It seems as though they have gone the way of the passenger pigeon. Does anyone have any idea if there is one out there? I can get a .562 (there are plenty of them), but want a .570. My smoothbore likes it much better than .562.
I believe that "hard cast" refers to the amount of tin and/or linotype (high tin content) added to the alloy. The higher the tin content, the harder the alloy. Water-dropping increases the hardness very little in comparison to the addition of tin to the melt.
I have a Lee ingot mold which casts 2 one pound ingots and 2 one-half pounders. I also have an old muffin tin that does well in my Lee melting pot. As posted earlier, if you watch your melt, the iron and zinc will float to the top, where it can easily be skimmed off.
Buying lead is getting much...
For me, Unique and 3031 are versatile powders. I use Unique in several pistol configurations, and 3031 in several rifle. Not the cleanest powders, but they do the job nicely, and definitely cut down on clutter in my powder cabinet.
I bought a box of 1000 Berry's plated .356 in 147 grains. Loaded them up with HS-6. My M&P 2.0 likes them, and they brought my POA up where I wanted - 115's and 124's print lower out of my gun.
I have looked virtually everywhere, and there is not a .570 round ball mold to be found anywhere. My English trade gun likes .570, and I would like to cast my own - I don't want to buy cast balls. Does anybody know of a source?
NEVER use smokeless in a black powder-only firearm. The pressure curves are so vastly different that smokeless could burst your barrel. Try subs like Pyrodex, Triple Seven, APP, or Blackthorn. Real Holy Black is still the best, though, IMHO.
The problem with that is that he used his own version of a patent breech system, and, I assume, it would take more gunsmithing to fit it out, than to re-bore the existing barrel.
I finally found a bag of #5 shot on eBay. The seller is asking $55 for the 25-pound bag of Lawrence chilled shot, unopened, and $16 shipping. I offered $45, and am waiting to hear back. Does this sound like a fair price? Every other place I've looked, the sellers are trying to hose everyone with...
Is there a gunsmith in NW Indiana who could re-bore a .40 barrel into a .45, and rifle it? My son-in-law was given a .40 handmade muzzle loader by my late stepfather-in-law, who thought that it would be legal for deer (which it is not). So. he would really like it r-bored to 45 caliber. Anyone...
I shot 3031 in my rolling block with great results. Both 406 and 500 grain lead bullets were very accurate. I used the Lyman cast bullet manual to start my load workups. My loads stayed within trapdoor pressure thresholds, and always shot better than I could hold.
Can't speak to the first 2 guns, but I had a Pedersoli rolling block that shot the 500 grain bullets well. I took an empty case and pushed a boolit into the mouth, then chambered the cartridge. That gave me the seating depth. 42-43 grains of 3031 shot very well out of that gun.
Not a Sharps, but a Pedersoli rolling block. I used 45 grains of 3031 behind a 405 RFP, and 43 grains of 3031 behind a gas-checked 500 grain RFP. Got the load data from my Lyman cast bullet manual. Both really good shooters, and both within trapdoor pressure parameters.
I have my great grandfather's Nitro Hunter. 12 gauge, 30" full-choked barrel. Stock and forend are worn, but solid. The bore is rough at the breech, due to the corrosive nature of powder and primers in the early 1900's, but she's still a shooter.
My JM-stamped Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited in 45 Colt. Great shooter - both in the woods and on the cowboy action firing range. Working up enough posts to list it here.