Buck&Ball in my '37!

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Moderator: ripjack13


.270 WIN
Posts: 494
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:10 pm
Location: Midstate, Pa.
PostPosted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 5:26 pm
After a lot of study, questions, and work, I finally got a good buck&ball load. Went to the range this morning to test several slug, ball, and buck&ball loads and I have a winner!

The first load tests were with a proven looser, the LEE 1oz. Key Drive slug, and it didn't disapoint me, after shooting several loads out of both my rifled and smoothbore DS barrels it still barely hits the paper at 30yds! I'm gonna hide that mold where I won't find it again... :twisted:

Next was some .69 round ball loads through the rifled barrel, not bad, but could be better. 5" at 30yds. I need to try them in BrushBuster wads next time.

The true gem of the morning was out of my smoothbore DS barrel, a buck&ball load. 3 buckshot nested under a .69 ball. The group was a bit high, but the .69 balls, (4 shots from a bench) grouped into 2 1/2" just above the aiming circle. The buckshot of course spread with 50% hitting the paper, (the buckshot holes are circled). As George The Animal Steele would say..."Nice!"

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The next project will be a full bore size solid "bullet" for the rifled barrel. I have the mold, a 770gr. (1 5/8 oz.) .732" mold on order from Accurate Molds. This thing is basiclly a 12ga. bullet with 3 narrow bands to grip the rifling and hold lube in the grooves. It's simply loaded into the shell without a wad or sabot, on top of a gas seal. According to Accurate Molds most users load them in the 950-1050fps range to keep recoil managable. Accuracy from rifled barrels is reported to be excellent. I'll find out, I got lots of lead to melt!
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Vendor
Posts: 967
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 5:06 am
Location: Mobile, AL
PostPosted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 6:20 am
What are you using for powder? What kind of alloy are you using for your ball?
--Jim

.270 WIN
Posts: 494
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:10 pm
Location: Midstate, Pa.
PostPosted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:16 pm
Hi Jim, I'm using 23gr. of good old Unique for the powder charge under a BPI Brush Buster wad with a thin 20ga. overshot card between the buckshot and ball, (the buck is nested under the ball rather than on top like the old Gov't musket load). The lead alloy is simly unheat-treated clip on wheel weights for both buck and ball with a BH of around 12. If heat treated the BH would rise considderably. Just cheap LEE molds for both buckshot and the ball, (LEE does make a very nice round ball mold, though I'll stick to Lyman, RCBS, Accurate, or Saeco for my rifle and handgun molds).

I would recomend using a good compression formed hull such as Remington STS or Winchester AA hulls for slinging solid pojectiles as they hold up longer than the field hulls. The total payload of 3 buckshot and a .69 roundball is between 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 oz.

Just make sure you're using lead wheel weights, there's a lot of zinc out there these days and it doesn't cast well at all.
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Posts: 967
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 5:06 am
Location: Mobile, AL
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 11:40 am
That sounds like a very effective recipe, thanks for sharing!
--Jim

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