A Weighed and Sorted Ball Experiment

[Semisane]

Do "light" balls have air bubbles, impurities, or voids that make them out of balance and cause flyers?

Last Friday I conducted a shooting experiment that consited of shooting two 5-shot/50 yard groups with the balls weighing exactly the same and two 5-shot/50 yard groups with each ball weighing at least two grains different from all other balls.  These balls were given to me and, as far as I know, were all cast from the same mold.

Here my report, with the targets. 

The gun - .54 Great Plains flintlock with Lyman 57 peep sight, shot from a bench with a Caldwell shooting rest under the barrel and rabbit ear bag under the buttstock.

All shots were with weighed charges of 85 grains GOEX FFFg, using .016 thick patches lubed with olive oil.  The patches were lubed Thursday night and placed in a stack.  The stack was wrapped in a double layer of paper towels and placed under a weight to squeeze out excess oil overnight and assure all patches had an equal amount of lube. 

I used a ball seating rod with a "stop collar" that I set upon loading the first ball.  So all balls were seated in exactly the same place in the barrel with exactly the same seating pressure. 

The first shot on the first target was from a clean oiled barrel that I swabbed with a dry patch before loading.  After the first shot I swabbed the bore with both sides of one 91% alcohol patch, followed by one side of a clean dry patch.  I followed that same swabbing procedure after each succeeding shot.

Target #87 -  All balls weighed exactly 234.5 grains.  Group size was 2 & 1/4".
Target #88 -  One ball of each of the following weights - 228.5 grains / 230.0 grains / 231.5 grains / 233.5 grains / 235.0 grains.  Group size was 2 & 1/8"  (with 4 of the shots into 1 & 1/8").
Target #89 -  All balls weighed exactly 234.5 grains.  Group size was 1 & 3/4".
Target #90 -  One ball of each of the following weights - 228.5 grains / 230.0 grains / 231.5 grains / 233.5 grains / 235.0 grains.  Group size was 1 & 5/8"   (with 4 of the shots into 1 & 1/8").

I do believe you can draw your own conclusions.  As for me, I sure won't be wasting my time weighing balls.

SOME GENERAL COMMENTS:  I was really concentrating on shooting technique, trigger pull and sight picture.  At no time during this session did I feel I made a bad shot.  I may even have been extra careful shooting the groups with the assorted weight balls.  As for the first target with the largest overall group (by a small margin) - I'll say that it's not unusual for me that my first group in a shooting session is a little larger than following groups.  I probably should have shot a "dummy" group first just to get my technique settled in.  My eyesight makes iron sight shooting a bit challenging, even with the Lyman peep.  I suspect a good iron sight shooter could really stack them in with this gun and load. 

Here are the targets.










HEY!  Did you notice something???  I shot the first two targets with round patches and the second two with square patches - all cut from the same patch material.  Not a penny's worth of difference between the two.

Well, the gun was dirty, the weather was nice, and I had plenty of preloaded powder tubes.  So just for the heck of it I shot another group with matched weight balls, but added a wonder wad under the ball.  Got a good group, but not significantly different from the others.  Here's the target.





Does anyone feel like weighing their balls, or cutting round patches?


_____________________________

My wife says I'm totally nuts, but I think I'm Semisane.

". . . the more power we give the government the more corrupt it will become . . ." Ronald Reagan

[necchi]

Nicely done experiment, it looks like you took plenty of care to eliminate the variables. I weigh ball, have for years, I use store bought Hornady or Speer.
I toss any that are +/-2 grains or more out of the average for the box into a box for future casting.
 I have found that even the same Manufature, if the box isn't from the same lot #, wil vary as to the average weight for that box.
 I group ball by +/- .5 of a grain so each of my weighed ball are with in 1 grain span of others in the group, I'll get usually 2 groups out of a box of 100 with maybe 5-6 that are way out tossed in to the scrap box. The only differance I've noticed between standard and "light" ball is they will pattern/group on target in a slightly different area, any "fliers" I get I account to my error even on the bench.
 So is weighing necessary? I've seen it proven too many times that NO it isn't! But it does allow me the extra confidence factor of knowing I've eliminated one more varible, and I can concentrate on trying to figgure out what else I have done wrong  .
 One of the things I have learned to check is how round a ball actually is,,take a Horandy ball and roll it across a flat surface like the kitchen table,, it'll wobble and roll to one side or the other. A Speer ball rolls straight like a good glass marble. I think "round-ness" is more important.
On the subject of patch shape, I prep my lubed patching material in strips and cut at the muzzle after seating the ball. I used to be very meticulus about getting it nice and flat and not leaving any extra material. I have learned through observation of some top shooters and my own experiance that extra material over the seated ball makes absolutly no differance. The biggest issue here is that the ball is surrounded equally where it's contacted by the land and grooves and distrbution of the lube is consistant throughout the patch material. I have tried wads and different stuff as over powder cushins and haven't seen a huge differance in group size at all, I spose with really heavy charges a cushin of some type would help maintain the integrity of the patch itself, but I've found no need for it, as my shot/recoverd patches look ok.

[Semisane]

So is weighing necessary? I've seen it proven too many times that NO it isn't! But it does allow me the extra confidence factor of knowing I've eliminated one more varible, and I can concentrate on trying to figgure out what else I have done wrong  .

   That's a hoot necchi.  But confidence is everything, and a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.  Kinda` like wearing your lucky underware. 

[necchi]

I used to bow hunt, part of the prep for that was joining an Archery club so I could practice shooting. I went to a tournement once too compete under "mens hunter" division,(placed 1st), but I stood next too a gent that shot Target division, this guy was GOOD! I mean he was one of the top shooters in the multi state region! I noticed that during the flight of 60 arrows, that he wasn't doing as well as I'd previuosly seen him shoot. At the end of it all, I asked him "What's going on Tom, you've missed a few X's?"
 His simple responce has stayed with me for more than twenty years, he wasn't frustrated, he wasn't angry with himself, he wasn't blaming any factor of the equipment or environment. He quite simply said;
" I'm learning something, I just haven't figgured out what it is yet."
 My lesson from that simple comment was so profound, the man had control of frame of mind, his accuracy was actually a control of "self", a discipline of understanding the human factor. Once a person eliminates all of the mechanicle variables of the tool he's shooting, he can begin too concentrate of the truest issue of accuracy

[flintlock]

necchi...That perfectly round ball is going to squat when you pull the trigger and then it is an oblate sphere...So, it's not round anymore, the sides will have the lands embedded into the sides and it will be shorter along it's axis then around it's equator...This is what helps seal the gasses as well...

[Trapper-Jack]

Well done experiment!  I did the same thing several years ago, but not to the extent that you have.  My own conclusion was that my time was better utilized to practice my shooting skills rather than sorting ball by weight.  I do visual inspection though and throw the wrinkled ones back into the lead pot.

[Semisane]

Just for the heck of it, I overlaid each of the targets on a clean target and marked the center of the bullet holes.  Here's the composit with all twenty-five shots. 

Now, if I could just do that at 100 yards.