# Cheap(er) Tungsten Balls!



## NightKnight (Dec 16, 2009)

It is still expensive compared to other shot types, but this is 1/3rd the price I have seen elsewhere.

The balls are 5/16" in diameter, which should be similar in weight to a .5" lead ball. (Tungsten is 1.7-1.8x the weight of lead)
http://www.bustersdirtshop.com/product.php?productid=8933


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## NightKnight (Dec 16, 2009)

So, I found a site that sells .5" Tungsten Bearings in bulk. They fly should fly really good as they are Grade 25, which is perfectly round with a .000025" tolerance. They are only $3.50 per ball, but you have to buy 500 of them. Cannot pull that off right now, but I wish I could! The same ball at McMaster is $11.36 each.


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## Frodo (Dec 19, 2009)

dont you think that 3.50 for one ball is a little bit to much?
even if they are the biggest balls and stuff..


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## NightKnight (Dec 16, 2009)

Oh yeah. That is still way expensive. It is still alot cheaper than some of the more exotic gun ammo out there. My father-in-law has a .45-70 pistol that costs $5 a shot. .50 cal BMG cost more than that. They pay extra for high performance. Tungsten is our performance ammo. You wouldn't go shooting bottles with it, but it would be good for competition target shooting and hunting.


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## statikpunk (Dec 24, 2009)

at 3.50 a shot i think it would have to kill it gut it and cook it for me


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## p4v_singh (Dec 21, 2009)

statikpunk said:


> at 3.50 a shot i think it would have to kill it gut it and cook it for me


lol that ur so funi lmao


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## mr.joel (Dec 21, 2009)

$5 for 45/70 rounds apiece? Insane! Get a Leeloader or buy a proper loading press and dies, that's outrageously expensive. I used to make them for an 1895 Marlin lever gun, cost about 50 cents apiece with cast bullets.


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## fish (Dec 24, 2009)

AaronC said:


> So, I found a site that sells .5" Tungsten Bearings in bulk. They fly should fly really good as they are Grade 25, which is perfectly round with a .000025" tolerance. They are only $3.50 per ball, but you have to buy 500 of them. Cannot pull that off right now, but I wish I could! The same ball at McMaster is $11.36 each.


i can get depleted uranium .50" shots for £127.67 each and its 5 x heavier than lead.......lol


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## wilbanba (Dec 31, 2009)

AaronC said:


> So, I found a site that sells .5" Tungsten Bearings in bulk. They fly should fly really good as they are Grade 25, which is perfectly round with a .000025" tolerance. They are only $3.50 per ball, but you have to buy 500 of them. Cannot pull that off right now, but I wish I could! The same ball at McMaster is $11.36 each.


sound like an opportunity for a group buy.


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## NightKnight (Dec 16, 2009)

wilbanba said:


> sound like an opportunity for a group buy.


I agree!


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## wilbanba (Dec 31, 2009)

AaronC said:


> sound like an opportunity for a group buy.


I agree!
[/quote]

it would be cool to partner it up with a cool drawstring leather ammo pouch etc.


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## mr.joel (Dec 21, 2009)

I might be in for a group buy also. Phenominal hunting shot I bet, and reusable.

For carry, how about a muzzloader's type of ball bag: a wet molded pouch formed with thick leather that is stiff upon drying bottlenecked into a wooden stopper. You could use a powder flask for a last, or improvise something else(a flat bottle for example), but I think a small flask would be perfect. You can wrap thread or tack this to the bag. Drill a hole through the stopper a little larger than the ball used(do this first). Then carve a plug, preferably with a clothespin shape on the inside to keep tension on the hole. It's a bit of work, but it can be done, I made one for my cap and ball revolver back home.


