Making Round Balls

[Long-Shot]

I was wondering how difficult it actually is to make your own round balls. I did a quick search on this but didnt reveal much. I want to get into it but pure soft lead is expensive and hard to come by. Wheel wights on the other hand are cheap (free in some cases) but more work. Would it be wise to use wheel weight alloy in a T/C Renegade? What are to pros and cons? Please keep in mind that again, I dont know much about muzzleloading or bullet casting for that fact. I am just trying to find a way to do it on the cheap. Also want to make my own cleaners, lubes, etc. so any suggestions on those would be great. I checked out moose milk, but not exactly sure what some of the ingredients actually are! Thanks a ton!

 

[frontier gander]

http://thepowerbeltforum.powerguild.net ... s-t707.htm

 

[cayuga]

Pure lead has a BHN of 5 or 6. Wheel weights have a BHN of 11-15. The harder the lead the more leading it will do in the barrel. I am not saying you can not shoot wheel weights. But these muzzleloaders really are made for pure lead.

Ask plumbers. See if they have old lead pipe. They also sell plumbers lead. The biggest cost of lead is the shipping.

Casting lead roundball is not all that hard. I use a LEE bullet mold. For a .50 caliber a .490 for a .54 caliber the .530 is a good one. Cheap patches can be found at Wal Mart. Go to the fabric department. Get a yard of 100% cotton pillow tick, blue or red stripe. Run that through the washing machine then line dry it. This can now be torn into strips when you need it.

Home made cleaners is easy. Save the water after you do dishes. Simple soap and water is still a great black powder cleaner. Also for leading, take the barrel out of the stock and use some brake cleaner from the auto parts store.

Home made patch lubes...

Moose Milk

A general purpose black powder solvent and liquid patch lube. Shake well before using

Castor Oil 4 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 8 oz.
Water (non-chlorinated) 16 oz.

I dip my patching material in this twice and let it dry between dunks on an old window screen. This makes a semi-dry patch material that's easy to carry & use. If you don't mind carrying a little bottle of moose milk liquid, it's a GREAT liquid lube as is. I carry it in an OFF Pump bug spray bottle and just spritz a patch. You can use it just like that if you want.

Be sure when making the Moose milk to mix the alcohol and castor oil together first. Then add the witch hazel. Add all of this to the water and shake. Finally after that mixture is all together add the Murphy?s oil soap.

 

[Long-Shot]

Does anyone know how to refine wheel weights? The reason I am concerned about this is because I have about four old metal 5 gallon cans full of them that I took from my grandfathers shop when he passed. I have no use for them other than making round balls! But I dont want to damage my gun. I was told that so long as the ball rides on the patch down the tube then all will be okay. And I cannot use them for hunting, which is fine.

The moose milk recipe, where do you find these ingredients? I know how the find the alcohol and water, but Witch Hazel? Castor Oil? Murphy's Oil Soap? Never heard of it. Are these products I can find at a hardware store or sports store?

 

[cayuga]

All of those ingredients are found in a pharmacy. I shop at Wal Mart. Very good lube, you can use it to clean the rifle also. And is easy to make and cheap.

I do not know how to refine that lead. I flux the dirt out of the lead with bees wax and that works good, then use a home made scraper to clean the stuff off the top of the pot.

If all you can get is wheel weight, then use wheel weights. Just get a couple good nylon brushes and after every tenth time at the range, shoot some brake cleaner down the bore and scrub the bore to make sure there is no lead.

Also do a full patch when you use wheel weights. That should cover the ball better.

 

[swoter]

Like Cayuga said, if all you have are wheel weights, use them. You might try posting an add on Craigslist in your area and trading for some pure lead. Those wheel weights are much in demand by those who cast their own centerfire bullets. Look up recycling centers in your phonebook, they sometimes have lead they will sale.
You can buy ready-made lube, or lubed patches in gun or sporting goods stores. I use a spit patch, and make my patches from pillow ticking.

 

[forest]

Pure lead has a BHN of 5 or 6. Wheel weights have a BHN of 11-15. The harder the lead the more leading it will do in the barrel. I am not saying you can not shoot wheel weights. But these muzzleloaders really are made for pure lead.

Ask plumbers. See if they have old lead pipe. They also sell plumbers lead. The biggest cost of lead is the shipping.

Casting lead roundball is not all that hard. I use a LEE bullet mold. For a .50 caliber a .490 for a .54 caliber the .530 is a good one.

Wheel weights do not shrink as much as lead so thay will be a hair larger then pure lead thus fit a little titer, and is a little lighter in weight not much but some