12 ga. .690 Round Ball

[5shot]

THanks for the info. I have a load for the Tri-Ball, so I am not flying blind there. I'll dig out a manual and do some looking at 1-1/8 Oz loads for the .690 ball.

Do you trim the wad petals to below the full diameter of the ball? Seems like you would tear off petals in a .685 choke.

Thanks.

For the single Round Ball loads, you can use most any load data for 1 1/8 oz. Target and Field loads, as pressures for the Round Ball loads run considerably less than what bird shot loads do.

You can load 2 3/4" shells "safely" in excess of 1,700 fps..

I have loaded a lot of the double .690 Round Ball loads in 3" hull's, but I know absolutely nothing about tri-ball loads.

Round Ball

 

[Round Ball]

I do not trim off the petals. I match the choke to the overall diameter of the Round Ball in the wad.

Round Ball

 

[5shot]

The diameter of the ball AND wad?

 

[Round Ball]

Yes.

Place the Round Ball in the wad, and if you can push it through the choke with about 10 pounds of pressure, you have a perfect fit for that particular choke tube.

You also want to make sure that you have a 20 ga. nitro card in the base of the wad.

 

[Round Ball]

I have put the Round Ball loadings on hold for a bit, and have been working with my new Diablo pellet slug mold.

One mold can produce 4 different weight slugs, just by changing out the pins. Slugs are molded in the following weights:

28 gram / 432 grains

30 gram / 463 grains

32 gram / 494 grains

34 gram / 525 grains

The 432 grain slug can be pushed to 2,000 fps..

The 494 grain slug can handle a wide range of velocities that can vary from 900 fps. to over 1,700 fps..

I have spent the past week testing velocities from my 40" Paradox barrel on my Remington 870, and will get to the range for accuracy testing as soon as the ground dries up a little bit and I don't have to worry about getting stuck in the mud.

 

[Sarg]

Thank you for posting here, great info for us, I have used a lyman mold very much like this giant Air Rifle pellet & it really has some smack !

 

[Round Ball]

You're welcome Sarg!

I'm glad at least one person appreciates the information.

I'm going to shoot a deer with the 494 gr. version in a couple of weeks, (I hope) and I'll post pictures of the results at that time.

I use to shoot that Lyman 525 gr. pellet slug years ago, and that mold always gave me fits, so it didn't stay here long.

This aluminum mold that I have now throws some really great looking slugs, and the four pins that allow for four different weights, is a well received added bonus.

I'm really looking forward to seeing just how well these slugs are going to shoot, and I'll post my test results once I get the chance to shoot them for accuracy.

 

[Sarg]

I think many others appreciate the work you have done bud, just seems folks forget to say thanks now days !

Not enough smacks upside the head when young lol ?

On the Lyman mold the one I borrowed worked great & I'm not much of a caster, must of fluked it on that day & I made up a heap of them, I think 530gr in WW ?

Yes would be good to see how they run for you .

 

[1dirthawker]

roundball,

lots of very interesting information, thank you for posting.

 

[Round Ball]

Thank you 1dirthawker, and you are welcome.

 

[Round Ball]

Sarg,

I have not loaded with wheel weights in many years.

Last year, I lucked out on 18 25 pound bags on Lawrence Magnum lead shot that I picked up at an estate sale for $10 a bag. I have since melted all of this down into 3 pound ingots, and am using this for all of my slug moldings.

I sat on one of my stands yesterday, and watched 15 does milk around and wipe out the corn pile. A very calm, peaceful and relaxing afternoon.

 

[Justin.]

Extremely interesting read, excited to see how the hunt goes!

 

[rookhawk]

I have been shooting deer for over 30 years using a .690 diameter Round Ball in various 12 ga. shotguns, and have thoroughly enjoyed every single hunt that I have been on.

Wild hogs! I have never shot one with a Round Ball that has ever had a good thing to say about it. BANG! SMACK! FLOP! Just like that.

I know of 2 Cape Buffalo, a Zebra, Wildebeest and a couple of Warthogs that have been shot with my Round Ball loads. Guns used were an H&H Paradox, and my Remington 870 with a 34" Hastings Wadlock barrel with an extended full choke tube.

Lead has been mixed with antimony and will produce a Round Ball with a BHN reading of 22.