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## wilbanba (Dec 31, 2009)

AaronC said:


> It is still expensive compared to other shot types, but this is 1/3rd the price I have seen elsewhere.
> 
> The balls are 5/16" in diameter, which should be similar in weight to a .5" lead ball. (Tungsten is 1.7-1.8x the weight of lead)
> http://www.bustersdirtshop.com/product.php?productid=8933


any more word on the group buy idea for tung 3/8"?
it would be cool if we could hook it up with a SlingshotForum.com embossing on a leather pouch.


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## NightKnight (Dec 16, 2009)

wilbanba said:


> It is still expensive compared to other shot types, but this is 1/3rd the price I have seen elsewhere.
> 
> The balls are 5/16" in diameter, which should be similar in weight to a .5" lead ball. (Tungsten is 1.7-1.8x the weight of lead)
> http://www.bustersdi...?productid=8933


any more word on the group buy idea for tung 3/8"?
it would be cool if we could hook it up with a SlingshotForum.com embossing on a leather pouch.
[/quote]
We would need a vendor to get behind the group buy. I don't have enough free cash to buy it in bulk. As far as the pouches, I agree! However, I dont know where we could get custom pouches.


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## iamasmith (Jan 3, 2010)

Isn't Tungsten a little brittle for slingshot ammo?

I would imagine it could fragment on bone contact when hunting. Maybe something that you want for stopping capability but also you might end up swallowing a shard if you miss it whilst cleaning before eating.


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## NightKnight (Dec 16, 2009)

I don't "think" that it is so brittle that it would fragment. It is no more brittle than glass, and I have never had any marbles shatter on me.


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## iamasmith (Jan 3, 2010)

Not sure, I'm sure when you get some to try you can answer the question fully.

I believe that Tungsten is around 7.5 mohs in hardness, much harder than most glass but it suffers from cold brittleness.

Anyway it will be interesting to see how it behaves ^^


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## wilbanba (Dec 31, 2009)

AaronC said:


> It is still expensive compared to other shot types, but this is 1/3rd the price I have seen elsewhere.
> 
> The balls are 5/16" in diameter, which should be similar in weight to a .5" lead ball. (Tungsten is 1.7-1.8x the weight of lead)
> http://www.bustersdi...?productid=8933


any more word on the group buy idea for tung 3/8"?
it would be cool if we could hook it up with a SlingshotForum.com embossing on a leather pouch.
[/quote]
We would need a vendor to get behind the group buy. I don't have enough free cash to buy it in bulk. As far as the pouches, I agree! However, I dont know where we could get custom pouches.
[/quote]

here is a decent size pouch in a variety of leather finishes.

http://www.altertimes.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=23_25&products_id=116

so its likely 10 plus the price of ammo (id say intervals of 10 to keep it easy) plus s/h, not bad i guess.
we need to figure out hot to make a leather stamp with the forum logo (machining an aluminum stamp i guess and steaming the embossing area maybe?). ask flatband i think he has leatherwork experience.
id also make it a pay in advance deal via paypal then fill the orders once you have enough to get the bulk rate.

edit: i was close! i looked around and found the following

http://www.homemadesimple.com/en_US/homemavens.do?contentId=nov07

now we just need a logo stamp about 4"x2"


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## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

I would have thought sintered tungsten spheres would be cheaper than tungsten carbide bearings. They also do polished sintered tungsten balls.

http://www.tungsten-spheres.com/tungsten_spheres.html


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## Thwupp-p-p (Jan 17, 2010)

Welp, I'm definitely in -- and even if we have to end up compromising on less than the highest-end ammo, I vote to forge ahead with the _SF_ logo (with proper blessing) ammo pouch idea! (Good 1, wilbanba.)









...Cuz if I'm gonna be strolling down Rodeo Drive 90210 bumpin' into J.Lo, LiLo, and Paris with a pocket shooter sticking out of my waistcoat pocket and carrying three-buck-a-ball ammo -- I'm sure gonna need a respectable fake Hermès designer ammo bag to tote it around in or I got _nuthin'_!!

I mean I'd organize all this myself, but I gots no skillz!


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