What happened to 457 balls
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candymancan
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Ya man that sucks we have a horse boarded on 100+ acres of former dairy farm. But its the last farm here.. and theyve been trying to sell it for more houses.. a school and shopping center... the other 100 acres has already veen turned into two shopping centers. The kline family owns it.. a shame all thr current generation csn see is money. They have had the farm for 100+ years
BullRunBear
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At least for the moment Natchez Shooters Supply has .457 Hornady round ball for 18.00 per 100 plus shipping. However, no one seems to have Lee round ball molds in .457 and no backorder.
Jeff
Jeff
1KPerDay
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where?
Gaucho Gringo
Member
Ahem, my Tom Ball modified Rogers and Spencer uses .457 balls too!
Nice looking R&S. Just wondering what the modifications to it were. I have one of the blued ones that the frame has turned to the purple color that some are noted to do. Also have a .45 Colt conversion cylinder for it. The lockup with either cylinder is bank vault tight, better than any other revolver I own. In fact better than any revolver I have ever handled. The only thing I would have liked to see is the hammer not being so high.
dickydalton
Member
This is what the guy I bought it from put down. " This gun was accursed and given the 'full treatment' by the late legendary pistolsmith Tom Ball. Tom specialized in cap & ball revolvers and if you shot in the N-SSA you aspired to have one of his guns. The cylinder and barrel are sized to take a .457" round ball and no smaller. The twist is 1 in 16" and was one of Tom's barrels, blanks from Bobby Hoyt custom made to his specs. Everything in this revolver has been reworked to Tom's satisfaction. 1984 was the year he did the work, please look at the pics for verifying markings" The front sight is also different and dovetailed. I also have a R&S that I got last winter NIB from 1990.
candymancan
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At that price i might as well buy em locally for 22$ and use the range free.. range cost is 25$. So its a good deal to get balls for 22 and use the range for free. Because 2 boxes for 18 plus 10 shipping is 22$ lol
I just dont get why 440 , 451, 454 490, 530, 570 balls are all 10-12$...... but 457 is 18$.
I use 440, 530 and 570 btw. I also use 457. I havent tried 454 though. My Cabelas recently got like 20 boxes of 454 the other day. But cabelas wants 18$ a box. So thats high too but evens itself out with shipping cost added
I just dont get why 440 , 451, 454 490, 530, 570 balls are all 10-12$...... but 457 is 18$.
I use 440, 530 and 570 btw. I also use 457. I havent tried 454 though. My Cabelas recently got like 20 boxes of 454 the other day. But cabelas wants 18$ a box. So thats high too but evens itself out with shipping cost added
Bibbyman,
Good day. I am considering casting my own round balls. Specifically .375 and .454. Are you a fan of Lee's products? They do not seem quite as pricey as Lyman. Anyway, I read up on estimated round balls (caliber specific) made per 1 lbs ingot. It seems in a very short time the savings would show up. It truly is a no brainer that casting will pay for itself. Just curious sir what you are using for heating?
Thank you, Tim
Lee pro 4-20 electric pot. Probably not the best but good value.
I scrounge lead. I pre process scrap into ingots to reduce junk in the Lee pot.
Here I recovered 90 pounds of soft lead pipe bought at scrap yard for $50.
Are we neighbors? Sounds like my county - Ozark County.
No apartment complexes out here yet...
Friend of mine is a Deputy and got to take a helicopter ride with the DEA to bust a Neighbor of mine who had a large illegal MJ grow operation. Judge gave the neighbor a Suspended Imposition of Sentence and probation. As long as he keeps out of trouble for 5 years it all goes away like it never happened.
The local Sheriff does a Fugitive Friday post on Facebook of folks that they released and are now looking for all over again. I posted "Shouldn't this be called Catch & Release Friday? Since, you're just going to release these folks all over again."
Close. Some 4 hours further north.
brewer12345
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To give you an idea of how casting goes, I spent the morning casting with a very second hand lee 10 pound pot, a hot plate to warm up molds, and three molds: rcbs two banger 454 ball, accurate 3 banger 44 conical and a lee 2 banger 58 real. I used a new lead thermometer for the first time and I find them indispensable. After picking out culls, I ended up with about 400 balls, 250 Conicals, and 60 reals. I'd say this tool 4 or 5 hours including setup and cleanup. I imagine this is at least a year of fodder for my 44, and the reals are enough to figure out if my zouave will shoot them well. Aside from cost savings and that I enjoy casting, I don't think I have seen 400 454 balls available for purchase at one time in a year.
brewer12345,
Thanks for posting this. I am about to buy some molds and some lead and now a lead thermometer thanks to your comment.
I am excited at the prospect of doing this. Very encouraging sir. Thank you,Tim
brewer12345
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Zulch, ask questions before your first casting and we will try to answer them. I run my pure lead casts at about 800-825 degrees (around 750 for modern bullet alloys). When I turn the pot on, I also turn on a cheap hot plate almost all the way to max and set the molds on to preheat. By the time the lead is melted and up to temp, the molds are about there and after a few casts are putting out wrinkle free balls/bullets (wrinkles caused by too cold a mold or lead).
brewer12345. Thanks you sir. I most certainly will ask before i jump in. I appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge. I will be buying some Lee (2 mold) molds for .375 and .454. , a ladle, old hammer wood handle for assisting the sprue cutting and some ingots. I have an old slove for my heat source. Any thoughts/cautions on that? What's the average going price of pure soft lead by the way? On eBay, it seems to vary.
Thank you,
Tim
I appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge. I will be buying some Lee (2 mold) molds for .375 and .454. , a ladle, old hammer wood handle for assisting the sprue cutting and some ingots. I have an old slove for my heat source. Any thoughts/cautions on that? What's the average going price of pure soft lead by the way? On eBay, it seems to vary. Thank you,
Tim
brewer12345
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I find a bottom pour pot allows me to produce a lot of casts quickly. If you use a pot on a stove, you will need a casting ladle specifically made for this.
With modern bullets, alloy is less important. For cap and ball, you really need soft, pure lead. Tough to be sure what you are getting on ebay. I have been buying pure lead from rotometals for my cap and ball casting.
With modern bullets, alloy is less important. For cap and ball, you really need soft, pure lead. Tough to be sure what you are getting on ebay. I have been buying pure lead from rotometals for my cap and ball casting.
Jackrabbit1957
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I would definitely look at the Lee production pot, not real expensive and they work good. Check with local hospitals and imaging places, they replace lead shielding on a regular basis, you can get a lot of lead for next to nothing.
whughett
Member
If I may offer a plug for another member on another forum. Jump over to the Muzzle Loading forum and pm Justin.44. Just bought 51 pounds of roofing lead from him. He has run several posts in the Trading section there.brewer12345. Thanks you sir. I most certainly will ask before i jump in.
Thank you,
Tim
whughett...Thank you sir. I really appreciate that. I will check it out.
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