Roundball Plinker Loads

[Cosmoline]

I was trying out some .450 Marlin handloads this morning, including one using .457 soft lead roundballs. I haven't experimented with roundballs out of a modern rifle much and didn't expect much in the way of accuracy. The load is 8 grains of Unique with instant grits packed on top to keep the powder in place. The roundball is pressed in almost flush with the rim, then the rim is crimped. This load gave me seven bullseyes at 25 yards! That's instant grits and instant squirrel or rabbit. Recoil was extremely mild but still enough to feel that the powder went off. They're so accurate and dirt cheap I'm going to load up fifty for plinking practice. The only drawback is they don't cycle so well in a levergun, but in the field they'd be dropped in from above anyway. At 25 yards they hit to the same point of aim as the big bear loads hit at 75 yards, so I don't need to do any sight adjustment.

Anyone else use these?

[Old Savage]

Friend of mine did this with the 45-70 to make loads for his grandson to shoot.

[SmokeEater2]

I load round ball loads and shot and ball loads for my .45 for plinking,rabbits in the garden etc. The shot/ball loads are for all the dang copperheads we have this year. I don't know if all the rain we've had is putting them on the move or what but I sure don't care for them around the house.

[Ysabel Kid]

I load round ball loads and shot and ball loads for my .45 for plinking,rabbits in the garden etc. The shot/ball loads are for all the dang copperheads we have this year. I don't know if all the rain we've had is putting them on the move or what but I sure don't care for them around the house.

So, what is your recipe for these shot and ball loads?

[JReed]

I load a similar load for my .45colt using 5gr of Unique. They are extremely light my boys love shooting it.

[Cosmoline]

Is everyone else using a filler? I didn't used to, but I got nervy about the freak explosions I've heard about. Not sure if that's a myth, but it can't hurt to pack the powder against the primer for consistent ignition.

[Pete44ru]

I use .457" commercial pure-dee lead swadged round balls, Speer usually, seated right on a small blackpowder charge in my .45 Colt New Vaquero, and have used it with a bit heavier load in a .45-70 Marlin.

.

[Brian in FL]

I use them in my H & R replica Officers Model Trapdoor Springfield ahead of 13 grains of Red Dot. They work fine without any filler, and the recoil is very mild.

[HEAD0001]

There are a lot of guys out there that are very smart when it comes to reduced loads. I shoot a load of 3 grains of Red Dot with a round ball in 45-70. I used Puf-Lon for a while. However the Puf-lon was very dirty. So I only load the Red Dot now. However I make sure that I Point the rifle up into the air to place the powder at the botton of the case before I shoot the load. And I am very careful. This is a fantastic 30 yard or so load for small game hunting while in the deer woods. The load is completely silent in my 45-70's.

I am by no means an expert however 8.0 grains of Unique in a case the size of the 450 and in a non-single shot rifle would scare the dickens out of me. I would not shoot that load in my lever actions, but then that is just my opininon. And I am probably wrong?? However I am very careful. Tom.

[marlinman93]

I've shot round balls in various guns for years. Mostly in my old singleshot Ballards in .38 Long and .32 Long. With all the choices in round ball diameters and molds, I evntually worked up a couple loads that I cast for and they give me very good accuracy. I use about 3.0 grs. of Unique in either the .32 or .38 Long.
I haven't cast or worked up a load for my Ballard in .44 Ballard Long, but I'll probably just bump it up a couple grains to around 5. grs.
Round ball loads for plinking are great fun!

[SmokeEater2]

I load round ball loads and shot and ball loads for my .45 for plinking,rabbits in the garden etc. The shot/ball loads are for all the dang copperheads we have this year. I don't know if all the rain we've had is putting them on the move or what but I sure don't care for them around the house.

So, what is your recipe for these shot and ball loads?

YK, I got my idea from this gunblast write-up. http://www.gunblast.com/Snake_Stopper.htm

I have 2 boxes of Traditions .454 round balls that were on the clearance table at the farm store awhile back and I'm using them and #8 shot I got from cutting open some 20 gauge quail loads I've had for years (don't know why I've got 'em I don't Quail hunt) and cut the wads out of that gray cardboard that is on the back of writing tablets (Hint: make sure Your wife is finished with the tablet first ) and stoke it with 5 grains of W231.

[awp101]

The roundball is pressed in almost flush with the rim, then the rim is crimped.

How do you press it in? Thumb pressure? Arbor press? How about crimping the rim? .45-70 die? (for .45-70 loads obviously )

[Cosmoline]

I am by no means an expert however 8.0 grains of Unique in a case the size of the 450 and in a non-single shot rifle would scare the dickens out of me.

That's why I pack it down with grits. I'm not entirely convinced on the whole mega-explosion theory of light loads.

