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Author Topic: .451 or .454 round ball mold?????  (Read 2761 times)

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Offline czvz

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.451 or .454 round ball mold?????
« on: November 26, 2011, 01:20:11 AM »
Hello again,  I have the .44 cal Pietta 1858 New Army revolver... love it.  But wanted to start casting my own lead balls.  Should I get  the Lee .451 or .454 ball mold?  I have only shot Hornady .454 balls through it and see some shavings when pressing into the cylinders.  An online review suggested a .451 mold assuming harder wheel weight lead would be easier to ram the balls home.  What do my esteemed colleagues  suggest?
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Offline coyotejoe

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Re: .451 or .454 round ball mold?????
« Reply #1 on: November 26, 2011, 06:19:39 AM »
Either could be right, depending on the gun. I've slugged the bores of quite a few .44 C&B revolvers and all I've found had groove diameters in the .451-.452" range, same as a .45 ACP.
The chambers on many revolvers are really undersized so that a .451" ball will be a tight fit. That's really going about it bassackwards. The chamber diameters should be at least as large as the groove diameter of the bore, if not a thousandth larger, then the ball should be a couple of thousandths larger then the chambers. I hand ream my chambers to a standard .4515" and have no trouble loading a soft lead ball of .457". I've never shot wheel weight balls so can't comment on that but for soft lead I'd go at least .454"
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Offline eldoradolee

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Re: .451 or .454 round ball mold?????
« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2011, 06:36:58 PM »
 :) :)
Quote from: czvz on November 26, 2011, 01:20:11 AM
Hello again,  I have the .44 cal Pietta 1858 New Army revolver... love it.  But wanted to start casting my own lead balls.  Should I get  the Lee .451 or .454 ball mold?  I have only shot Hornady .454 balls through it and see some shavings when pressing into the cylinders.  An online review suggested a .451 mold assuming harder wheel weight lead would be easier to ram the balls home.  What do my esteemed colleagues  suggest?
Howdey,I have 4 of the exact revolvers that you have.They all work great with with .451 Pure Lead balls
 cast from a Lee aluminum mold.Use pure soft lead for best results.Leave the hard wheel weight lead alone
 Good luck,Lee
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Offline Gatofeo

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Re: .451 or .454 round ball mold?????
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2011, 03:08:14 PM »
I use nothing but .454 or .457 balls, and have for many years. It simplifies things.
I occasionally use .457 balls because I bought them on sale a few years back. On the main, however, I use .454 balls. I gave up on .451 balls years ago.
Using .454 ensures a tight seal in the chamber. This prevents movement of the ball from recoil. Using the .454 (or .457) ball also creates a wider bearing band for the rifling to grip. The difference in the amount of force required to seat a .454 ball, as opposed a .451 ball is minimal. Disregard dire warnings from shooters who claim it unduly strains their rammer; this is hokum.
Or, they have a cheap revolver made of inferior metal. Any decently well made revolver will certainly accomodate a ball .003 inches (three-thousandths) larger without strain. If the rammer bends or is damaged, the fault lies in shoddy workmanship and materials, not ball size.
I buy and cast .454 balls. Similarly, I began using .380 diameter balls years ago in my .36s and never looked back. Never had a problem with them in any cap and ball revolver.
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Offline eldoradolee

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Re: .451 or .454 round ball mold?????
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2011, 06:42:20 PM »
Quote from: coyotejoe on November 26, 2011, 06:19:39 AM
Either could be right, depending on the gun. I've slugged the bores of quite a few .44 C&B revolvers and all I've found had groove diameters in the .451-.452" range, same as a .45 ACP.
The chambers on many revolvers are really undersized so that a .451" ball will be a tight fit. That's really going about it bassackwards. The chamber diameters should be at least as large as the groove diameter of the bore, if not a thousandth larger, then the ball should be a couple of thousandths larger then the chambers. I hand ream my chambers to a standard .4515" and have no trouble loading a soft lead ball of .457". I've never shot wheel weight balls so can't comment on that but for soft lead I'd go at least .454"
??? Stick to the .451 pure lead balls in your Remingtons.They seal great,shoot great.Lee
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Offline Flint

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Re: .451 or .454 round ball mold?????
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2011, 07:15:30 AM »
Good advice.  I reinforce the comment, DON'T use wheel weight or linotype, or any alloy normally used for cartridge bullets...  Use only pure lead.  Guarantee you will bend a loading lever trying to seat a hard alloy ball,.  Pure lead will also obturate to fill the bore better.
A Pietta can tolerate a 451 ball, an Uberti needs a 454.  A 454 will work fine in a Pietta, will cut more ring when seating.  457 is too large for a Pietta unless you've reamed the chambers to match the bore.
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