Ya know, I got to thinkin about this when this thread started as I have always read about such goins on with much interest whenever the subject of round ball plinking loads came up.
I figured that some a these loads, pure lead powered by TrailBoss, in my .38 would be fun. So I started looking at RB moulds. Then I figured I'd need to get one around .38 cal since the 36 cal would be to iffy when it came to fillin the barrel.
So I thought a Lee sizer die would squeeze a 38 down pretty good. But they only have a .358 and I wanted a .359 or .360 so I asked about opening up Lee sizing dies and found out that can be and is done so I figured I was on the right track.
Now squeezing a .380 ball down to .360 should create a flat waist on the ball. But I figured that was a good thing since it gave more area for the crimp to go and the rifling to grip.
So what I end up with is a cylinder with 2 round ends. This started me thinking that the accuracy with that round base wouldn't be all that good.
Heck! I hear that beveled bases aren't as accurate as flat bases!
So there I was, wishing I could think of a way to flatten the bases of my elongated balls so I'd have a short cylinder with one round end and one flat end... and while I was at it, it would make my round ball perfect if I could mark off where the crimp should go. Then the only thing left would be a way to lube these balls...
Then, slowly, a mental picture of this innovative jewel began to form in my mind...