirk
Member
Good morning, Tim.
The Lee conical I believe rodwha was referring to is the Lee 200gr conical bullet. I cast my own; here is what they look like hot out of the pot:
They shoot a bit low compared to a typical RB, but most any conical will. My biggest complaint is that they are a mighty tight squeeze:
...in some revolvers due to the fact it's a flat-bottomed bullet with no taper (.450 dia). Some guns, like this Pietta shown above, may require a bit of clearance. My ASP's did not.
Here is a link to the Lee bullet mould:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010201578?pid=285116
The Captain linked it. Another thought, though I don’t know the cost of the mold, would be the traditional pointy conicals. Your Uberti plungers should be designed to load them from what I’ve read. My Pietta is not. I had to modify the loading window to accept my wide meplat bullets and the ram kisses the nose so once I’ve figured out my final design I’ll be ordering another loading lever assembly to use epoxy to form fit the nose profile.
Captain*kirk
Member
If I were hunting, I would choose the conical with 35gr of 3F or sub. They also make a lot more noise on metal and swing a gong with much more enthusiasm, though I find a tight RB (shaving a lead ring) to be more accurate in most cases. If casting your own, there is also the weight factor (roughly 60 more grains for the conical) to consider...you will go through more lead shooting a conical.
If you are shooting paper, it's more economic to stick with a .454 or .457 RB and reduced powder for the same reason.
I also cast my own RB and shoot a lot more of them than the conicals.
If you are shooting paper, it's more economic to stick with a .454 or .457 RB and reduced powder for the same reason.
I also cast my own RB and shoot a lot more of them than the conicals.
So. What do you need and use to cast your own RB? Where does one get Lead? Sorry for so many questions. Thanks Tim
Captain*kirk
Member
You'll need a lead casting pot, dipper, piece of scrap wood (to knock the sprue cutter...it's HOT!) as basics. You can go way deeper if you choose. Lead (you'll ONLY want pure lead for casting RB and conicals) is available from numerous sources; MidwayUSA, Rotometals and plenty of others as well. I can help you with a list of other sources if need be. Please don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you like.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101025125?pid=357399
This sport can get a little expensive going into it? LOL oh well. All in good time right. Have fun on the way. Thanks for the open invitation to answering my questions. Very kind of you. Tim
Captain*kirk
Member
Some folks go basic with a cast iron pot on a camp stove. I prefer a electric pot with thermostatic control to help stabilize the temperature once the lead is melted.
Forgot to add, you will need some fluxing material (I use a smidge of unscented, uncolored candle wax), an old spoon to skim the dross, and a pair of leather gloves and safety glasses. Lead burns can be really nasty.
Forgot to add, you will need some fluxing material (I use a smidge of unscented, uncolored candle wax), an old spoon to skim the dross, and a pair of leather gloves and safety glasses. Lead burns can be really nasty.
Yes. Any burn is unpleasant. Never been burned by hot lead. Well if solder counts then I have thanks for the recommendations
For the wood to whack the sprue plate loose I bought a wooden hammer handle. I also use old cookie sheets and old hand towels to drop my just cast projectiles on to. The towels are wetted first of course.
If you have a scrap/recycle yard near you check to see if they sell lead. I bought old piping for $1/lb. However I moved to a city that doesn’t have a place that sells it so I’ll likely buy from Rotometals. But I’d be buying the 2% tin ingots as I often have issues with mold fill out and this may help. Some cast bullets are harder than that, around 8-12 BHN. I don’t want mine hardened much as they’re going slow anyway and being a hunter I wouldn’t mind a little expansion anyway.
Just about all of my casting equipment is cheap. Lee molds, pot, and ladle. Custom bullet molds aren’t cheap, but it’s not exactly expensive if you shoot enough and your design works well for your purpose. I’m fortunate I think that both my NMA and ROA have very similar lead capacities so a universal bullet keeps me to one mold.
If you have a scrap/recycle yard near you check to see if they sell lead. I bought old piping for $1/lb. However I moved to a city that doesn’t have a place that sells it so I’ll likely buy from Rotometals. But I’d be buying the 2% tin ingots as I often have issues with mold fill out and this may help. Some cast bullets are harder than that, around 8-12 BHN. I don’t want mine hardened much as they’re going slow anyway and being a hunter I wouldn’t mind a little expansion anyway.
Just about all of my casting equipment is cheap. Lee molds, pot, and ladle. Custom bullet molds aren’t cheap, but it’s not exactly expensive if you shoot enough and your design works well for your purpose. I’m fortunate I think that both my NMA and ROA have very similar lead capacities so a universal bullet keeps me to one mold.
woodnbow
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I’m not a fan of whacking on the sprue plate but when casting I’m always wearing welders gloves so I just grab the plate and rotate it by hand. My casting furnace sits on an old cookie sheet and adjacent to another cookie sheet with several layers of cotton towels on it. I don’t wet them and it seems to work well as long as they’re 100% cotton because hot bullets will stick to anything less than 100% cotton... 
Hi Woodnbow. Thank you for your advice and comments. I’m cheap and like learning new things. Making my own .375 and .454 RB’s sounds like a good idea to me. Okay. As you know, I’m knew you this stuff. The spruce is the appendage of lead left from the mold? I’ve read that some castings people leave the sprue? If so they tell you to have the sprue face the direction of the plunger as you force it into the cylinder? On another note I just ordered some wad felt and bought hollow punches. Midway $7.99 for 100 wads. That adds up fast, yeah I’m cheap LOLI’m not a fan of whacking on the sprue plate but when casting I’m always wearing welders gloves so I just grab the plate and rotate it by hand. My casting furnace sits on an old cookie sheet and adjacent to another cookie sheet with several layers of cotton towels on it. I don’t wet them and it seems to work well as long as they’re 100% cotton because hot bullets will stick to anything less than 100% cotton...
Captain*kirk
Member
Tim, the sprue is indeed the little piece of lead left from the pour hole. It hurts nothing if you load the RB with the sprue up (facing the muzzle) but some target shooters prefer to nip whatever is left with a small pair of dykes. Generally, I don't worry about it.
CK. Thank you for clarifying.
Wow. Great idea. Thank you. Tim
Captain*kirk
Member
That is a good idea! However, with some moulds that puts the parting line smack in the middle of the rifling...if that matters. A picky caster could easily shave the casting line and sprue off with a pocket knife, though.
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