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Out of Round balls.

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nick_1

45 Cal.
Joined
Oct 1, 2022
Messages
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My aluminum Lee .490 mold is casting out of round. I cleaned it as best that i could with wire brush. still when you hold it up to the light while holding it shut I can see light through the seam. the balls have a noticable seam around them. I promptly oredered a new mold but rather than toss the balls i had just cast back in the pot i decided to shoot them. I did not punch any paper but did hit my 5" steel plate 4 out of 5 times off hand at 30yrds. then I took a single shot at my 50 yrd 6" plate and hit it. dosent mean all that much with a pistol that is capable of sub 2" groups @ 50 yrds benched but still interesting. I think you would have to sandbag it to get accurate information on the difference between swaged, cast and poorly cast balls. it dosent seem to be a wild obvious these dont shoot well situation.
 
I put my misshapen balls in a box and roll the box around in my hands.

Allowing the balls to bump into each other.

This smooths everything out and makes them look like golf balls.
 
I found that if I close the mold carefully and hold it in front of the work light to be sure that I have a good seal that it does just fine.
 
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