Sprue orientation

[Nor'Easter]

As @Old-Duckman said. This forum is for learning and entertainment. Lots of knowledge here and some folks that don't know how to get their point across eloquently. I get my dander up too sometimes, but it's usually after I've had a couple of adult beverages! It's all good.

This place is certainly entertaining , less so later in the evening when some are deeper into their cups.

 

[TDM]

This place is certainly entertaining , less so later in the evening when some are deeper into their cups.

You got that right. Bet it keeps the Mods busy at times.

 

[Nor'Easter]

You got that right. Bet it keeps the Mods busy at times.

Never thought of that, but true. Never had a problem with Mods - it being one of those thankless jobs. Like cleaning heads - it has to be done but no one wants to be 'that guy'.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

I have never been a fan of "rules" per se unless they had a proven value, like range rules for safety etc. I live in a HOA that has "rules, some of which make sense, and many that do not. yet, some on the HOA board etc love to enforce them. Like my neighbor who had 6 plants on his steps during the holidays, when the rules said 4. really? I'm sorry, I have zero time for that bull, just someone being in charge because they can be, enforcing a rule of no value. IMHO Censorship is always a problem in my opinion because it always starts with good intentions and then ends up being what the person in charge likes or dislikes. I'm 72 goin on 73 and have in the Service(USMC), been in Gvot DOD, and the Corp world, moved 10-12 times, worked in NYC, LA, Chicago, Phila , Phoenix etc...I learned to have a thick skin and roll with the punches and found that getting upset because someone voices a different opinion, or in a different manner really never did anything to change my life or alter my world. I listen, decide what makes sense, and move on. done. I do not need someone looking out for my "best interest", because sometimes hearing other perspectives is challenging and forces you to reasses your own beliefs. IMHO etc.

 

[earlwb]

I was taught to have the spruce nub up or facing out too. The reasoning at the time was that the nub could affect accuracy more if it was down instead of up where you can see it and try to center it better. If the spruce nub is down then Any offset or being not centered perfectly could affect accuracy. Just having a smooth round bottom down against the powder charge would reduce any imbalances that could happen. Anyway it made sense at the time. But bullets with a nub are going to be at risk of being unbalanced and starting to wobble as soon as they leave the barrel.

 

[Nor'Easter]

"I do not need someone looking out for my "best interest", because sometimes hearing other perspectives is challenging and forces you to reasses your own beliefs." - Completely agree.

It is my understanding that this site is essentially a business. If the owners establish up-front the "manner" or "behavior" expected of members when members present their "perspective", then it is reasonable to expect members to comply to the best degree possible.

Back to the topic of this thread -
+1 for sprue up.

 

[French Colonial]

I wish someone could find the article from muzzle blasts but the Bevel Brothers did testing from a known accurate rifle from the bench and used several different sprue orientations, the result was it made no difference whatsoever.

That is my recollection of the article, I load sprue up and that is that.

 

[FishDFly]

Your recollection is correct.

Seems the "fat lady" has finally sung.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

Your recollection is correct.

Seems the "fat lady" has finally sung.

OMG, I have actually been doing something all these years that was right?!! LOL, ; )

 

[Nor'Easter]

OMG, I have actually been doing something all these years that was right?!! LOL, ; )

Please - someone tell my wife!

 

[HighUintas]

Someone mentioned... What did the old timers do way back in the earlier days when using bag molds? I would also like to know. Did they load sprue up? Not worry about it?

 

[hanshi]

I load cast ball with the sprue in front. When you can't see the sprue, if you load it on the bottom, there's no way of knowing if it is centered. I use a lot of Lee molds which leave no sprue and it's very difficult to see the flat spot where the sprue on other molds would be clearly visible.

 

[stephenprops1]

Does anyone who loads round balls with a visible sprue orient it forward, backward or at all?
Does it affect the POI?

The general rule is to have the sprue facing forward. I saw a video where a shooter tested this concept. He loaded his rifle several times. Each time he had the sprue facing a different direction. His final conclusion? --- It didn't make much difference. His accuracy was about the same no matter where the sprue was pointing.

 

[TDM]

From my reading of Dutch Schoultz’s book, God rest his soul, he says that a patch tear or blowout from a canted sprue is the biggest problem. And he says problems with a patch blowout or just the sprue position won’t start to really show up until your shooting past 50 yrds.

 

[DuncNZ]

I put them in my empty ball mill that I make BP in and let them roll for a hour. Comes out nice and shiny with no more spru. You can see my reflection in them.

I wonder if a case polisher/tumbler would also do this ? any one tried ?

 

[TDM]

I wonder if a case polisher/tumbler would also do this ? any one tried ?

Haven’t tried it, but it should. I have a case polisher too that I haven’t used in years.

 

[Piquant]

I wonder if a case polisher/tumbler would also do this ? any one tried ?

I use a rock tumbler from harbor freight to mill my powder and tumble my cast balls.

 

[TDM]

I use a rock tumbler from harbor freight to mill my powder and tumble my cast balls.

Bet it works good too. My rock tumblers and case polisher have been gathering a nice patina of dust. I’m running out of excuses to put them back to work.

 

[SmokepoleSam]

I put my Lee balls in a Lyman case polisher for a little while (1/2 to 1hr) and the little sprues disappear.

 

[HighUintas]

I use a rock tumbler from harbor freight to mill my powder and tumble my cast balls.

Any measurable reduction in ball diameter? Is your HF mill spinning at the factory speed? I've got one but sped it up for powder milling.