I usually don't comment on videos, I also usually don't stay to the end, but I really liked how informative this was, and I was interested in your process. Thank you for a good video!
Hey Tyler You won't believe this but I just got my new.690 mold from Midway earlier today and I looked up your video on loading them ! Great info, it helped me get started on a load using Longshot , I don't have the Clays powder,haven't been able to find any in stock. But thanks for making this video ! Take Care and Be Safe
Not bad but depends on barrel length... I did many experiments on 18.5 inch barrel it suffers from accuracy....At 25 meters it has good grouping but at 35 + meters not very good...But having support while shooting it can make it better...
I've been loading .690 for some time with Ballistic Products data. The fold crimp actually fully inverts into the hull like a roll crimp. I sent pics to Ballistic Products wondering about it and they said just the way it supposed to be, which is really no different than a roll crimp. Using a rifled choke really helps accuracy, the wad works up around the ball circumference and engages the rifling. There is an English mould in all sizes, cheap, and uses Lee mould handles. They offer a brass mould in virtually every size from .31 to 2in cannonball. And fast turnaround. I got the .715 Ballistic Products data calls for.
@@les3449 That’s why I don’t have one myself lol I can’t afford it at the moment. What size pellet are you after I may be able to help. Custom molds are usually pretty pricey.
You tacky can make a great crimp on those economical loaders from lee. I have pw, hornady. And mec. They work great loading regular loads, but doing discussion I like the lee. There is so much more control.
New to reloading and your channel I must say your channel is one of the best I have a couple of questions if you don't mind on your last load you used a wad from an estate hullcan you suggest a wad you could purchase l don't have any of these also do you have a video on loading the 7/8 lee key drive slug l would like to see your process you simplify things great work thanks for sharing
There are no wads like the estate/federal target load wads available to reloaders. They use that wad because, depending on payload, powder charge, and hull, they can roll the stem to the proper length to get a good crimp. It’s so they do have to use multiple different wads for their different loads. If you’re loading 1 1/8 ounce loads in a tapered hull like AA, STS, super target, or gun club hulls you’ll need a wad like the claybuster cb0118-12. If loading straight wall hulls like federal, super x, fiocchi, Cheddite, rio, and many others, you’ll need the cb6118-12 wad. They make wads for heavier loads too which are available from ballistic products. The only video I have on Lee slugs is for 16 gauge but I do have them and I do shoot them. I load them at 2000 fps with longshot. I might do a video on that.
"Punkin Balls" like those are the original slugs. What you've got there is essentially two centuries of evolution added to the old Brown Bess (which was a 12 gauge bore as well). Your "magnum" load ought to be effective to at least 100 yards, maybe twice that in a rifled barrel with sights or a scope.
Great video, thank you for providing the information. One question. When swapping wads like you did in the 3" fiocchi load how do you know chamber pressure is in the safe range?
I was going off powder charges for a given payload weight. Solid projectiles like round balls and slugs produce less pressure then birdshot does. Same with buckshot, it also produces less pressure than an equal weight of birdshot.
Comparing the Lee .690 roundball to your socket slug with the screw attached wad ... Would you say that one is consistently more accurate than the other, or are both about the same? Thanks, Tyler!
Have you got into Svarog slugs? I have 3 of their molds and I'm more than pleased. The 2 I like most are the Italian and the Botfly. The Italian is a tack driver when mated with a Special wad and the botfly is a bit of genius tactical engineering but not as accurate. I agree with you on those Lee key drive molds but that round ball molds makes a decent ball. I also use the shit out of my Lee buckshot mold.
I wish I had one. Right now I’m using the Lyman 12 gauge sabot slugs for 12 gauge slugs and 16 gauge full bore. Also using the 20 gauge slugs for both 20 gauge and 24 gauge full bore. I don’t shoot a lot of slugs to be honest, mostly round balls and buckshot. I need practice with slugs as you’ll see in a video soon lol. I missed a 2 liter at 10 yards, josh missed both. Maybe the gun we were shooting just shoots high or something. We’ve never shot it with slugs before today.
@@theshotgunscientists the other svarog mold I have is the pellet slug that is speced the same as the Lyman. It's the one I broke my cherry on and like my girlfriend who did the same thing for me I've moved on. I thought it was great until I made and shot some Italians. Once you've had an Italian you don't go back. 5 of em make 1 hole at 50 yds and at 100 I've shot a 2.5"group.