[Ysabel Kid]

I load round ball loads and shot and ball loads for my .45 for plinking,rabbits in the garden etc. The shot/ball loads are for all the dang copperheads we have this year. I don't know if all the rain we've had is putting them on the move or what but I sure don't care for them around the house.

So, what is your recipe for these shot and ball loads?

YK, I got my idea from this gunblast write-up. http://www.gunblast.com/Snake_Stopper.htm

I have 2 boxes of Traditions .454 round balls that were on the clearance table at the farm store awhile back and I'm using them and #8 shot I got from cutting open some 20 gauge quail loads I've had for years (don't know why I've got 'em I don't Quail hunt) and cut the wads out of that gray cardboard that is on the back of writing tablets (Hint: make sure Your wife is finished with the tablet first ) and stoke it with 5 grains of W231.

Excellent! Thank you for the link!!!

[blackhawk44]

Low velocity round ball loads have a tendency to ricochet so beware of firm to hard targets or backstops. For my loads, I always gave the projectiles a light wash in Lee Liquid Alox. I never had a problem with leading after I started using the alox treatment.

[gimdandy]

Cosmoline,
There was a fellow on the old sight that referred to himself as combineman that moved to Idaho Falls Idaho and had close neighbors and figured out a load for his -06 with ball and a very light charge of something. and after repeatedly hearing bout really light charges and bad or poor ignition he took said gun to back yard w/ light charges and repeatedly shot into ground so that powder was as far as possible from primer. He said not nary a problem nor any sign of a problem. THIS IS ALL FROM MY MEMORY. However it has stuck and I will repeat those steps in one of my 45-70's w/ bullseye and reddot , winchester WSF as well. For I have messed w/ empty cases and just a primer a few times and they flash well beyond the throat of the barrel. Pressure spikes are still limited to the amount of powder used. I. E. 3 gr of Unique is impossible to pressure spike 40,000 lup with even a 405 projectile let alone a 100 and some gr round ball.
Don't take this as anything but information. When reloading anything you have to do your own research and use your own brain. I don't exceed any published data and I always verify. This is just information only fyi food for thought etc

[gamekeeper]

Cosmoline, thanks for starting this thread. When or if I get my Winchester 94 30/30 I will have to make up some very light loads or I'll never get to use it around here!

[Nath]

I use to load a .33 buckshot into a 308 W case with just a primer for garden duty years ago.
Gk, I use to be able to get 80grn r, nose bullets for somekind of 32 auto that was 308" instead of the usual 311". They were fun but did not kill very well really.
There is some cast 116grn bullets here that would knock the snot out of critters loaded backwards and popped out slow if you want them.

Nath.

[BAGTIC]

I have been loading round ball loads for over 30 years but only for one at a time loading. I coat my HTWW balls with JPW. I seat the ball directly on top of a light load of Red Dot, drop it is the case and push it down with the eraser end of a pencil.

[Cosmoline]

I seem to remember the author of "45 Years with the .45-70" working up some roundball loads as well. But my copy got legs and ran off years ago. Anyone have access to this classic?

[JReed]

Cosmoline, thanks for starting this thread. When or if I get my Winchester 94 30/30 I will have to make up some very light loads or I'll never get to use it around here!

Here check this out Junior has a nice article about 30-30 round ball loads. http://www.castbullet.com/shooting/rb30.htm

[Whit Spurzon]

A while back I picked up a .454" round ball mold and I've been trying to find a useful load for my RNV and Marlin 1894CB. This time I used 6 grains of Red dot which averaged 730 fps out of my 5.5" Ruger New Vaquero and 953 fps out of the Marlin. At 25 yards the load prints about 8" lower than point of aim in the Ruger and almost right on with the Marlin.


The 25 yard Ruger New Vaquero Round ball group is below the target on the cardboard. The group in the bull is a 255 grain Lee bullet over SR4756 (~925 fps) that shoots POA out of the RNV.

Even at 25 feet the group was lower than what I would consider practical for field use.


25 foot target RNV- 5 shot 255 grain load in center of the bullseye, the RB load (2 shots) at the bottom of the bull.

The Round Ball / Red Dot load does shoot close to point of aim out for the 1894CB at 25 yards but the cases come out very sooty and gas blows back through the bolt.

[BAGTIC]

Have you tried seating the balls deep, directly on top of the powder? It increases load density and makes for more uniform ballistics. I have never had problems with smoked cases when seating the ball on top of Red Dot.

[Whit Spurzon]

I haven't tried seating them deeper. I'd expect that would help. I'm not sure they'd cycle through the action as well as these do though. Fun experiment.

[gamekeeper]

Cosmoline, thanks for starting this thread. When or if I get my Winchester 94 30/30 I will have to make up some very light loads or I'll never get to use it around here!

Here check this out Junior has a nice article about 30-30 round ball loads.
http://www.castbullet.com/shooting/rb30.htm

Thanks Jeremy, very useful.