Actually zinc is toxic too!
Zinc shot was banned in the UK.
I used some and it was ok. Better than steel. Hey ho....
Zinc shot was banned in the UK.
I used some and it was ok. Better than steel. Hey ho....
-
This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.
Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades -
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
Patched iron balls?
- Thread starter Oldbear63
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
Hi Sidney. Just Had a conversation today with a nephew who lives in California. Seems his neighbor was out shooting gophers with some kind of unmentionable Small caliber. Got caught using lead, $3000 fine, three years lost license, three months probation. I think we need to stay very alert for this madness is going to spread.
Squint
I live in CA and purchased ITX round balls from ballisticproducts.com. Not sure what to use for a patch either. I wrote to them regarding a patches, however, they never replied back. I'm not even sure about the powder type or amount for these balls, so I'll probably be doing a little experimenting.
As far as the future of hunting in CA? There is no future really. The State is overrun by PC Sheep. If you don't think it will happen in your State, think again.
As far as the future of hunting in CA? There is no future really. The State is overrun by PC Sheep. If you don't think it will happen in your State, think again.
Why ? Have they eliminated all hunting?
Brokennock
Cannon
They are trying, and Commiefornia is just the "proving ground," for the rest of the country. The left knows they don't have to downright outlaw things they don't like, such as firearms and hunting, right out of the gate to get their way. They will find ways to tax these activities, and pass ridiculous rules and regulations regarding these things making it very difficult to impossible for the average citizen to participate. Once they make it so no one can play anymore, it is then far easier for them to just outlaw the activity or product they don't like.
I'm sorry, but, anyone who thinks this won't spread is fooling themselves.
Mark my words, if something isn't done to fight back, including taking control of the conversation and language used in the conversation, this all will be coming to a range or hunting area near you (and won't be the worst of what is inflicted on us.)
Last edited by a moderator:
Archery gear must be popular in California!
It was funny because the law was to save a condor that ate lead in animals. Those of us that hunt with lead, whether a modern revolver or a ball have never recovered a single one from an animal. I know I have not. They just don't come apart and leave pieces spread all over like a high velocity cup and core bullet.
Jay
36 Cl.
Went to a hunter education course with my son in California and after that course if that doesn’t make you never want to hunt in California I don’t know what else would there so many rules you could be in violation of that you wouldn’t even think should be possible so we never did go hunting and now you can’t use lead so you have to find something different to use for bullet
Yeah. It would be born from super fast frangible bullets that fragment in the quarry.
Muzzleloaders should be exempt from any Draconian rulings in any land.
lyman54
32 Cal.
In the past I have used RB made of wheel weights. No problems at all, they were of course patched as usual. As for hunting there probably would be a question of expansion.
Many Klatch
69 Cal.
- Joined
- May 19, 2006
- Messages
- 3,498
- Reaction score
- 265
I have shot ball bearings out of a smoothbore on rare occasions. They shoot well and because they are lighter than lead and perfectly smooth they shoot dead on at 100 yards. If you wanted to shoot ball bearings out of a rifle you would probably want to use a leather patch instead of cloth. A greased leather patch would not allow the ball bearing to mess up your rifling. I experimented with using leather patching with lead balls a long time ago. The patching was so thick that I was able to shoot a .50 ball in my .54 rifle. So you would have to do some studying to find a correct ball bearing and patch combination. One note of caution, ball bearings will ricochet, don't shoot at gongs with ball bearings any closer than 50 yards.
Years ago at Friendship there was a barrel maker that only shot ball bearings out of his guns. At the end of a match he could be seen downrange picking up bearings for reuse. He would shoot out a barrel after a year or two and then would simply install another one.
Years ago at Friendship there was a barrel maker that only shot ball bearings out of his guns. At the end of a match he could be seen downrange picking up bearings for reuse. He would shoot out a barrel after a year or two and then would simply install another one.
I have been doing the same thing, and they seemed to shoot as good but they run three grains lighter than my regular RB'S. I would be concerned about those that try to selvage Lead from sites that are shot at continually. Of all the lead mixtures that I have tested, wheel weights are the hardest. For years I've made lead hammers on two different molds I made, and the first one is 2 1/2 pounds and the next one is five. I tried printers lead,And they were so hard they would split. I deal with a general automotive repair shop that I keep making lead Hammers for, as they furnished the lead, but I'm able to reclaim the old hammers and re-melt. They beat some of those hammers until they are as flat as a pancake, the advantage being they don't mark threads or swell shafts. Give this old guy something to do. The plus side is I get all the wheel weights I could want to make 50 caliber round balls. They sure are pretty, they shine like silver. If I get a chance to hunt antelope this year, I will probably use the softer balls that I have.
Squint
8 BORE
50 Cal.
Glass is a terrible choice. Best used in a slingshot.
8 BORE
50 Cal.
How do you know? Have you tried them?
Elkeater
45 Cal.
This topic was up some time ago. I came away from it thinking copper would be the way to go. There is a manufacturer making them, not in very many sizes.
For those saying wheelweights are the non toxic answer, think again. Wheelweights are an alloy that contain any number of metals. Including but not limited to lead, zinc, tin, antimony. They have also been known to contain trace amounts of other heavy metals such as cobalt.There are lead free wheelweights out there, however they are largely comprised of zinc (also toxic). Tin and possibly antimony (I really don't recall if it is considered toxic or not) are considered non toxic but the traditional lead, tin, antimony wheelweight melted down and turned into a ball would not pass scrutiny for non toxic projectiles. However they DO work well in smoothbores when cast into round balls! Just don't shoot 'em California.
Guess I'll have to be the guinea pig and do the testing of patches and loads myself. Someone recommended a thin chamois material.
First you got to shoot a chamois!
Yes.