Great video! I’m just now getting into reloading 12 ga on a lee load all 2 and I have .715 round balls that I’m trying to load with 1 1/8 ounce WAA12 substitute wads from clay busters but they aren’t taking up enough space in the 2 3/4” hull, any tips or ideas on how to fix this?
New to reloading so forgive me, and I know this is an older video, but basically use a published 1&1/8 oz load and substitute the round ball for the shot weight, and your good to go?
Yep. Lead weight is lead weight. Birdshot produces slightly higher pressure than buckshot or slugs or roundballs though, more bore scrub/surface area. Nothing to worry about though.
Take a foam tray from grocery store and make filler wads with a hollow punch. I think it's 5/8 for 20 gauge or in 12 ga shot cup. Or 3/4 for 12 without shot cup.
Love your videos! I’m a little confused hoping you could help, I just got my Lee .690 mold, I cast and powder coat my own 00, now starting into the round ball….ive got a Lee load all 2, cheddite 209 primers and a bunch of range hulls and 300 new fiocchi hulls on the way, long shot powder ..cb1138 wads…should i get anything different than what I’ve got? Would you have any suggestions for a newish reloader on this round? Thanks man
Overshot cards, use a 1” square piece of paper towel under that wad as it’s for tapered hulls and will be a very poor fit in a fiocchi using longshot powder. I highly suggest mg42 wads.
@@theshotgunscientists thanks for the reply! I’d rather pick up some mg42s if they’ll work better,is that all I would put into the new fiocchi hulls? Powder; mg42, .690 ball and crimp? I’m gonna order some stuff on ballistic products tonight (again lol)
Ok heres what I have....Gray and Red AA hulls, Cheddite Primers, AA wads and the red short AA wads, .69 roundballs, longshot powder. I want to load and roll crimp, can I do it with these components? Also have fiber wads for stack height if needed. Or am I better off to just crimp?
These do better with fold crimps, the .690 round ball weighs about 1 1/8 ounces so find a powder charge for a 1 1/8 ounce load using the component you have and let them fly lol
*.690 balls 'of lead' weigh about 1.125 ounce. 1+1/8th "Ounce and one eighth". .690" round ball SHOULD go through Typical Standard "Modified" or by the older terms 'half choke'. I WOULD NOT fire those through full choke. Damage to choke or barrel could occur with .690" in Full, Extra Full or Turkey chokes. Cylinder bore, Improved Cylinder, Skeet, or MAYBE Modified.*
Mine are very hard cast and weigh a little less. Usually between 1.07 and 1.10 deepening on alloy. If you don’t use a shot cup they’re safe to fire through a full choke, which is .700 in 12 gauge. If it’s pure soft lead you can use thin claybuster wads and a full choke. If it’s a thin profile barrel and full choke, In a wad, that’s a no go.
Hey brother if you're having trouble getting the key drive slugs out of the mold heat up the mold the mold needs to be hot as s*** to get them to release them easily when I first started loading key drives I had the same problem then I found an old timer on RU-vid that showed you have to have the mold hot like really hot ... Now when I cast them they come right out easy peasy and I've never even used any wax or anything on the mold I just use a Bic lighter to put the carbon on the inside and on the centerpiece
This is an old video man, I have no issues with that mold but I do keep my pot at 9 for just about everything. The .690 mold is the easiest mold to use.
@@theshotgunscientists right on it definitely is the easiest to cast the .690 love your videos man definitely taught me a thing or two keep up the good work
This was an old video, I just couldn’t find my powder dipped. That’s not how I normally load my shells, I was just lazy and didn’t bother looking for the dipper. I wash my hands 10 thousand times a day as well because I handle lead a lot, no powder was harmed in the making of this video lol.
It would work in a full choke but too small for anything else. You need a .778 round ball for 10 gauge, you need it slightly over bore size if you have a cylinder bore. To fit in a shot cup, you need a .720 ball.
