loading round ball in 45 lc

dundee · August 6, 2000, 07:24 AM

In an effort to load some very soft recoil and possibly cheap load for the 45 LC I purchased some round balls sized .454. In the Lyman reloading handbook they give 3 loads that are about 500 FPS. My question is LUBRICATION of the round ball. In cap & ball revolvers a lube is put in the cylinder after the ball is loaded so the ball pushes the lube down the bore. When loading the ball in a cartridge case the ball is normally crimped so approx 1/2 of the ball is sticking out of the case.
Should I not bother with lube-trusting to the low velocities?? Should I use Lee Tumble Lube and let the balls dry before loading? Should I try loading a Wonder Wad under the ball like they do no some black powder loads?
In short has anyone here had experence doing this.
Thanks

Paul B. · August 6, 2000, 11:34 PM

Dundee. Good question. I've thought about doing that myself. I even have a .45 cal. mold. In a cap and ball gun, the grease is used not only to lubricate the bullet and keep fouling soft, but to prevent flash over from igniting one of the other chambers. A seated bullet in a cap and ball gun is below the front of the cylinder, and the space filled with Crisco, or one of the commercial goos. A .45 Colt round with a ball would also be below the front of the cylinder, so I imagine you could lube the same way. I would imagine a Wonder Wad would work as well.
Gunwriter John Wooters used to load what he called his "hockshop" load. A 45-70 shell with three .45 caliber balls. No details, just a picture of a cutaway round. Shows powder, a thin wad of some kind, and three round balls. No sign of any lubricant.
As I mentioned earlier, the grease in front of the ball, as done in a caplock revovlver would work, albeit messy. Maybe the Lee tumble lube just might be the answer. At the worst, you'll have to scrub out some lead. At best, you'll have a fun plinker.
Paul B.

5pins · August 7, 2000, 01:23 AM

dundee you don't need lube with round balls in .45 Colt, if you use smokeless powder. The lube is to keep the down the fowling from black powder, and the low velocities will not lead up. I have shot a lot of round balls in .45 Colt and it workes great. The Speer #11 manual has data for this. Have fun and try 2 balls at the same time.

August 6, 2000, 07:24 AM	#1
dundee Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 1998 Location: mytown,mi,usa Posts: 162	In an effort to load some very soft recoil and possibly cheap load for the 45 LC I purchased some round balls sized .454. In the Lyman reloading handbook they give 3 loads that are about 500 FPS. My question is LUBRICATION of the round ball. In cap & ball revolvers a lube is put in the cylinder after the ball is loaded so the ball pushes the lube down the bore. When loading the ball in a cartridge case the ball is normally crimped so approx 1/2 of the ball is sticking out of the case. Should I not bother with lube-trusting to the low velocities?? Should I use Lee Tumble Lube and let the balls dry before loading? Should I try loading a Wonder Wad under the ball like they do no some black powder loads? In short has anyone here had experence doing this. Thanks

August 6, 2000, 11:34 PM	#2
Paul B. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 1999 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,802	Dundee. Good question. I've thought about doing that myself. I even have a .45 cal. mold. In a cap and ball gun, the grease is used not only to lubricate the bullet and keep fouling soft, but to prevent flash over from igniting one of the other chambers. A seated bullet in a cap and ball gun is below the front of the cylinder, and the space filled with Crisco, or one of the commercial goos. A .45 Colt round with a ball would also be below the front of the cylinder, so I imagine you could lube the same way. I would imagine a Wonder Wad would work as well. Gunwriter John Wooters used to load what he called his "hockshop" load. A 45-70 shell with three .45 caliber balls. No details, just a picture of a cutaway round. Shows powder, a thin wad of some kind, and three round balls. No sign of any lubricant. As I mentioned earlier, the grease in front of the ball, as done in a caplock revovlver would work, albeit messy. Maybe the Lee tumble lube just might be the answer. At the worst, you'll have to scrub out some lead. At best, you'll have a fun plinker. Paul B.

August 7, 2000, 01:23 AM	#3
5pins Senior Member Join Date: October 30, 1998 Location: WV Posts: 252	dundee you don't need lube with round balls in .45 Colt, if you use smokeless powder. The lube is to keep the down the fowling from black powder, and the low velocities will not lead up. I have shot a lot of round balls in .45 Colt and it workes great. The Speer #11 manual has data for this. Have fun and try 2 balls at the same time.