View attachment 414345

Modified .690 mold and lead ladel for keeping the lead and antimony stirred and fluxed.
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The mold has been "smoked" and the first Round Ball is just as perfect as the last.
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One batch of Round Balls have been molded and are ready for the next step.
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All Round Balls have sprues on them.
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After a batch of Round Balls are made, they are put in a vibratory case polisher for 30 hours. This removes the sprue as well as any other imperfections that may have been caused by the molding process.
View attachment 414352

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Once polished, these Round Balls will weigh within 2/10 th. of a grain from each other, and roundness is held within .0004 around the complete circumference, with measurements taken at 5 random points on each Round Ball tested.
View attachment 414358

A 1/4" wool felt is inserted into each wad, and a Round Ball is nestled on top of that.
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All loads are fold crimped and finished with a rounded edge for smoother feeding in any pump or semi-auto.

All 2 3/4" hunting loads, as tested through my 34" Hastings Wadlock barrel, average right at 1,700 fps..

I ship out 10,000 of these rounds a year, with most of them going out to guys that use them for elk, bear, moose, caribou and deer.

A Round Ball may not be the best looking round available for big game, and you surely cannot stretch it's accuracy potential out for hundreds of yards, but if you can put one of these spherical chunks of lead in the front shoulder of your intended quary, chances are, it is not going to be traveling very far at all.

I have seen huge bull moose shot at 20 to 30 yards with one of these Round Balls square in the shoulder, and they absolutely dropped like a rock, unable to get their front legs back under them again. A finishing shot in the neck usually means lights out!

I know that a 100 to 200 pound deer is no match for a chunk of lead like this, because I have killed many many deer with these loads, and the two guys that have used these loads in Africa, I would not hesitate to use them myself, if that once in a lifetime hunt ever presented itself.

Keep the range short and you can kill anything walking on 4 legs. And like any gun or load, you just have to put the shot where it will do the most good, and always be prepared for that follow up shot if needed.

Round Ball

Clearly the author knows the nuances of casting very well. I do not.

My question is why a round ball? I thought there were many shortcomings of round balls versus say Maxi-Balls, hollow point conicals, and fosbury style slugs. Would better ballistics and penetration occur if all this care and know how was applied to a different geometric shape?

 

[Round Ball]

Clearly the author knows the nuances of casting very well. I do not.

My question is why a round ball? I thought there were many shortcomings of round balls versus say Maxi-Balls, hollow point conicals, and fosbury style slugs. Would better ballistics and penetration occur if all this care and know how was applied to a different geometric shape?

A Round Ball has the punch of a sledge hammer, provided you have the accuracy to hit your target.

When I started loading 3" double Round Ball loads years, and achieved phenomenal accuracy from them, there was absolutely nothing else I could do to improve on those loads. To me, they were perfect!

Now, as then, since I can get 3 to 5 inch groups on a consistent basis with 2 3/4" loads, I decided to move on to the Diablo pellet slug.

The shortcomings I see with Round Ball loads, is from guys that shoot too loose of a choke, or from an oversized or back bored barrel.

To answer your question, I would have to say yes, better ballistics and penetration SHOULD be better, IF great care is given in the molding and loading process.

But!!! As tested years before, I am still finding that the CHOKE is very influencial in the accuracy of most smooth bore slug loads, including Round Ball loads.

The forcing cone also plays a significant role in the accuracy of Round Ball and slug loads, and if it is short and abrupt, I find it to be a total waste of time!

A long tapered, extended and polished forcing cone is one of the biggest accuracy enhancements that can be done on a shotgun barrel.

Wad/load/bore fit is also detrimental to absolute best possible accuracy potential from any barrel. If a wad and slug rattle down the bore, then chances are, accuracy will suffer accordingly.

I would love to be able to draw up my own set of specs for a 12 ga slug, but I just cannot afford a full on custom slug mold.

The .690 Round Ball and .690 Diablo pellet work as good as any, when it comes to smooth bores, and limiting shooting distance to not more than 100 yards. But, it the distance to be increased by another hundred yards, then it would most definitely take another slug design to pull that off.

Remember though, I am talking about smooth bore barrels here, and not rifled barrels.

Round Ball

 

[Sarg]

I think RB knows his stuff on shotguns & what to shoot out of them, the reason I learnt a bit about RB shooting was when I got my Big Rifled 12Bore rifle & read all I could find on loads, twist, sights & such, I found the RB was way under rated from the 50s-60s Pumpkin loads that didn't work too well, I think too small for most guns, made to clear ever choke ?

Thats the 1950-60 not the 1850-60 when Hardened RB was shooting through Buffalo & even Elephants Heads, later picked up Forsyths book "The Sporting Rifle & Its Projectiles" he was a amazing chap in his day .

 

[Round Ball]

As promised!

123 yards / 12 ga. Diablo slug / fully processed / deer chili /

The rest of the meat has been bagged and tagged and put in the freezer.