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Picture of cal pappas
posted
Gents:
I have a POS shotmaker. It works but the shot is malformed with several tries, with friends, and with the instructions in hand. I'm shooting clays at my home range and am accumulating a pile of hulls and I would like to reload. I have an endless supply of wheelwrights but I've been told wheelwrights don't make good shot. I really don't want to spend 40-50$ per bag of shot if there is a better alternative.
Any suggestions?
Or recommendations on a better shotmaker that is simple, easy to use, accepts wheelwrights for number 8 shot, and will produce a large quantity of shot in a reasonable amount of time.
Thanks for your help on the 10 gauge press issue so I know you come up with some valuable information here.
Cheers, mates.
Cal


_______________________________

Cal Pappas, Willow, Alaska
www.CalPappas.com
www.CalPappas.blogspot.com
1994 Zimbabwe
1997 Zimbabwe
1998 Zimbabwe
1999 Zimbabwe
1999 Namibia, Botswana, Zambia--vacation
2000 Australia
2002 South Africa
2003 South Africa
2003 Zimbabwe
2005 South Africa
2005 Zimbabwe
2006 Tanzania
2006 Zimbabwe--vacation
2007 Zimbabwe--vacation
2008 Zimbabwe
2012 Australia
2013 South Africa
2013 Zimbabwe
2013 Australia
2016 Zimbabwe
2017 Zimbabwe
2018 South Africa
2018 Zimbabwe--vacation
2019 South Africa
2019 Botswana
2019 Zimbabwe vacation
2021 South Africa
2021 South Africa (2nd hunt a month later)
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Posts: 7281 | Location: Willow, Alaska | Registered: 29 June 2009Reply With Quote
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Cal,

I have not seen one that actually makes shot that is round.

Years ago I found a swimming pool full of lead shot. Several sizes mixed together.

I have no idea how it got there and the man who sold it me did not either.

I bought the lot, and stored them in 48 gallon drums.

I still have about 12 drums left.

A shame you are so far away, otherwise I am more than happy to let you have some.


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Posts: 66756 | Location: Dubai, UAE | Registered: 08 January 1998Reply With Quote
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Picture of buffybr
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Cal,
I have been making my own shot for at least 30 years. My original shotmaker was made by a gentleman in Utah. My present one is very similar, and I believe it is a Littleton.

Shotmaking can be laborious, and at times difficult. On a good day, I can make about 60 lbs in about 3 hours.

First, the lead MUST be clean going into the shotmaker. Salvaged lead (including lead wheelweights) must be smelted into clean ingots. Lead wheelweights make great shot, however they have been banned over most of the US. They have been replaced with iron and/or zinc weights.

If zinc is melted in with your lead, it will ruin the mix.

The type of coolant that the shot falls into is critical, as is the temperature of the coolant. I use a mixture of laundry detergent and water, and keep the coolant under 125* F.

I make about size 8-8 1/2 shot and it is not perfectly round, but tumbling it with a pinch of powdered graphite helps.

When I was shooting registered Trap and later registered Skeet, my shot was good enough to get me my 27 yard punch in ATA Handicap Trap, and into class A and AA in all gauges of NSSA registered Skeet, plus a spot on the Montana State Skeet Team.


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Posts: 1631 | Location: Boz Angeles, MT | Registered: 14 February 2006Reply With Quote
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Picture of cal pappas
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Thanks for the info.
All of my lead is wheelwrights and in clean one pound ingots.
I would be happy with 60 pounds in three hours but I wonder if there are any makers that can make shot more quickly--like using a one cavity mould, or a two cavity mould, or a six cavity mould.
Cheers,
Cal


_______________________________

Cal Pappas, Willow, Alaska
www.CalPappas.com
www.CalPappas.blogspot.com
1994 Zimbabwe
1997 Zimbabwe
1998 Zimbabwe
1999 Zimbabwe
1999 Namibia, Botswana, Zambia--vacation
2000 Australia
2002 South Africa
2003 South Africa
2003 Zimbabwe
2005 South Africa
2005 Zimbabwe
2006 Tanzania
2006 Zimbabwe--vacation
2007 Zimbabwe--vacation
2008 Zimbabwe
2012 Australia
2013 South Africa
2013 Zimbabwe
2013 Australia
2016 Zimbabwe
2017 Zimbabwe
2018 South Africa
2018 Zimbabwe--vacation
2019 South Africa
2019 Botswana
2019 Zimbabwe vacation
2021 South Africa
2021 South Africa (2nd hunt a month later)
______________________________
 
Posts: 7281 | Location: Willow, Alaska | Registered: 29 June 2009Reply With Quote
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Picture of cal pappas
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Saeed:
Cal,

I have not seen one that actually makes shot that is round.

Years ago I found a swimming pool full of lead shot. Several sizes mixed together.

I have no idea how it got there and the man who sold it me did not either.

I bought the lot, and stored them in 48 gallon drums.

I still have about 12 drums left.

A shame you are so far away, otherwise I am more than happy to let you have some.


