36-caliber round balls

[SimmerinLightning]

Is there any way to load these into 38 Long or Short Colt brass, to use in a conversion cylinder? I don't see how, with my limited intellect and minimal reloading experience. I assume not, but ya never know what people might have figured out.

I ask because round balls seem much more readily available than either HBWC or heeled bullets.

Come to think of it, even if you managed to load them into the brass, would they fit into the chambers?

[Bunk Stagnerg]

Very interesting question, and a neat idea. You might consider sizing the ball to case interior size then  carefully loadi it into the case with the sized band touching the case inner wall. It should expand on firing and engage the rifling.

I did this with my .50 caliber Smith carbine to make economical practice loads using cast .54 Sharps balls.

Worked like a charm and I see no reason it would not work in your gun. I lubed the bullet with Lee liquid ALOX and topped the whole thing with a dab of BP lube to hold the ball in the case.. It may have been sort of lube redundant, but it worked and was pretty accurate at 50 yard and a snap to clean.

Hold center
Bunk

[SimmerinLightning]

I think you are doing the exact opposite of what I want to do. You are sizing .54 balls down to use in a .50 barrel, correct? I want to use .375 or .380 balls in a .375 barrel, but by stuffing them into a case that is only .359ish ID. If I size them down to fit in the case they will not engage the rifling. Would a round ball really bump up to any useful degree?

[pony express]

I doubt you will get a round ball to expand into the rifling, I've shot regular .358 bullets in a .38 LC revolver, no luck. Just rattles down the barrel, I think once sized to fit in the case, the bound balls would just do the same.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Press the .375/.380 balls onto the case mouth just enough to stay on with reasonable care in handling. Lube them with LEE liquid alox. They should chamber, but try the .375 first.

[Davem]

Well what size regular bullets would be used if the inside of the case is .359?  The specs seem different
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.38_Long_Colt
Were the bullets supposed to upset enough to fill the bore?
I'm almost certain round balls have been loaded in cases but I might be thinking the brass 12 gauge of yesteryear.
On reloading....off hand I thought the neck was sort of splayed out very slightly, the bullet seated, then the crimp.

[rickk]

I loaded round balls once  to shoot in a Husqvarna revolver chambered in 7.5mm Swiss I could not find a mold for anything other than round ball. I did run them thru a sizing die to make them the correct size. Then I stuffed them into the cases I made out of a something (.218 Bee maybe? I forget), and crimped over the ball slightly to keep it in the case.

It was a light load to begin with, and the ball was pretty light for the caliber, so recoil was nil. Accuracy I seem to recall wasn't anything great either, but I was able to shoot a revolver that I acquired that would have otherwise been unshootable.

[Bunk Stagnerg]

Hi Summer Lightning
The Smith barrel and inside diameter of the case are .50 cal. The bullet engages the rifling when shot and works pretty well at 50 yards. I can sometimes hit the 100 yard gong when I get my Kentucky elevation on. The hard trigger pull makes that a tough shot though. It is not a heeled bullet proposition the minney ball or round ball fits inside the case and is very accurate.
I see no reason why a proper diameter ball would not work crimped solidly in the circumference of the ball. I really is kind of the same idea on a smaller dimension.
Bunk

[SimmerinLightning]

Well what size regular bullets would be used if the inside of the case is .359?  The specs seem different
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.38_Long_Colt
Were the bullets supposed to upset enough to fill the bore?
I'm almost certain round balls have been loaded in cases but I might be thinking the brass 12 gauge of yesteryear.
On reloading....off hand I thought the neck was sort of splayed out very slightly, the bullet seated, then the crimp.

The case can be loaded with .358 bullets to make a sort of shortened .38 special, or it can be used with a conversion cylinder for a percussion .36 caliber revolver. In that case, one should use either a heeled bullet such as in the .38 short Colt, or a hollow-based bullet which may expand to engage the rifling. Both of those bullet-types seem hard to come by. The other option is to sleeve the barrel to accept the .358 bullets, but that means you can no longer use the original percussion cylinder, since it requires a .375 or .380 bullet.

Bunk Stagnerg,
You are using a .50 cal bullet (effectively) in a .50 cal case to fire through a .50 barrel. I want to put a .375 bullet into a .359 case to fire through a .375 barrel.

I've pretty much given up, and will stick with the percussion cylinder

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

If you firmly press a .375/.380 ball on top of a .38 Spl case it would work in a revolver, but not likely in a carbine/rifle.

Whoops! I almost typed "carfle"