I found a guy who was interested in trying some of my cast 452. Lead HP. He is shooting a 1860 Colt replica and stated that he had been using .451 round ball in it but wants to try my cast .452.

Now I know I dont know everything but can that even be done? I don't want to give this guy some of my cast and have him blow himself up or his weapon but I also don't know enough about the 1860 to say I don't know think that's a good idea. Any advice on this one?

.001 with lead will not make a bit of difference. In fact even if it is oversize a bit i will shave off the oversize portion when he seats the ball.

The .44 caliber cap and ball revolvers take 0.451", 0.454", or 0.457" round balls. It is a trial and error type of fit.

Using your 0.452" cast HP will be no problem, as long as the alloy is soft enough.

Same reason the conversion cylinders are .45 Colt.

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OK thanks for the help glad I asked and did not just throw my $0.02 out there.

Generally speaking the Pedersoli and Uberti Colt 1851 Navy and Colt 1860 Army clones use a .451" to .452" ball.  The 1858 Remington clones are more likely to use a .454" ball and the Walker Colt and Colt Dragoon copies more often than not use a .457" ball.  The Ruger Old Army was designed for a .457" ball.

From a safety perspective, if you try to insert an oversize ball, such as a .454" ball in a .451" pistol, you'll just note the greater pressure needed to seat the ball as the sharp edge of the cylinder trims it down to size.  If you try a .457" ball in a .451 pistol you'll note it's extremely hard to do, and if you persist you'll run the risk of breaking the loading lever.  

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Ideally, you want to shave a small even ring from the ball when seating it.  It ensures a snug fit that will prevent the balls in the other chambers from moving forward under recoil, and in conjunction with some crisco, spit ball, or other lube over the front of the cylinder helps prevent flash over between cylinders that can cause a chain fire.  

This. I had an 1860 .44 replica in the 70's and iirc it called for a .454 ball; and when loading, I got that very thing. Friend of mine had a replica 1858, don't recall what size it used.

How hard is your cast .452 projos?  Cap and ball projos should be cast with straight stick on wheel weights or other pure lead.  Your .45s may be too hard or too long for the cylinder.  When I cast my round balls for my 1851 Navy or 1862 Pocket Police .36 cal my RBs are .375" and very soft.  The softer the bullet the better it will fill the bore and shave lead if need seating the bullet.  


CD

The main problem might be clearance of the barrel.   Might be too long to fit.   Heavier conical and flat nosed bullet molds are out there if he wants to shoot that type of bullet.  Check out Kaido Ojamaa.

I have an old Armi San Marco brass framed 1860 Colt that uses .454 round balls. It even recommends them in the manual that came with the pistol. When i ram a ball in one of the cylinder chambers, it does exactly what is described in earlier posts, it swages the ball to fit the chamber and leaves a minute lead ring. I use pre lubed "Wonder Wads" between the ball and a 30 grain charge of Pyrodex FFFG. I've never graphed it, but that load will drive one of those big lead balls completely thru a 4" diameter sapling at about 10 yards. Regards, Gary