Buck and ball info

[Hoosier49er]

Hello all,
Can anyone tell me what is the caliber of the three smaller balls in a buck and ball load? Search function produced no results, and I can't find anything else-where on the net. Also, is there someone who produces a mold for these?
Thanks in advance,

[MBond057]

Here is a website that I hope will help in your search for Buck and Ball.

“A "Buck and Ball" cartridge usually contained one .69 caliber round ball and three .22 caliber buckshot.”

http://www.ballandbuck.com/buckandballl.html

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Ideally, the "buck and ball" cartridge contained a nominal .650 round ball and three nominal .31 buckshot (if intended for use in a .69 musket).
There are no known specifications for the larger buck-and-ball cartridges made for use in .71, .72, .73, .74. and .75 and up muskets).
And, surviving Confederate shot seems to vary the most- the smallest I can remember being .290 and the largest .352

CHS

[Blair]

Joe,

Are you making up buck & ball rounds for shooting or for show?
If you are making up rounds for shooting then the ball and buck shot need to be smaller in diameter than the actual bore you are shooting them in.
Both CCI and Hornady make .69 round ball in diameters that should load well for you, like .650 as Curt suggested.
As for the buck shot, No. 4 Buck is .240 dia. and No. 00 Buck is .330 dia. (perhaps a little too large for what you want)
I don't have the chilled shot size for No. 0 Buck, I'm guessing it would be about .300 to .310 dia. if my memory serves me correctly.
You should be able to buy these buck shot sizes in most gun stores that cater to shot shell reloaders without having to buy a 25 pound bag.

If you are wanting to make up buck & ball round as a static display, I would suggest you make up the round with oversized ball. Ball large enough that it can't be put into the bore of your firearm. This may keep you from having to worm out your firearm before you can use it.
Blair Taylor

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

If wanting to buy a mold, you may have to shop around as .310 is not all that popular.
Dixie Gun Works used to sell their brass mold starting at .310.
I never paid attention to what other companies might have in their steel or aluminum block mold line.

You may also want to check with muzzleloading shops such as the Log Cabin Sport Shop in Lodi, Ohio that sell precast balls in poly bags of 25, 50, or 100. They might go as low as .310 as they are sometimes used in the old time .32 "squirrel" rifles.

CHS

[Poor Private]

Try www.trackofthewolf.com they may have what you are looking for.

[Hoosier49er]

Thanks to all that replied. I am indeed wanting to make these for live-firing. My unit did a live-fire at our last camp of instruction, and it was an eye opening experience. I would definitely not want to be on the receiving end of a volley from these bad boys. The rounds punched through 3/4" plywood fairly clean. Looked like someone drilled holes in the wood... Thought I might make up some buck and ball for this coming year. I'm making these in .58 caliber for Enfields though. I know it was used for this caliber as well as .69, but not as common. I am looking into using shot for the smaller balls, and a slightly smaller (.560 or so) for the larger round.
Thanks again for the help.

[Blair]

Joe,

You may find the buck & ball will not preform as you expect due to the rifling in the .58 cal. The centrifical force will cause the buck shot to spread out too quickly.
Buck & Ball, Buck shot loads and shot loads were intented for use in smooth bore firearms.
Just a suggestion on my part.
Blair Taylor