Weighing Lead Balls

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I would say the mold that made them is not a "Lee" Probably Lyman or RCBS

 

[arcticap]

And the void is in line with the sprue.
Maybe it has to do with the angle of the pour and/or the angle of the mold when the lead is poured?
For whatever reason the last bubble of air gets trapped and can't escape.

 

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You do know that Lyman molds have air vents cut in the mould. They are the
lines on the mold. Sometimes they get dirty. When I used Lyman, I would run
a razor blade down the vent lines to clean them.

 

[arcticap]

Bull Shop custom conicals offers a service to cut deeper grooves in Lee molds among other improvements.

We now offer mold maintainence - ** Lee-Menting **
For $10.00 a mold, we will vent the top seam for good base fill, debur all cavities so boolits drop freely, debur alignment pin holes and remove any burrs between blocks that may prevent the blocks from closing properly. We also open any questionalble vent lines to insure good fill.
This service includes a 2 oz bottle of our Famous Bullplate lube with each mold.
Return shipping is $7.50 which includes insurance.

We will also repair damage to used molds if possible.

http://bullshop.gunloads.com/tbs_services.htm

 

[david58]

So, if you are tossing balls based on a grain here and there, how do you measure your powder? Weight or volume?

My guess is that if you are dumping from a horn to a measure, you will vary a significant number of grains from shot to shot.

For patched round ball shooting, I never took the trouble to weigh the balls, and even dropped the diameter of the ball I shot to the point that I could press it into the muzzle by tapping it with the butt of my knife and then running it down with the ramrod (no short start). Fast, easy load. Plenty accurate for a trail walk.

As to paper punching, a bit tighter fit is maybe better. But if you are shooting offhand or off of sticks with a "regular" rifle (not a bench gun or a slug gun), is it REALLY going to make a difference if the ball has a void?

REALLY?

Again, I know folks that do it, but it just isn't my thing, either for my percussion long rifle or my firelock.

 

[Jaymo]

Articap, those aren't voids. Those are scientifically engineered expansion initiation cavities.