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WANTED Wanted .550 round ball mould for 56 Cal SB

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Best bet is to get one from Jeff Tanner. That is where I got mine cause the T/C ones are few and far between, and if found cost more than a Tanner mold.
 
OK guys........ tell me if I'm going to blow myself up. I did some research today on how to get around this .550 dia bullet mould. If I can find the mould great, but what is the work-around if I cannot find the mould? I remember that shotgun gages can be worked out to a specific diameter in inches. On line I found out that a 28 gage shotgun round "lead ball" and used as a slug has a diameter of .545 to .550. If I could find a 28 gage round ball mould....why wouldn't that work with a patch? Do I have an ingenious for the obvious?


Cobra 6
 
A round lead ball that weighs exactly 1/28th of a pound will be.550" in diameter. A 28 gauge bore will also measure.550". Your .56 smoothbore is .010" larger than a true 28 gauge, although shotguns are sometimes "backbored" to a slightly larger diameter and your .56 may well be within accepted parameters for a backbored 28 gauge... I don't know.

In any event, I don't think you are likely to find a 28 gauge round ball mould, listed as such. However, Moose Moulds will make a top-quality .550" round ball mould for you with wood handles and a sprue cutoff plate, I think in single or double cavity. I bought one of their single cavity .550" moulds and found it was very well made. Not cheap, though... I think it was right at $100. They are good folks to deal with, too. Cordial, efficient, and no nonsense.

You can Google "moose moulds" to find their website. They have a few other atypical and "normal" roundball sizes, also.

I have no personal experience with Tanner Moulds or Larry Callahan, but I understand they both make round ball moulds in virtually any size, and I've never heard anything bad about either of them.

There was a recent thread on the ALR forum about a new outfit that makes gang moulds. I'm pretty sure they offer one in .550". I'll try to look up the link when I get on my computer (using the iPhone right now), or you can go to the ALR forum and search for "gang moulds."

One other option is to just buy pre-cast .550" balls from Track of the Wolf. They usually have them in stock. I think their balls are cast by Rush Creek.

Good luck with all of this! Be safe and have fun.

Notchy Bob
 
I think I have an old tanner mold in the garage, you would need Lyman small mold handles to fit them. If your interested PM me 20 dollars plus shipping.
 
Notchy Bob......Thanks for all the information and references on the .550 mould. I'll definitely check out "moose moulds and "gang moulds" mentioned above. I could buy pre-cast .550 balls but [for me] half the fun in ML shooting is making the ammo. I would gladly pay about $100 for a moose mould with handles.
Kansas Kid....... I'm coming your way, would be nice if you found that .550 mould from Tanner. Very interested, see you on PM.


Cobra 6
 
image.jpg
Ok I found it, here’s a picture of it to see if you want it or not. No big deal one way or the other.
 
Thanks for the reply roundball. Kansas Kid just sold me a Tanner in .550. Just out of curiosity do you know the 0.00 diameter of the mould for the 28 gage. I ask because I just had a barn find the weekend. I found a Wesley Richards double barreled shotgun for $140.00. It's in bad shape [mostly dirt and grime] but all the parts are there excepting the ramrod. Two small dents in the left barrel. The muzzles measure (L) 0.683 and (R) 0.673. Any ideas on the gage?

Cobra 6
 
This may too late to help, BUT when I had a T/C .56 cal. Smoothbore Renegade, I shot a .530 Rb w/ 2x .010" patches and it shot fine. I could hit a 1 gallon milk jug at 100yds. easily off the bench. Just my 2₵
 
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