OK, you have the fundamentals down, but you need to step up your game. Get a MEC press. I have a Lee too, but it pales in comparison. Get some powder measures or at least pour right out of the bottle into your scale pan, avoiding the sweat and oils on your palm. Get some 12ga and 20ga nitro cards and fiber wads and never speak of using paper towel for such again. Finally, talk with Chad at CK Molds and have him make you a 14 cavity .69 cal ball mold and ask for 1/8" non-continuous pour holes . The sprue flats are practically imaginary, and you get nearly a pound of .69 cal balls (14) per pour. I tumble 50 lbs at a time in a HF cement mixer for an hour with steel ball bearings, for an amazing finish.
My hands were clean, which is why I took no issue with getting the powder charge that way. That’s definitely not how I normally load shells. If you watch my other videos, I do use a powder scoop. Paper towels have never given me an issue. When folded and compressed, they work exactly the same as fiber wadding. They also make great over shot material. I don’t use them for over powder cards, strictly as filler. I have nitro cards in several gauges, and use them fairly often. I don’t shoot enough round balls to spend the money on the mold chad makes. Great molds yes, but I can cast 25 in no time with the cheap Lee mold. Like I said, I don’t shoot enough to need such a high volume of the round balls. The end result is the same anyway, a .690 ball. I tumble all of my lead shot no matter the size of the pellet, I just didn’t bother for this video in order to keep things simple, not everyone has a tumbler. I don’t personally like mec presses all that much, I’ve used them in a few gauges. No where near as versatile as the Lee load all. I like the crimps better with the Lee press too. I can fold crimp every shell from 10 gauge down to 32 gauge and 2.5” to 3.5” with 1 Lee load all press. Going to a mec would be greatly counterproductive for what I do. I would need 6 different presses, and have to find a new way load my 24 and 32 gauge hulls. I don’t load at high volume, 95% of my hand loads are buckshot, and usually just a few at a time.
*10 gauge with .690" round ball... ??? HAVE YOU CONSIDERED "a durable paper wrap" or Mylar wrap inside wadding to reduce rattling around of the slightly undersized balls ??? Some shower curtains are made of Mylar {flexible form of plastic}. FOOD BOXES are often made of durable paper. The PAPER wads will actually polish the bore with every shot. Printed side touches the lead... to allow plain, unprinted or raw side of paper to polish bore. THE Paper Wads ACTUALLY MIGHT 'seem to shoot cleaner'. TEN gouge with .690" as part of a buck and ball load , or double ball load, should work very well. TWO AND A QUARTER OUNCE is NOT TOO MUCH for a TEN GAUGE . ..375" or .380" 0000 { Quad-Ought } SHOULD stack "in pairs" in TEN Gauge, ^^unless^^ you use wads with really thick petals on the shot cup.*
You can make that Lee slug mold do thousands of more pours. Got a screw out of an old PC that holds cards in place? They won't go all the way in, but will grip and do the job. I've fixed two Lee slug molds with them, and they have both lasted longer than the original screws. To make the slugs release, smack the thin metal support for the core pin with a piece of wood. It bends a bit after a while, but you can bend it right back. The molds are cheap, practically disposable. Otherwise, a torch on the nose of the slug for a few seconds will do. Your habit of pouring the powder in you hand is not good. The oil and sweat from your hands don't do the round any good, and contaminates the jar when you put it back. You need a powder pan for that scale. I just dump into one right from the 1lb bottles, and can beat any auto-dispenser out there. I had a .69 cal round ball mold specially made by CK Molds (no longer in business). It pours 14 balls at a time and has 1/8" pour holes for near invisible flat spots after tumbling.
@@theshotgunscientists I have like six of the dang 7/8oz molds in different conditions from perfect to "just about ready to become parts." I've sold the slugs for three years, and they're very popular. The 1oz has a bad rep (deserved) from a couple of dooming RU-vid videos showing them curve in flight. I really enjoy your videos. You "ain't skeered" of recoil and you both are great shots. I'd love to send you boys a sample pack of my stuff for free. It would be cool to seeing it tested. I have #4B, .31, .33, .35, .36, .495, .535, .562, .575, .60 and .69 calibers. In addition to the Lee Drive Key slugs, I make Svarog Zveroboy (with Guilandi Green Brush Wad attached) and Lyman 12ga Diabolo. I also make Lyman 10ga Foster slugs. Let me know and I'll send you a free package that will make your mail carrier want a raise. Warning! Once you shoot my .69cal balls, you will be spoiled!
@@robertfrapples2472 absolutely man. That would be awesome. My e mail is posted in the “about” section of the channel or just message me on Facebook or instagram.
