Tried a .380 ball...

[ZVP]

 The other day I tested some .375 and some .380 balls in my new .36 Piettia.
There didn't seem to be any real advantage in using the larger ball at all. The only noticable result was the heavier force required to seat the  .380 balls and the thicker ring of lead hanging up on the rammer.
No apreciable accuracy difference was noted as the balls were just sized to chamber diameter as the .375's were. Fit as they passed through the forcing cone and down the barrel were the same as a likewise chamber sized .375 ball.
Now, had I had a oversized chamber, the sizing fit might have been brought up to fit the enlarged chambers.
There wasn't any real advantage of weight gain on the .380 ball so POI wasn't affected.
In conclusion, unless you have oversized chambers, just shoot the much more commonly available .375's in your .36's!
ZVP

[Fox Creek Kid]

...In conclusion, unless you have oversized chambers, just shoot the much more commonly available .375's in your .36's!...

We know that.

[Pettifogger]

We know that.

  I almost spilled my Crown Royal!!!

[Cookie]

We know that.

If I was drinking I would have done a spit take! 

[Mako]

That is classic Kid... Utterly classic.

The sad thing is that it is also classic ZVP.

~Mako

[Blackpowder Burn]

The old adage about "reinventing the flat tire" comes to mind.

[Drayton Calhoun]

Oh, Lordy! Overstating the obvious...

[ZVP]

 Well All I ever herd was how well the .380's work through a .36.
'Scuse me I was just  stating what "I" learnt...
Maybe I ought to just ask for a " first time BP shooters Primer" from ya all?
Got one?
  He-He, You could save me a lot of  MONEY and testing!
Please be carefull with your drinking problem,  don't smoke, that stuff is flamable...
ZVP

[rickk]

ZVP, they smelled blood and attacked I think 

[Mossyrock]

Well ZVP, don't feel bad.  I use a .390" ball in my Colt Navies with great success.  (INCOMING!!!  )  Why, you may ask?  Well, it doesn't shoot any better than a .380" ball, although it IS a mite harder to load.  So why would I do such a hair-brained thing?!?  The bottom line is that I'm just plumb lazy.  Ya see, one of my favorite rifles is a Tennessee flinter from Tennessee Valley Muzzleloaders.  Out of all of my flinters, this one gets a good share of the range time....and it just HAPPENS to  be a .40 caliber that shoot lights out with a .390" roundball and a .018" pillow ticking patch.  So, why cast two different sized roundballs, when one will do both jobs?  Asking my lazy self that question got me out of casting .380" roundball...and IN TO casting a metric BUTTLOAD of .390" ball...see how well things work out?   

[Drayton Calhoun]

I confess, I've done the same thing with .454 in my Lyman 1860 Army because it was what I had cast up for my Walker and Dragoon.

[Pettifogger]

I confess, I've done the same thing with .454 in my Lyman 1860 Army because it was what I had cast up for my Walker and Dragoon.

You've squeezed a .454 in a .36?  Most 1860's take a .454 so what are you talking about?

[Mako]

You've squeezed a .454 in a .36?  Most 1860's take a .454 so what are you talking about?

This thread gets more bizarre the longer it runs.

The next thing we will hear is that Ø.358 bullets fit in a .38 spl.  Or Ø.430 in a .44 spl.

[Fox Creek Kid]

[ZVP]

 All those weird squeezins?
Ya'll must have had funnel chambers installed...
I'm just bewildered by all this oldtime technology!
ZVP

[Mossyrock]

Ah know my Santa Fe Hawkin (54 cal) will not take a 530 RB without deforming it, and Ah need a shovel ta read this thread.  WM

Naw...you just need a bigger hammer!  (Or a Lee .520 RB mold like I bought for mine!)

[Bishop Creek]

We know that.

LOL! FCK you're killing me!

[Fox Creek Kid]

Discovered that about 20 years ago shortly after Ah bought the gun and before Ah knew what it was. Shoots 520's just fine and don't cut the patches anymore since Ah spent a half a day firelappin' it, with a kit from NECO in CA. Shot a Buffalo  with it in '94 and still got the round ball (meat's all gone), got the hide and the skull all bleached out. WM

I had a Santa Fe Hawken 1 of 1,000 Jedediah Smith model that took a 0.520" ball & was a naildriver. Like an idiot I sold it. 

On a whim, I once tried 0.490" balls in a '58 Remmy as I read on the NSSA Forum that some shooters were using them in matches. It was like trying to force feed a mosquito with a funnel!  I bent the rammer on my cheap Pietta loader and accuracy was no better than with 0.457" balls. Years ago I used the now defunct Warren 0.380" balls in an Uberti '51 Navy as it had one chamber oversized and a 0.375" ball would pull back out with the rammer. I don't think any major commercial co. makes 0.380" balls any more. 

[Pettifogger]

What's "Ah" supposed to be?

[Drayton Calhoun]

You've squeezed a .454 in a .36?  Most 1860's take a .454 so what are you talking about?

Like I said, a Lyman 1860. Normally takes a .451 with a respectable lead ring shaved off, so, the .454 was tight.