curing?

[hobbles]

Mornin boys, Do I need to let my ww balls cure? or can I go shoot em now??
I just talked to my neighbor and told him I am savin me money makin my own balls,, He said NOPE, all that means is I can shoot more,,, I think he's right..

[Rocky Raab]

I don't understand exactly what you're asking.

I'll assume ww stands for wheelweights, but "balls" confuses me. Are you casting round balls for a muzzleloader? If so, then wheelweights are completely unsuitable. You must use pure, soft lead for muzzloader roundballs.

If you're loading for something else, then I'm not sure what you mean by "cure."

The only one I do understand is your friend. He's correct: reloading doesn't save you any money, but it does allow you to shoot more for the same amount of money. What he means is that reloaders ALWAYS shoot more than those who buy their ammo.

[hobbles]

Sorry boys for the lack of info on my question,, I am shootin a 54 cal muzzle loader usin 527 ww for the round balls, This is my first time makin my own balls and don't know if I need to let them sit for a while or not,,, I should of posted this in Muzzle loading,, I'll get better,,,

[Rocky Raab]

No probs.

Except that your efforts were wasted.

Wheelweights are far too hard to use for roundballs.

You can try to shoot them, but the experiences of about 500 years of muzzleloading are against you. Those balls are too hard.

They'd make great pistol bullets for .38s or .44s or .45s. But for front-stuffers, they just won't work.

[Catfish]

Rocky is right. If you can easily put a scrach in your ball with your fingure nail they probibly won`t shot very accurately. You what to use pure lear for frount stuffers.

[quigleysharps4570]

Guys his .527 roundballs that are cast from WW's are out shooting factory .530 pure lead in his rifle.
Hobbles you don't need to let them set...shoot em up.

[hobbles]

Thanks boys for all the info, I find, with my weapon,, That the 527 ww's work fine with my setup, I have a Green Mountain barrel and they are a big 54, One cleanin patch and a 54 jag don't cut it, It's a loose fit,, I got to use a 50 cal jag with 2 cleanin patches to clean it, Maybe that's why the 527 ww and 015 patch works, But it works,, And there free, I figure after I make bout 700 0r 800 The free will kick in, (gotta pay for the mold's and stuff) Got 500 made already,,, I also found that the 527's and .015 still load the same as the store bought 530 did, I think a lil easier, I still use a short starter, but don't have to use the back of it to get the ball started down the barrel, I can fire 15 shots before I got to run a cleanin patch down the barrel, and that ain't cause it gets had to load, it's cause the POI starts to move on me, I will will fix that with a different lube mixture,, Funny thing bout muzzle loaders,,,, What works for one, may not work for the other,,,

[Rocky Raab]

That's true of almst every gun, hobbles. That's why I roll me eyes when I see all those "What's the best load?" posts.

The only way to know is work up a load for THAT gun.

I'm glad you found a good (and cheap!) combo for yours.

[hobbles]

Thanks Rocky Raab

[12GA guy]

Wheel weights contain antimony, which should make the ball harder, but lighter then pure lead.

Not being a bullet/ball caster myself, I presume that you use a mold to pour the molten material in? The identicle size bullet/ball if made from wheel weights, should be lighter than pure lead, as antimony is harder, but not as dense as pure lead.

I would have thought that w/w's would make a better ball myself, leastwise for hunting.

[Rocky Raab]

Muzzleloaders are different. Because blackpowder develops much less pressure than smokeless, the bullet has to be much softer in order to obturate up into the rifling. So all bullets for muzzleloaders should be cast dead soft - 100% lead and no alloys.

The situation with roundballs is almost an exception because the shooter can use extra-thick patches to take up the difference between the ball and bore diameters. Roundballs don't necessarily obturate at all. That's why hobbles can get good results with an alloyed ball.

But several centuries of experience show that hard lead alloys make miserable bullets (by which we mean pointed projectiles, not spherical) for muzzleloaders.

[hobbles]

Mornin Rocky Raab
I belevie you just put it all in order,, ww work for round balls only, on kind of the patch, I think that's it,,,,,