.600 or .595 ball?

I have been shooting my new smoothbore (and loving it!) and am getting ready to order a rapine bag mold. I find that a .600 ball loads great with a .010 patch but will not start with a .018 ticking patch without a short starter. So what would be better a .600 ball with a .010 patch, or a .595 ball with a .018 patch? I do like being able to thumb start my balls.
I like the idea of the .600 ball being a bit more standardized and easier to get swaged if I want or need to; and am leaning toward that size. Thoughts or suggestions? Thanks

Measure the actual bore diameter of the gun. Don't guess, which is really what you are doing with trying different balls with your patching. Is the patch lubricated, or not? Dry or wet? What is the actual diameter of that ball? All that affects how easy or hard it is to get a given diameter ball down a barrel with a given patch. Because there is no rifling in a smootbore to take up some of the material from patching, you are limited in the thickness of the patching you can use. You cannot use the same rules used by men shooting PRB in rifles. There are thicknesses of patching between .010" and .018" that you can also try.

Generally speaking, using the largest diameter ball give the best accuracy in a smoothbore, but we are talking about 50 yd. accuracy, and rarely will be using it at further distances. That being the case, a lot of combinations of ball diameter and patch thickness can give comparable accuracy at 50 yds.

If the barrel is not .620 or larger in diameter, then you might benefit from going to the .595 diameter ball. It will depend on how much smaller the bore diameter is on the gun. You are right to want to use the .600" ball, as they are available commonly from a number of commercial sources. I know of only one source personally that sells .595" balls, and I find them on Commercial Row at Friendship.

Get out that caliper and do some measuring. Then start measuring patch material at Wally world to see if you can find some in between choices. I found 4 different thicknesses when I checked my local store a month ago using a micrometer, all pillow ticking.

I have increased accuracy with smaller ball and thicker patch. Fill use lots of lube. When others are having problems loading due to fowling, I keep on shooting as the fowling is softer.

You could always try a .600 ball and no patch...

• 
  Powder
  Over-Powder Card
  .600 Diameter Ball
  Over-Shot Card

In my .62, I could not get good groups with ticking and a .595rb. So, I tried some .570's just for grins with left over buckskin. Was hitting or just missing eggs at 35-45 yards. Need to put in on paper to see for sure what its doing.

Java Man

BTW TOTW and LOg Cabin both carry .595rb's.

Smaller ball and thicker patch, is where it's at. This applies to smoothbores and rifles.

MattS said:

I have been shooting my new smoothbore (and loving it!) and am getting ready to order a rapine bag mold. I find that a .600 ball loads great with a .010 patch but will not start with a .018 ticking patch without a short starter. So what would be better a .600 ball with a .010 patch, or a .595 ball with a .018 patch? I do like being able to thumb start my balls.

Click to expand...

I've never personally had good success with thin .010" patches in any calibers that I've tried them in...and if for no other reason, always opt for a thicker patch combo as they hold more lube...and I settled on a .595" ball in my GM .62cal myself.

I like the idea of the .600 ball being a bit more standardized and easier to get swaged if I want or need to; and am leaning toward that size. Thoughts or suggestions? Thanks

Click to expand...

I'm not aware of any manufacturer who makes a swaged ball larger than a .570 (Hornady, Speer, etc)...thought they were all cast balls from that size up...if you happen to know one who does make swaged balls in the .595" or larger please share, thanks

I use the Musketman's bottom loading, with a bore sized ball. I lube the wad with a mix of 50/50 Mineral Spirits and Veggie Oil. Just load and shoot no cleaning between shots needed, and the accuracy is good!

Loading a ball without patching, is a very good way to destroy your gun, and get yourself injured or killed IMO.

Mark Lewis said:

Loading a ball without patching, is a very good way to destroy your gun, and get yourself injured or killed IMO.

Click to expand...

How so, please enlighten us?

As long as the over-shot card is installed properly to keep the ball in place, there will be no gap to allow the ball to move forewards and become an obstruction...

As far as the lead touching the bore, it's no worse than the lead shot rubbing against the bore on the way out...

MattS,
I recently tried flax tow as wadding. You pour powder, take a small wisp of tow, ram it to within 3 inches of the powder, drop the ball on it and ram it onto the powder. I was astonished at the better accuracy. Don't just put the wisp of tow in the muzzle and set the ball on it and try to ram. The ball gets stuck down there somewhere. The tow wraps itself around the ball and holds it in place till you shoot.
God bless.
volatpluvia

Musketman said:

Mark Lewis said:

Loading a ball without patching, is a very good way to destroy your gun, and get yourself injured or killed IMO.

Click to expand...

How so, please enlighten us?

As long as the over-shot card is installed properly to keep the ball in place, there will be no gap to allow the ball to move forewards and become an obstruction...

As far as the lead touching the bore, it's no worse than the lead shot rubbing against the bore on the way out...

Click to expand...

I would like to hear this one too!

Okay: My bore measures 626. Where do I find a " Bore Diameter" round ball to use?

I have had three smoothbores all with this same problem a 24 gauge and two 20 guages. the first one I had to use a 590 ball in it to thumb load a the ball with the blue and white pillow ticking which normally is .018, and this new 20ga the bore is correct at around .621 or .623. but if you take a .600 ball and add .36 you get .636 to try and put down a .623 bore. so how do you guys that have smoothbores use a 60 ball with 16 to 18 thos. patches. if I use thinner patches sometimes they burn, I also use a brass range rod, and let me tell you I could never use the little ram rod on the gun. I would like to now how many really ude a 60 ball with 18 thickness patch in a .62 calibre or 20 bore smoothie.

Paul,

They can be found on the Muzzleloaing Links Page, or at:

Link to Jeff Tanner

The price is fair, and they work well! :grin:

sooner or later you will end up with a gap. When that happens,.....BOOM!

Patch the ball. It's way safer, and historically correct. Wads are not.

Most long time smoothbore shooters use a .595-.590 ball in the bore you have a .575 with thick patch will also likely give good results, I have used .535 in a .58 and they shot as well as the .562, the over shot card methos is also a good one particularly if you opt for a larger ball.

"I would like to hear this one too!" Oh there will be many more to come you may want to start a folder on ML ML myths.

Mark Lewis said:

sooner or later you will end up with a gap. When that happens,.....BOOM!

Patch the ball. It's way safer, and historically correct. Wads are not.

Click to expand...

I thought that was the whole idea of marking your rod?

So, you are saying that there is more of a chance of not getting a un-patched ball seated, than a patched ball, WHY? :hmm:

I you use the loading as stated above, you can soot manny times without cleaning....and have had no leading of the barrel either.

I use .595 balls in my .615 bore English trade gun and .600 RB's in my .625 French Trade gun. Cards or wads work. Cards work with shot loads whether the shot is one bore size RB or a whole bunch of tiny ones. It's a personal preference for what the shooter is doing. One is just as safe as the other IMHO.