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6/29/2017 9:57:28 AM EDT
How much over the expected diameter should you go when using a round ball?  Or, if you have a better method, what is it?
6/29/2017 10:08:57 AM EDT
[#1]
Are you talking a muzzle loader?
6/29/2017 10:29:53 AM EDT
[#2]
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Quoted:
Are you talking a muzzle loader?
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No, my Glocks and 1911s.  Most of what I read about slugging said pound an oversized round ball through it.
6/29/2017 10:51:09 AM EDT
[#3]
Don't go too much over bore size. You can also get away with slightly under bore size by smacking the ball with a hammer once or twice. I use .360 balls for anything in the .35 caliber range.
6/29/2017 10:57:54 AM EDT
[#4]
Cerrosafe from Midway is much easier than slugging a barrel.  A eutectic alloy you can melt with a heat gun and poor into a chamber or barrel.  The solid metal is harder than lead for easier accurate measurements afterwords.  It contracts slightly on cooling for easier extraction.  1 hour after it solidifies it's back to exactly the size at casting.  It will grow a bit more over the next few days but you will already have your measurements at the 1 hour point.  The total growth is on the order of .002/inch.
6/30/2017 9:22:18 PM EDT
[#5]
I've used Water Gremlin Slip Sinkers (aka "bullet sinkers") to slug pistol barrels.  They're soft, shaped kind of bullet-like, and inexpensive.  It's also easier to handle an oblong item to measure it than it is to handle a ball.
6/30/2017 10:03:00 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote History
Quoted:
Cerrosafe from Midway is much easier than slugging a barrel.  A eutectic alloy you can melt with a heat gun and poor into a chamber or barrel.  The solid metal is harder than lead for easier accurate measurements afterwords.  It contracts slightly on cooling for easier extraction.  1 hour after it solidifies it's back to exactly the size at casting.  It will grow a bit more over the next few days but you will already have your measurements at the 1 hour point.  The total growth is on the order of .002/inch.
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I thought Cerrosafe was marketed for chamber casting, not for barrels.

Have you used it in a barrel?
6/30/2017 10:04:57 PM EDT
[#7]
Why not just push a lead bullet through the bore.  I bet you have one handy, too.
6/30/2017 10:19:41 PM EDT
[#8]
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Quoted:
Why not just push a lead bullet through the bore.  I bet you have one handy, too.
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Most sinkers and muzzle loader balls are pure lead.  They are softer and easier to deform than lead bullets.

Lead bullets are alloyed to be harder for higher performance.
7/1/2017 2:00:52 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote History
Quoted:
Most sinkers and muzzle loader balls are pure lead.  They are softer and easier to deform than lead bullets.

Lead bullets are alloyed to be harder for higher performance.
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Why not just push a lead bullet through the bore.  I bet you have one handy, too.
Most sinkers and muzzle loader balls are pure lead.  They are softer and easier to deform than lead bullets.

Lead bullets are alloyed to be harder for higher performance.
Understood, but I've pushed lead bullets through bores.
7/1/2017 12:40:53 PM EDT
[#10]
I think a bullet would be more subject to damage from being driven through the bore than a softer ball or sinker.  This is precisely why I used the Water Goblin for my slugging - it's soft enough to be easily driven through the barrel without any risk of buggering up either end of the barrel with what I was supporting it.
7/2/2017 9:12:30 PM EDT
[#11]
I like to make a slug out of a spent casing.

Just put scrap lead in the pistol casing and hit it with a torch (I use fishing weights since I know it's 100% lead).

It's easier to get down the barrel than a sufficiently large round ball.
7/2/2017 9:37:57 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote History
Quoted:
I thought Cerrosafe was marketed for chamber casting, not for barrels.

Have you used it in a barrel?
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Quote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Cerrosafe from Midway is much easier than slugging a barrel.  A eutectic alloy you can melt with a heat gun and poor into a chamber or barrel.  The solid metal is harder than lead for easier accurate measurements afterwords.  It contracts slightly on cooling for easier extraction.  1 hour after it solidifies it's back to exactly the size at casting.  It will grow a bit more over the next few days but you will already have your measurements at the 1 hour point.  The total growth is on the order of .002/inch.
I thought Cerrosafe was marketed for chamber casting, not for barrels.

Have you used it in a barrel?
Works just fine, just don't poor 12+ inches of barrel length full.  Plug the barrel with a patch and poor enough for ~2 calibers of length.  Give it just a few minutes to freeze and bump it out with a cleaning rod.  Run an lightly oiled patch through the barrel before casting to help it slide it out if your worried.
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