Thanks for the thought.
Cal


_______________________________

Cal Pappas, Willow, Alaska
www.CalPappas.com
www.CalPappas.blogspot.com
1994 Zimbabwe
1997 Zimbabwe
1998 Zimbabwe
1999 Zimbabwe
1999 Namibia, Botswana, Zambia--vacation
2000 Australia
2002 South Africa
2003 South Africa
2003 Zimbabwe
2005 South Africa
2005 Zimbabwe
2006 Tanzania
2006 Zimbabwe--vacation
2007 Zimbabwe--vacation
2008 Zimbabwe
2012 Australia
2013 South Africa
2013 Zimbabwe
2013 Australia
2016 Zimbabwe
2017 Zimbabwe
2018 South Africa
2018 Zimbabwe--vacation
2019 South Africa
2019 Botswana
2019 Zimbabwe vacation
2021 South Africa
2021 South Africa (2nd hunt a month later)
______________________________
 
Posts: 7281 | Location: Willow, Alaska | Registered: 29 June 2009Reply With Quote
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If you have the space and the money, making your own shot tower is not that difficult. If you can get a 20 foot high tower (read like a deer stand) with the capability of getting electricity to the top and put a kiddie wading pool in the drop area, you can make some stuff that it almost as good as the best commercial stuff. Basically, how fine a screen you pour it through will determine shot size. A friend of mine did this years ago, but since then I have just brought my own shot as I never had a good source of free lead.

Wheel weights will work just fine. They don't have a lot of antimony, so they are pretty soft though. Read flyers and pellet deforming. If you are just doing this for your own informal practice, no problems, but you could always add some antimony to the mix when you make the ingots.

The Littleton shot makers work OK for smaller shot sizes, but trying to make bigger sizes for hunting results in some odd looking shot that will not pattern all that well, but if you are after close shots, it will do.
 
Posts: 10478 | Location: Minnesota USA | Registered: 15 June 2007Reply With Quote
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Picture of drhall762
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quote:
Basically, how fine a screen you pour it through will determine shot size.


Any references or examples available? Sounds interesting.


Dave

In 100 years who of us will care?
An armed society is a polite society!
Just because they say you are paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you.
 
Posts: 899 | Location: Ammon, NC | Registered: 31 December 2013Reply With Quote
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Picture of Grenadier
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by crbutler:
If you have the space and the money, making your own shot tower is not that difficult. If you can get a 20 foot high tower (read like a deer stand) with the capability of getting electricity to the top and put a kiddie wading pool in the drop area, you can make some stuff that it almost as good as the best commercial stuff. Basically, how fine a screen you pour it through will determine shot size. A friend of mine did this years ago, but since then I have just brought my own shot as I never had a good source of free lead .
20 feet sounds pretty short. These should give you an idea of the height of a good shot tower.





.
 
Posts: 10900 | Location: North of the Columbia | Registered: 28 April 2008Reply With Quote
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Cal,

Three of us went together and bought a 'Littleton' shot maker many years ago and made over 1000 pounds of shot with it, mostly 7 1/2's. We dropped in a mixture of water and water soluable oil. If the water/oil mix gets too hot the shot clumps badly. While none of the shot was perfect we killed thousands of pigeons, Starlings and clay birds with it. If we could still get lead wheel weights we would still be making shot.
 
Posts: 231 | Location: Central Oregon | Registered: 08 September 2006Reply With Quote
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Picture of cal pappas
posted Hide Post
Thanks, Elk Hunter. I am getting a small group of gents near my home in AK who want to shoot clays and we may chip in and buy a shotmaker and also a progressive reloader for 12-bore. I used to be in the auto business and have an endless supply of wheel weights.
Cal


_______________________________

Cal Pappas, Willow, Alaska
www.CalPappas.com
www.CalPappas.blogspot.com
1994 Zimbabwe
1997 Zimbabwe
1998 Zimbabwe
1999 Zimbabwe
1999 Namibia, Botswana, Zambia--vacation
2000 Australia
2002 South Africa
2003 South Africa
2003 Zimbabwe
2005 South Africa
2005 Zimbabwe
2006 Tanzania
2006 Zimbabwe--vacation
2007 Zimbabwe--vacation
2008 Zimbabwe
2012 Australia
2013 South Africa
2013 Zimbabwe
2013 Australia
2016 Zimbabwe
2017 Zimbabwe
2018 South Africa
2018 Zimbabwe--vacation
2019 South Africa
2019 Botswana
2019 Zimbabwe vacation
2021 South Africa
2021 South Africa (2nd hunt a month later)
______________________________
 
Posts: 7281 | Location: Willow, Alaska | Registered: 29 June 2009Reply With Quote
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posted Hide Post
Cal,

Make sure you have a way to cool the oil/water or what ever you drop into as I stated when the coolant gets hot the shot will clump.

You're lucky if you have a good supply of lead as the new wheel weights are zink and will foul a batch of lead and the pot they are melted in and ruin the lead and the pot.
 
Posts: 231 | Location: Central Oregon | Registered: 08 September 2006Reply With Quote
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