.433 round ball for what?

[dtalley]

I'm just getting into cap and ball revolvers and just purchased a 1860 Army in 44cal. A friend gave me a bucket of lead several years ago when I was thinking aout Casting(changed mind). In that bucket were several round balls in .451 that I can use for my new pistol. There were also several .433 balls in the bucket

My question is, what blackpowder gun will use these .433 balls.

[RecoilRob]

You could use them in a 44 Russian/American/Special for a light bullet game or gallery load. Otherwise, any combination of this ball and a patch that will fit the barrel. Lots of different barrels out there.

[dtalley]

SO, can I use these balls and patch them with pillow ticking that is .018" thick in my 1860 Army revolver?
I only have around 80 of these .433" balls and I see I can get the .018" ticking from Dixie Gun Works. I just really would like to use up these few balls and not have to worry about another barrel. Or I may try to swap them for some .451" balls.

Thanks in advance for helping me out
dt

[72coupe]

Never heard of anyone using a patched ball in a revolver.

But I guess it could be done. Just lots of trouble.

[oneshooter]

NO! Do not patch the balls for a revolver! They are slightly OVERSIZED so that they swedge to size when loaded. That holds them in place against the recoil of being fired. If you patch them, when you fire the first shot most, if not all of the others will jump forward and bind the cylinder. A real hassle to fix.
Use .451-457 rb in your revolver.

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

[dtalley]

Ok, Thanks OneShooter. I'll see if I can find some one to trade for some. .451 balls or someone to melt these down and recast them to .451".

After I typed the question about patching I was wondering if the patch would make it into the barrel or just ball up at the forcing cone.

[junkman_01]

RecoilRob was referring to using them in a RIFLE barrel with an appropriate patch.

[Marlin 45 carbine]

yeah use them as a PRB in a .44 front-stuffer.
I've never owned that bore but know for sure that's the right ball size.

[Omnivore]

I started casting my own bullets last Winter. It's simple and makes good ammo for very little money. I'd keep the undersized balls, get a small casting furnace for 60 bucks or so (I like my Lee Production Pot) a Lee mold for 20 or so, melt down the balls and cast them to the desired size (I'd recommend .454" but some have reported good results with .451" and even .457" - revolvers from different manufacturers have different chamber sizes).

You can get clean, pure lead for about 2 dollars a pound (delivered free if you buy 50 pounds) at Roto Metals.

Plus that allows you to experiment with conicals if you want, for just the price of another mold at that point. I've been using the Lee 450-200-1R mold (.450" diameter, 200 grains, round nose) and getting good results with a Pietta Remington NMA.

Yeah; the manuals tell us to never use patched balls in a revolver.

[22hipower]

i use them in 44/40 revolver as a light load

[Sunray]

They're common. Hornady, et al, make 'em for .44 and .45 calibre ML pistols.
Check your owner's manual. The .451's may be too big. No patches.
"...see I can get..." That'll cost you more than going to a discount fabric shop and buying a few yards of pillow ticking. That's the cotton fabric feather pillows are made of. Ask the women in the shop. They're used to guys asking questions. Take a calipre with you.

[PawPaw]

Or, use them for slingshot ammo.

[Carl N. Brown]

Old timers would start with a rifle and a mold that cast balls to fit the rifle allowing for patching; as the bore wore, some would have the mold re-cherried to the larger bore, eventually having the barrel re-bored, re-rifled to a larger caliber and their mold re-cherried for fit. There are probably all kinds of odd ball sizes out there, that fit no standard production calibers. If the ball don't fit, melt the lead and recast it.

ADDED: .433 is way undersized for a .44 cap'n'ball revolver: to stay in place under recoil, and build consistent pressure for consistent velocity, the ball must be swage fit in the chamber. Now, what gun or caliber .433 was intended to fit is open to question. IIRC .44/40 is really a .42 and .433 would be close.

A bag of stuff from my conglomeration would turn up bullets in .451, .452 and .454, and lead balls from .450 to .490 (plus some .375)

[22hipower]

44/40 is a nominal .427 to .429 .bore

[1911 guy]

Timely thread. I was just given a little pistol that has a .433 smooth bore. I was wonderuing what to put in it, besides 20gr FFFg and tissue paper.