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Jump boot
January 1, 2007, 10:48 AM
I have been trying to find a source for buying .380 round balls for my .36 cal.,but I am not having any luck.Does anyone know of a reputable on line store that handles them?

pohill
January 1, 2007, 12:38 PM
I think the last time I bought .380 was at Track of the Wolf (.com). I finally bought a .380 Lee mould for about $20.

pohill
January 1, 2007, 12:43 PM
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(aggomxi4c5zpop45h0lttx2a))/categories/tableList.aspx?catID=2&subID=25&styleID=58

Jump boot
January 1, 2007, 03:32 PM
Thank you for your speedy reply.I'll order some of those babies asap.That looks like a fun site too.

pohill
January 1, 2007, 04:29 PM
If I remember correctly, they stuff as much into the shipping package as they can, up to a certain limit, for a flat rate (100 round balls cost as much to ship as, say, 300). You might want to ask them about that if you're interested in buying other things or more roundballs. Good people to deal with. They also sell moulds and even some revolvers.

shoebox1.1
January 2, 2007, 12:41 PM
so those are cast balls they sell? are the better one harder to find?

pohill
January 2, 2007, 03:27 PM
Hornaday roundballs are good. It's the .380 size that's hard to find.

Jump boot
January 2, 2007, 06:54 PM
I just ordered some balls from them but I noticed that they said pure lead and hand casted.I hope they aren't cast balls,those aren't good for the bore,are they ?

pohill
January 2, 2007, 07:02 PM
As long as they're pure lead, they're fine. I cast my own and tried wheel weight lead once - might as well use wheel rims (wheel weights are not pure lead - way too hard). What you gotta do is get a few BP revolvers so you don't use one too much.

Jump boot
January 3, 2007, 06:10 AM
Pohill,
You are way to funny or you have ESP cause I thought the same thing so I order a new revolver last night.LOL,I beat you to it.I'm going to check around about coming up with pure lead before I buy the equipment to make my own.

Jump boot
January 27, 2007, 09:14 PM
Well,I think I am back to the drawing board on this one.I finnally had a chance to try hose .380 balls from The Track of the Wolf. Actually,I didn't even get the first one seated in my Euroarms 1851.I was using the very beefy loading stand from http://www.powderinc.com/cgi-bin/bpstore/perlshop.cgi?ACTION=thispage&thispage=cyl_loader.htm&ORDER_ID=302667142
When the balls arrived,I was sceptical of the bright silver color of the balls,they looked like my hard cast bullets that I use for indoor shooting with my 45ACP.1911 Colt. The Hornady balls are a dark grey color and soft enough to scrape with my thumb nail,however,I could also scrap a line with my thumb nail on the Wolf's balls too, but it was harder and not as deep.I had to remove the nipple and the powder and drive the ball out with my nipple wrench handle.Only about 2/3rds. of the ball was seated and way to much was sticking out of the cylinder.Needless to say that I was a little bumbed out cause I bought 500 balls.I haven't tried them in the Uberti 1858 or my new Cimarron 1851 yet .I am hesitant in doing so.I don't want to harm the revolvers.I don't know if they would harm anything but I am just not sure.I'm to new at this BP revolver stuff yet.
Track of the Wolf advertizes the balls as pure lead,hand casted.Does anybody know for sure?I'll use them if they won't hurt anything but I want to be sure.As a note:I loaded the .375 Hornady round balls into the cylinder but no lead was peeled away either,it appears that the mouth of the chambers are slightly oversized from the rest of the chamber walls so it could be that the .380 balls are just oversized for the Euroarms revolver.

pohill
January 27, 2007, 10:20 PM
I'm surprised at what happened. It's possible that the chamber mouths are chamferred (bevelled) but you should still be able to get the ball down below the chamber rim. I have two guns that use .375 but I can still get the .380 down far enough. My 1862 .36 with a short loading lever uses .380.
I use .454 balls in my .44s and some guys actually use .457 in the same guns - that must take alot of ramming.
Did you have the rammer positioned correctly over the ball as you rammed it? That happens to me - the rammer doesn't make square contact with the ball and only pushes it partway down (especially if you rotate the cylinder a little too far).
As far as I know you cannot hurt a .36 by using .380 balls made of pure lead. Track of the Wolf is a pretty good place - call them if you have any questions about the purity of the balls.
I should think that if you can get it 2/3 of the way down, another push will slide it further. Try it without powder. Believe me, I've had my share of stuck balls for one reason or another (mostly forgetting to put the powder in) - it's good to know how to get them out ahead of time.
Ain't it fun?
Let me know how it goes.

