Anyone here load and shoot round balls in their revolvers? If so, where do you get them? It seems like an economical way to plink, but I'm not sure where to find lead balls of different diameters.

If you cast your own, it's still just about as cheap and easy to go ahead and cast a real bullet. Round balls used in BP guns can be loaded in shot shells, but that's something the shooter is already doing and doesn't really involve any extra work.

I shoot a round ball Gallery Load in a few of my 45-70's. They work great. Fantastic small game killer to 30 yards or so, and completely silent. I am woring on a Galery load now for the 45 Colt. But I am just going to use a 255 Keith for the 45 Colt. I didn't want to buy another mold. And a cast bullet wil do pretty well. But a roundball is a great idea.

I cast my own. But if you want to buy them then "Track of the Wolf" is a pretty good supplier to start with. Just be prepared. Round ball prices have increased drastically. But then what hasn't!! Also take a look at "Buffalo Arms". Shop around, you will find someone who casts them a little cheaper. Tom.

Years ago Hornady used to make .430 lead round balls (don't know if they still do) and they weighed 120gr. I used to shoot two of them out of my 44 Super Blackhawk. It was the same as firing a 240 gr slug. It was fun to watch the expression on peoples face when I pulled the trigger and two holes would show up on paper. I also shot 3 lead balls out of my .45-70. They were referred to as moly ball rounds.

Dixie Gun Works muzzleloading, blackpowder and rare antique gun supplies.

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Science plus Art

I have and do load .433 RB in 44 Magnum and 44 Special. I cast and load .454 RB in 45 AR and 45 Auto for use in a revolver and load .454 for use in 45 Colt. Cast your own and they are very cheap to shoot.

Many years ago I experimented with using two 36 caliber balls in a 38 special. Other than it worked I really don't remember much about it. I started casting my own .38 wadcutters 20 years ago and all that odd ball experimenting went by the wayside.

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Guy-Harold Smith II

Round Ball Loads
http://www.castpics.net/LoadData/Rou...ll%20Loads.pdf

Hornady makes swaged round balls starting at .310 inch and going up from there. Midway and Natchez list these, and so does Dixie Gun Works, and Dixie also lists a series of cast round balls. I have used them in .32 S&W and they work well for plinking at close range. With 1.4 grains of Trail Boss powder and a .315 RB the ball will penetrate a 3/4" pine board and a piece of 3/8" plywood at 15 feet. Seat them just deep enough so that a mild crimp will grab the ball.

Remington made a 357 mag multiball load.
Two 70 gr 000 buckshot. The load number is
R357MB. After reading this post, I checked my ammo locker and found a full 20 rd box.
I think it's time I shot some. Might just make a good SD load for my new 60-9. Just the the first two rds then three 125 Corbons.
So, if you want round balls, looks like 000 buck may work. I think 000 is 36 cal. I wonder if any reloading manual has data on loading 000 buckshot in .357

I shoot guite a few them and cast them myself.

I use .311, .360, .410, 429 and .451 diameters for .32s, .38/.357s, .41s, .44s and .45s respectively. They shoot okay and are accurate enough for the plinking I do, but lately I've been thinking maybe I need to go to larger diameters, based on the old cap and ball revolvers.

The old .36 cal. C&B revolvers used about a .375" ball out of a .369" or so bore and the .44 C&B revolvers used about a .451" ball out of a bore of around .440". Yes, they were made out of pure lead but they would have also had more surface to bore contact after being seated and sized in the cylinder on loading. I've been thinking about going to a larger diameter, based on the figures above, and then sizing them down to the proper diameter in a proper sizer die to get the same extended surface area but still fit inside the case.

By the way, I read the link above and have never found a need to use an over powder wad as they act just like bullets in that respect. Also, I'm sure Wild Bill Hickock and Elmer Keith would object to the statement that they aren't good for self defense, attorneys or not.

I have to issue a correction here because I got carried away with the penetration. The quote is accurate for a 77-grain hard cast conical over 1.4 grains of Trail Boss. The round ball will get through the plywood, but that's about it. Sorry.

I loaded some two-ball 000 loads in .38 SPL and three-ball in .357 Mag. They shot OK but nothing remarkable. I got the shot from Ballistic Products. I see the price has gone up quite a bit...

Super Buck Lead Buckshot #000 8lb .360"-Ballistic Products

I just recently started casting again, and the first thing was .457 round balls from a Lee mold for my Ruger Old Army, using 30:1 tin. Before that I bought commercial pure lead swaged bullets from Hornady or Speer. Those are up to about $13 a hundred locally. Yow!

I'm thinking about loading some in 45 Colt for my S&W 25-5. The throats are about .456". It shoots the Rem .455" swaged 250 LRNs fine, but I may cast some a little harder (say 20:1 tin) and see how they do. I think that with a case full of Trail Boss they may be fun, perhaps even accurate. The Old Army with a case filled with 3F black just so the ball clears when seated does well. It will shoot 3 cylinders and give a palm sized group at 50 yards before I need to run a wet patch down the barrel. I don't think that's half bad for a cap-n-ball.

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" I said, good DAY! "

I use 2 round balls in .44 Special for a defense load. Cast .433 RB and size to .429. I use bullet between the balls and the slight band gives "bullet" accuracy. 900 fps, 6" spread at 25 yds with one ball striking point of aim. Great in crowd or apartment situations (less unwanted penetration but a lot more smack than a single bullet). Useful for clearing the brush at night (I live way in the woods so NOTHING should be in MY brush uninvited) and perfect for the "fantasy" five on one gunfight everyone seems to imagine they are practising speed firing for.