Wax/Plastic bullets (UPDATE: pg2-3 VIDEOs)
- Thread starter rollie100
- Start date
Wax bullets powered by primers work. They will punch holes in targets across your basement. I had problems with the primers backing out on my revolver, and causing the cylinder to snag. Someone said to drill out the primer holes to prevent this. I used parafin wax poured into a shallow sheet, then you punch out wax with primed cases while its still warm and soft. You only need to pour it 1/2" deep.
Edit: I got the idea from an old Popular Mechanics encylopedia at the used book sale. It had reprints of articles from Popular Mechanics back when they weren't afraid to tell you how to do things.
Edit: I got the idea from an old Popular Mechanics encylopedia at the used book sale. It had reprints of articles from Popular Mechanics back when they weren't afraid to tell you how to do things.
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NO, You will never get the pressure to cycle a slide, The wax bullet is too light. just use primer power, You will be surprised...
Foam earplugs work well too.
You can make plastic bullets made from thermoplastic pellets (craft stores). If you sharpen a case and use it to cut out the correct size felt wad, you may stiffen the load up with a little fast powder. Put some filler on top of the felt under the bullet so the powder burns evenly. I don't know if this will cycle a semi-auto though.
If you need low power bullets that will cycle an action, you can cast them out of tin. They will be slow for the weight.
I'm betting if you really wanted to, you could crimp a gas check onto a plastic bullet and launch it pretty good.
You can make plastic bullets made from thermoplastic pellets (craft stores). If you sharpen a case and use it to cut out the correct size felt wad, you may stiffen the load up with a little fast powder. Put some filler on top of the felt under the bullet so the powder burns evenly. I don't know if this will cycle a semi-auto though.
If you need low power bullets that will cycle an action, you can cast them out of tin. They will be slow for the weight.
I'm betting if you really wanted to, you could crimp a gas check onto a plastic bullet and launch it pretty good.
Wear ear and eye protection. It will make noise indoors and the wax bullet will fly fast and shatter. Might want to make sure its a well ventilated area as well if you are popping off a lot of primers. Someone said there is heavy metals in the primers. Not sure myself.
If you are shooting a revolver and have a primer "back-out" problem, simply open the flasholes up to .100" or so. CAUTION!!! make sure you do not subsequently use these altered cases for regular powder charged loads because they will develop high pressures. Eagleye.
vagrantviking
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- High River, Alberta
Couple hints:
1) Drilling out the flashhole is the way to go unless you want to get serious and find the cases that take shotgun primers. Not sure if wax would hold up to that - mgiht need to go with plastic bullets.
2)Push the cases into the wax before priming or the air pressure can cause the wax to pop back out.
3) A sheet of canvas hanging on a line makes a good backstop and you can pickup and reuse the wax. Just pin a target to the canvas.
1) Drilling out the flashhole is the way to go unless you want to get serious and find the cases that take shotgun primers. Not sure if wax would hold up to that - mgiht need to go with plastic bullets.
2)Push the cases into the wax before priming or the air pressure can cause the wax to pop back out.
3) A sheet of canvas hanging on a line makes a good backstop and you can pickup and reuse the wax. Just pin a target to the canvas.
- Location
- Kitscoty Alberta
You can buy the wax bullets form C&R wax bullets on the net.
You can also buy the case's in different calibers,pre drilled out for 209 shotgun primers which work great, you just push them in by hand, then push in the wax bullet by hand, ready to go.
The primers do not back out like regular primers when fired.
They work great i bought 10 cases , in 45 colt , they never wear out
Have fun be safe. they have enough power to put dent's in a deep freeze at 25 ft.
You can also buy the case's in different calibers,pre drilled out for 209 shotgun primers which work great, you just push them in by hand, then push in the wax bullet by hand, ready to go.
The primers do not back out like regular primers when fired.
They work great i bought 10 cases , in 45 colt , they never wear out
Have fun be safe. they have enough power to put dent's in a deep freeze at 25 ft.