Jump boot
January 28, 2007, 06:01 AM
Pohill,
Thanks for your come back on this issue of the balls and their fitting into the chambers.After reading your comments,I decided to give it one more try.It bugged me all night so at 5 am,I decided to give it a shot.First,I'd like to appologize if I've cause anybody to think wrongly about the .380 round balls that Track of the Wolf put out or the company.After reading my own post over again,I can see where somebody may take it that way.
I put the cylinder back into the loading stand and was able to seat the balls in all chambers,some needed a little extra force with a few taps from the palm of my hand,some didn't,but they all fit,none the less.I even tried a few with the cylinder assembled to the revolver and using the loading lever and again,a few forceful taps with the palm and they went right in.
I don't know why the very first ball that I tried,I had trouble with.I really thought that everything was lined up correctly and centered but with my recent findings,I'd have to say that I was mistaken.I see no reason to not shoot these .380 balls and with the nice tight fit,I bet accuracy is going to be great.They have a little spruce on them but it's no problem locating it to the top/center of the chamber with the thumb nail.
Again Pohill,thanks for putting me on the right track.I think I am going to have fun today.There are a couple of mean pop cans that need taken care of out behind the barn, in the corral.

pohill
January 28, 2007, 09:08 AM
It's possible that the .380 balls might be a little too big for your gun, though usable. I have a gun that loads tightly at first, then after the first few rounds, the cylinder seem to expand and the balls ram down easier. Even if you need .375 for that gun, hold on to the .380s 'cause it sounds like you have the bug, and another gun (or several) are in your future. Like I said, some of my .36 take .375, some take .380. But keep in mind that too much pressure on a loading lever arm, especially in the smaller Remington .31s and even a Pocket Police .36, can bend the arm.
Hey, have fun, go make some noise and some smoke.
What part of the country do you live in that you can shoot this time of year? It's been around ZERO here on the MA/NH border.

I just went to the link for the loading stand. Question: why don't you load the cylinder in the gun? Nothing wrong with the way you do it but I'm curious.

Jump boot
January 28, 2007, 12:58 PM
Pohill,
Well,to answer your question about the loading stand,I figured ahead of time that it just maybe easier for the better half to load a cylinder while I had fun just shooting ,;) .I do plan on getting an exta cylinder or two and just in case I have that tight ball to seat,it will be less wear and tear on the revolver's loading lever.I probably shouldn't have spent the hard earned money on that but I am not the brightest light balb in the pack either.Dad always told me that I have to learn things the hard way and he was right,I am still learning the hard way,even at 60 years old.I shoot a lot and I handload a lot.I have a whole room of reloading presses for rifles ,revolvers and pistols.I like the long range stuff since I was a Nam sniper and for the pistols,well,the good old 1911 is my great love,however,I have to admit that these black powder revolvers have a pretty good grip on me and I don't see them letting go anytime soon.
I see you live in a really nice part of the country,it is beautiful up around those parts and I used to enjoy driving through there when I drove semi truck.I live here in North Eastern Ohio and yep,it's cold here to and you already know that I am not the brightest light bulb in the pack cause I am about to load up and go kill a can.It's to cold to go rabbit hunting.

pohill
January 28, 2007, 01:45 PM
Ah, but you are bright enough and humble enough to ask the right questions. The beauty of BP shooting is that ten different people can be right in ten different ways.
Sniper? Man, I'll bet you have some stories.
I was a cop. I got tired of "modern" handguns. I like the whole aspect of BP, even the cleaning and gunsmithing.