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sprue up? or down?

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BigDogg

45 Cal.
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
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Hi all. I'm wanting to get into casting my own roundballs. Probably a dumb question, but I didn't see it on a search. Do you load sprue up or down? And are there advantages to either way? Thanks for any help.
 
psst ... yea, over here ... now, you didn't hear this from me, but if you ever put the sprue facing down, the flintlock fairy will pee in your touch - hole, and then the perfect five shot group with the holes touching at a zillion yards will be spoiled at the very last shot by a flier, and then your dog will run off and you bank will reposess your pick up truck, and your mom will land in jail (yes, i am making fun of country/western music)...

seriously, if you put the sprue facing down, it might or might not be centered, whereas if you put it face up, you're sure.

other good stuff to ponder: try a bit of fairly thick leather superglued to your range rod- this will keep the rod tip from deforming the front of the ball. i know, it sounds goofy, but it works for me.

also, if you want to avoid the sprue issue completely, try taking the polishing media out of your case tumbler and putting a bunch of roundball into the thing and let it run for a half hour or so. you probably want to set this up in the garage, and do it when your spouse or significant other isn't around, 'cause it's noisey as, well you get the idea... the sprues will be smoothed out. i know ... this sounds goofy, too, but give it a try.

lastly, (and kind of off the point) if you want to thumb start (as opposed to using a 'short starter') you might want to consider coneing your muzzle. Joe Woods makes a tool to do this, which will set you back (if i remember correctly) about forty bucks. his contact information is as follows:

The Firelock Shop
5311 Briar St.
Amarillo, TX 79109

806-352-3032

[email protected]

these are great tools: well made, bronze (how can you go wrong?) and really easy to use.

if you buy one of his tools in fifty or fiftyfour caliber, and you don't want it any more (for any reason) send me a PM and i'll buy it from you.

well, that's my tirade du jour, and it's free advice, and no doubt worth very penny.

make good smoke!
 
Thanks fellas! I appreciate all of your help. :hatsoff: sprue up makes sense. Kinda what I figured too, but it helps to ask. And thanks for the extra info too. I'll keep it in mind. I believe my GPR is already coned. :hatsoff: :thumbsup:
 
hey you forgot about being hit by a train! :rotf: I love that old song. well any way yes go up with them. it shoots straiter that way.
 
I've tried both ways, could tell no difference in accuracy...I've also tried with the sprue up and off centered, makes no difference...
 
I use a paper cartridge in my Bess.When i roll it the sprue is up and when I stick it in the bore it's down.But the paper hold it all in place so... no problem.
 
I'm pretty much on the same page with MSW and NCHAWKEYE. Almost all of my shooting is offhand at 25 to 50 yards. I've tried loading with the spru up and with it down. I've tried pre-cut patches and patches cut at the muzzle and honestly I am just not good enough of a shooter to be able to tell the difference. Maybe if you are shooting off a bench you MIGHT be able to tell a slight difference but with one's offhand wibbles and wobbles, any tiny difference in how you load your ball or whether you use a pre-cut patch or one cut at the muzzle is really insignificant when compared to your natural wobble factor. Now, don't misunderstand me about the patches, thickness is very important and getting your ball centered on your patch is important. Those things will make a difference. Also, using the correct size ball for your particular rifle is important as is the correct powder granulation and charge and patch lube.

If you are still uncertain about how, or whether, to position your spru when you load your rifle, just do as I and one of the others suggested and tumble your balls in a rock tumbler (no polishing media) for about 1/2 hour and your spru will disappear. Your spru positioning problem will be solved. One bit of caution when using a rock tumbler, check your balls after about 20 minutes to see how they are coming along. You do not want to under tumble them or over tumble them. Under tumbled and the spru will not be gone. Over tumbled and they will become dull with very tiny dents covering them from banging together too long. Actually, your rifle won't care but they are just not as pretty. The perfectly tumbled ball will come out black and shiny like little ball bearings.

Spru up? Down? Sideways? Unless you are a world class shooter, you cannot tell any difference when shooting offhand. The real factors to focus on are powder granulation and charge, ball size, patch thickness and lubricant. These things will make a noticable difference.

Just the humble opinion of an old fart who has been building and shooting muzzleloaders for over 40 years. I have data to back up my assertions about positioning the spru and tumbling balls. I have data to prove that over tumbling the balls does not have any measurable effect on accuracy nor does it significantly change the weight. I also have data that shows that the position of the spru of a ball cast from a modern mold makes no measurable diference in accuracy. Now, let me add this one proviso, if you are casting your balls using a bag mold your balls will most likely have a significant chunk of lead where you cut your spru. Load these balls with the spru up. It can make a difference how they are loaded. Take all this for whatever it's worth. It's free and worth every penny of it. :thumbsup:
 
Sprue up for me. If there is an air pocket in the ball it will always be oriented the same each time. With the sprue down you can never be sure of its orientation. The larger the bore the more critical this becomes. JMO
 
Thanks very much! I appreciate all the help and information. The more I learn about this sport, the more fascinating it becomes. :thumbsup:
 
Unless you're shooting a smoothbore, it makes little difference, that's what rifling for. OTOH, smoothbore's nearly alway's shoot better with the sprue down so the leading surface is round with no aerodynamic problems.
 
Thanks Jefferson. A smoothbore is definitely in my future, so I'll keep that in mind. I just have the rifle for now though. :hatsoff:
 
That makes sense to me.

A patched roundball being shot from a rifle doesn't need "stabilizing" like a bullet does. The ball does use the spin it gets from the rifling to offset the aerodynamic irregularities that are on its surface and even slow twist rifling does that quite well.

With a smooth bore gun where the ball is not spinning, the normal surface irregularities of a round ball will deflect the ball and a casting sprue would seriously deflect the ball from the chosen path.
 
Thanks Bill! And thank you all. I've noticed some cast balls that didn't have much of a sprue to begin with. I reckon I'll just load mine sprue up. I've read on here that home cast balls are preferable to the store bought stuff anyways. I already have a pot, ladle dipper, and some lead. My mold is for a .45 cal, so I'll just have to get a new mold to fit in the handles I have. Then I'll be in business. Thanks much! :hatsoff:
 
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