A couple years ago i was watching Shooting USA.
They were covering a cowboy action shooting event from Las Vegas where they were using one of the resorts ball rooms for the event.
They were using the wax bullets with just the primer. If you can find it on youtube they showed the bullet making and loading process.
Info on the episode is here:
http://www.shootingusa.com/TV_SCHEDULE/SHOW_26-12/show_26-12.html
They were covering a cowboy action shooting event from Las Vegas where they were using one of the resorts ball rooms for the event.
They were using the wax bullets with just the primer. If you can find it on youtube they showed the bullet making and loading process.
Info on the episode is here:
http://www.shootingusa.com/TV_SCHEDULE/SHOW_26-12/show_26-12.html
great info, thanks guys.
what bit size should i use to drill out the flash hole, how big should i make the hole?.
SP primers or would SR primers work better?
and could i enlarge the primer pocket to except shotgun primers?.(i've never seen a shotgun primer so i really dont know).
and which way is better, molding wax bullets, or pressing the cases on the wax like a cookie cutter.
vagrantviking
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- High River, Alberta
Someone here mentioned drilling out to about 0.100. Actual size shouldn't be too important as long as its somewhat larger and the primers don't back out and jam your revolver.
SR primers might give you a little more power as long as your gun whacks them hard enough to set them off. They are a bit tougher and the rare gun with a weak spring might not be up to it. Shotgun primers are a different shape with a rim and a bit of taper on the body.
I've seen rubber molds for making wax bullets at gunshows but have no idea where you would order them from. I've always done the cookie-cutter thing. Also heard that there is a technique for using a glue gun to make plastic bullets in a regular bullet mold but have never tried it.
Some searching around on quick-draw sites and cast bullet sites might get you a few more answers.
SR primers might give you a little more power as long as your gun whacks them hard enough to set them off. They are a bit tougher and the rare gun with a weak spring might not be up to it. Shotgun primers are a different shape with a rim and a bit of taper on the body.
I've seen rubber molds for making wax bullets at gunshows but have no idea where you would order them from. I've always done the cookie-cutter thing. Also heard that there is a technique for using a glue gun to make plastic bullets in a regular bullet mold but have never tried it.
Some searching around on quick-draw sites and cast bullet sites might get you a few more answers.
sweet thanks, this is definetly getting more interesting...
i dont have a revolver, so i would be using my sig p226's 9mm-40sw and p220's. only problem i see using an auto pistol would be the obvious manual re-chambering of every wax round, but also possible damage to the wax bullet upon chambering up the feed ramp, that is if i was able to make wax RN bullets.
would i be able to mold wax in normal lead bullet molds?. and that glue gun mold technique thing sounds really interesting i'll try and find some info on that.
Do NOT, under any circumstances, try to shoot the cowboy hat off the head of a friend. Even if that friend asks you to do so,and is sure it'll work great, DON'T! A straw cowboy hat will not stop a wax bullet powered by a primer from a .375 Winchester. It will go through(particularily if you hit he decorative band of little holes) and leave a very nice bump on head of said friend. Video replay will confirm impact was significant.
here we go some info on the glue gun mold technique...
(quote)The wx here in Jawja has been AWFULL!! The winter monsoons started yesterday and the only thing that would make it just perfect is if the temp dropped a few more degrees and all this cold rain turned to ice... Roll Eyes I don't know when I'll ever get to the range again! Cry
So, sitting in the man cave last night ( was down there so Kathie wouldn't catch me smoking... Embarrassed and drinkin... Grin - as if she didn't know what I was doin... Roll Eyes ) I decided I'd try those hot glue bullets we talked about. I'd picked up a glue gun last weekend, watched a few flicks on the subject on U-tube and got a bunch of 44 Mag cases from Bill.
Nothin to it! After some trial and error the method that worked for me was: coat the appropriate areas of the mould with a release agent, I used RemOil on a Q-Tip, rubber band the mould handles together, leave the plate open and fill the cavities with the glue, close the plate and top off the cavity, drink a beer while it cools, remove glue bullets. Repeat process.
