round ball load

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Last Post 11 June 2023

CBA Member

beagle6 posted this 09 June 2023

I want to try making up a plinking load for my 30/30 using a .311 round ball and Red Dot Powder. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

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CBA Member

Clod Hopper posted this 09 June 2023

I think five grains will work for that ball. That should be safe as Lyman lists to start at 10 grains of RD for 110 cast. I think I read somewhere that 5 grains in the .308 is a good load. I would not go much higher.

Dale M. Lock

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CBA Member

gnoahhh posted this 10 June 2023

I use 6gr. Red Dot in .30-40 Krag with round ball. For the designated cases I made a jig with which to impinge dimples in the neck to support the ball. (I live in fear of the ball getting pushed too far through the neck and down into the case. Probably unfounded, but I took my cue from Frankford Arsenal during the Krag era when they issued Gallery ammunition loaded with a single ball - and Guard cartridges loaded with multiple balls - all supported by a deep cannelure in the neck.)

I load my Krag gallery loads with balls cast from an original Frankford Arsenal bronze mold, five cavity, marked as such and dated "1895". De-recapping conducted at the range with another original Frankford Arsenal tool, date stamped 1911.

A smear of Javelina Schuetzen lube on the ball, and a steady hold will put it on a quarter at 25 yards.

Mold is bigger than the pics imply. It's a little over 9" long and weighs almost two pounds.

My apologies for taking 40 minutes to make the pics work here!

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CBA Member

Aaron posted this 10 June 2023

Nice tools! Still in use too.

With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.

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beagle6 posted this 10 June 2023

GNOAHHH

I would like to hear more about your jig to prevent balls from falling into the case.

beagle6

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CBA Member

gnoahhh posted this 10 June 2023

It's a pretty simple affair. I made it out of brass because it's not like I'll do thousands of them. 3/4" brass rod with hole lathe-drilled in from one end of a diameter to snugly hold a .30 case neck, to a depth that stops the case mouth at a point relative to the dimple hole locations. The .090" holes through which the dimple punch pass are evenly spaced around the circumference.

The punch is made of brass with a .090" drill bit pressed in, cut off to desired length, and rounded over. Protrusion into the jig is minimal - just enough to indent a dimple into the brass.

In operation, the case neck is first annealed then inserted into the jig. The punch is placed in a hole and the jig is laid into the V-block that centers it under the ram of the small arbor press (not shown in pic). Lower the ram to make a dimple. Repeat by rotating the jig in the V-block, making sure the case neck doesn't slip around and remains fully seated. Voila! Four evenly spaced dimples.

At first I simply tapped the punch with a small mallet, which worked. I then thought of yet another use for my 100+ year old dental appliance arbor press that serves for many uses on a gun tinkerer's desk! (The pic also shows the steel "pusher" that fits into the press's ram head, in place of the rawhide mallet.)

I hope this makes sense and the pics aren't too bad.