Ball size question

[acelungger]

I have 4 -44 cal cap and ball revolvers(long Story) I havn't shot any of them yet! I am doing my research first! I have reloaded for 32 years and shot a lot but all smokeless! It was suggested to me to use 454 balls, the other day I bought a bag of balls marked on the bag 440, they were only $3.50 for the bag, when I got home I got my calipers out and they measure 448, I would think that they would shot okay, I am going to use 24gr of ff with a wonder wad!
 I am also looking online where to buy the bulk wad making material? i make my own lube, so if I can locate a cheap place to buy the material, I will fire up the lathe and make me a tool to run in my drill press with a side slot to keep pushing them out without having to stop and dig them out!
 I would be great full for any and all help!
Thanks Greg

[Elijah Gunn]

For the best cap & ball info around read Gatofeos post at the top of the forum. I shoot only .36 cal revolvers. If I remember correctly, a .44 cal revolver will use a.451    a .454   or a .457 dia. ball depending on which size ball loads and shoots the most accurately.  So  .448 sounds small.
Also in pistols you should be using fffg powder, and not ffg.
Regards, Mark

[FourBee]

hey acelungger; Elijah Gunn is right. 

You should use at least a.451 round ball for your .44 cal. 

When seating the ball into the cylinder chamber over a charge of powder, you will see a small ring of lead that strips off the ball.  This shows that the ball has sealed off that chamber to produce the best possible ignition.

It is said of many black powder revolvers, that the .454 is a more accurate load.    Some revolvers require the larger .457.

[NickSS]

There are at least three different chamber sizes for 44 C&B revolvers that I have run into.  Generally revolvers by several Italian companies like Piatta and armisport shoot 451 diameter balls as their cylinder mouths mike about .446 or so.  Uberti and Euroarms measure like around 450 so require .454 balls and Ruger old army measures near .454 and need .457 balls.  One thing you should know is that whatever size ball you use it should shave some lead off when loading.  If it does not it's too small a diameter.  You can simplify things by using only 454 balls in everything but an old army.  By the way I have been shooting 44 and 36 C&B revolvers for over 40 yars and have worn several of them out to the point of rebuilding being required.

[FourBee]

NickSS Quote : By the way I have been shooting 44 and 36 C&B revolvers for over 40 yars and have worn several of them out to the point of rebuilding being required.    

Woohaa !   That's a lota shootin there Nick.   And some good info on the various firearms too.   

There you go, acelungger,  might oughta set those .440's aside for the time being.

4B

[WILD_WEASEL]

Morrning,

I you did not mention what makes your C&B guns were.  I own a SS 5 1/2 Ruger Old Army myself.  My standard load is the following; 30gr Pyrodex Pellet, Wonder Wad, Speer .457 Lead Ball, Remington #10 Cap.  These loads are 100% reliable in my ROA.

[Gatofeo]

The .440 inch marked balls you bought are for a .45-caliber muzzleloading rifle. The cloth patch around the ball makes up the difference in the bore.
A salesman either sold you the wrong balls, or you didn't make it clear that you wanted balls for a .44-caliber cap and ball revolver.
I would not use those .448 inch (by your measure) balls in any .44 cap and ball. They are entirely too small to ensure a good seal in the chamber. Undersized balls like this can cause multiple ignition. Accuracy will likely be lousy.
I'd suggest you use .454 inch balls. See my post on, "How to properly use a cap and ball sixgun."
I don't like the .451 inch balls that the books suggest; I haven't found them as accurate. The slightly larger ball creates a wider ring around the ball, after it's rammed home, for the rifling to grip.
You may also use .457 inch balls, but only if you get a good deal on them. I picked up a few boxes of Speer .457 inch balls a few years ago from a sporting goods shop going out of business. They work fine in my Uberti Remington 58 and Pietta Colt 60. They seat well, without undue force.
The .457 inch balls also make wonderful multi-ball loads in my .45-70 Marlin. But that's another story.
But .454 inch balls are best overall for .44 caliber cap and ball revolvers.
Use .380 inch balls, if you can find them, in the .36 calibers. They seal better, provide a wider driving band for the rifling to grip, and are more accurate in my experience.

[Hickok]

Trying to use .454" balls in my Pietta .44 1860 Army didn't work out to good. The .454 balls fitting so tight, the metal on the barrel where the barrel wedge contacts and holds the barrel tight to the revolver frame, started to show signs of peening or swelling. Also the two pins on the revolver frame that line up on the bottom of the barrel soon broke. I redrilled the holes in the frame and put hardened steel pins in, had to do some filing and work on the cylinder pin slot to allow the wedge to go in further and tighten the barrel up. Went back to .451" balls and all has been well.

[FourBee]

Trying to use .454" balls in my Pietta .44 1860 Army didn't work out to good. The .454 balls fitting so tight, the metal on the barrel where the barrel wedge contacts and holds the barrel tight to the revolver frame, started to show signs of peening or swelling.

Thanks for that info Hickok.    About how much shooting did you do with the .454" rounds before you noticed the problem?    Reason is; I have a few hundred rounds of the .454" that I was going to try when I finished up on my .451's.   If I load safe I may be able to get by w/o damage.

[Hickok]

Fourbee, I didn't get through the entire 100 I bought. They loaded so dang hard I gave up on them, after I noticed the damage to the barrel where the wedge and it contacted. I melted the rest down and recast them.

.451" inch balls work well for my revolver. I get a nice ring of lead shaved off the ball when I load them in the cylinder. The .454" balls were just too tight.

[NozzleRag]

Trying to use .454" balls in my Pietta .44 1860 Army didn't work out to good. The .454 balls fitting so tight, the metal on the barrel where the barrel wedge contacts and holds the barrel tight to the revolver frame, started to show signs of peening or swelling. Also the two pins on the revolver frame that line up on the bottom of the barrel soon broke. I redrilled the holes in the frame and put hardened steel pins in, had to do some filing and work on the cylinder pin slot to allow the wedge to go in further and tighten the barrel up. Went back to .451" balls and all has been well.

My thought would be that the balls were too hard to load properly in a C & B. Voice of experience. I tried to make the RB molds fill out a little better by adding a little linotype to the alloy. 4 chainfires and some loose guns later I went back to dead soft lead 454 round balls in every revolver I own and they work fine.

[mcwoodduck]

Don't ask why but the 440 balls you have are for a .45 front loader rifle.  The patch makes up the .010 or .015

[FourBee]

I've never tried the .454 dia. ball until just a few days ago.   I like them.   The .451's really don't seal as tight as I'd like them to in my Pietta 1860 .44's .   Some of the .451's didn't hardly shave off any lead when seated into the flutes.    

[FourBee]

Today I shot 6 rounds of the SPEER .451" lead ball, 6 rounds of the Hornady .451", and 36 rounds of Hornady .454" lead ball.   Sure do like the .454" in my guns.    Can't hit nothin, but I like the tight fit.    At 100 yards I was able to get 4 rounds on the edges of the paper.   At 25 Yards I was able to do a little better, but not much.