Not as fast a procedure as regular casting, but doing a few a night will eventually get me a good supply and certainly a good buzz on... Cheesy
But let me told you sumpin! Them little boolets was so pretty I couldn't wait to try them! Sooooooo, after rubbing their little bodies with some of my Beeswax/Crisco mix, I found they slipped right into the sized and belled brass that Will'um sent me. Six pieces of said brass were quickly primed and, with a bullet in place, loaded into my Ruger SBH! Grin
The good news is that I was pretty amazed at the accuracy! Shocked I wonder if the fact that these bullets "as cast" are large enough in diameter to engage the rifling makes them more accurate then the plastic "bore rider" type you can buy from Speer? Huh At least they seem more accurate to me outa the Ruger... Undecided
The commercial plastic bullets will make it down the bore of my 24" M92, I assume in part because of the minimal friction in the bore. It will be interesting to see how the glue bullets work through a rifle. Undecided
Lastly, after two firings, I could see no damage to the glue bullets. Well, at least the nose. Undecided My eyesight was beginning to fail by that time for some reason Roll Eyes and I didn't think to check for rifling marks. But no damage or markings jumped right out at me... Wink
The bad news is the revolver locked up with the first shot. Well DUH! Roll Eyes Of course it would! I'll drill out the flash hole on the brass before I continue with my experiment! Cool
BTW, just for grins, I checked to see if the Glue bullets would work in the commercial (Speer) plastic bullet cases. And, with bullets from my 44 mould they will! But said mould is the RCBS 44-240-SWC, a GC mould. Only the GC rebate area slips into the plastic case. I doubt if a bullet from a FB mould would work. No worries, in my opinion the brass cases are better anyway.
Now, if I finish up my basement range this weekend I can shoot 38, 44 and 45 caliber pistols and rifles whenever I want! Let it rain, let it rain...(end quote)
(quote)The wx here in Jawja has been AWFULL!! The winter monsoons started yesterday and the only thing that would make it just perfect is if the temp dropped a few more degrees and all this cold rain turned to ice... Roll Eyes I don't know when I'll ever get to the range again! Cry
So, sitting in the man cave last night ( was down there so Kathie wouldn't catch me smoking... Embarrassed and drinkin... Grin - as if she didn't know what I was doin... Roll Eyes ) I decided I'd try those hot glue bullets we talked about. I'd picked up a glue gun last weekend, watched a few flicks on the subject on U-tube and got a bunch of 44 Mag cases from Bill.
Nothin to it! After some trial and error the method that worked for me was: coat the appropriate areas of the mould with a release agent, I used RemOil on a Q-Tip, rubber band the mould handles together, leave the plate open and fill the cavities with the glue, close the plate and top off the cavity, drink a beer while it cools, remove glue bullets. Repeat process.
Not as fast a procedure as regular casting, but doing a few a night will eventually get me a good supply and certainly a good buzz on... Cheesy
But let me told you sumpin! Them little boolets was so pretty I couldn't wait to try them! Sooooooo, after rubbing their little bodies with some of my Beeswax/Crisco mix, I found they slipped right into the sized and belled brass that Will'um sent me. Six pieces of said brass were quickly primed and, with a bullet in place, loaded into my Ruger SBH! Grin
The good news is that I was pretty amazed at the accuracy! Shocked I wonder if the fact that these bullets "as cast" are large enough in diameter to engage the rifling makes them more accurate then the plastic "bore rider" type you can buy from Speer? Huh At least they seem more accurate to me outa the Ruger... Undecided
The commercial plastic bullets will make it down the bore of my 24" M92, I assume in part because of the minimal friction in the bore. It will be interesting to see how the glue bullets work through a rifle. Undecided
Lastly, after two firings, I could see no damage to the glue bullets. Well, at least the nose. Undecided My eyesight was beginning to fail by that time for some reason Roll Eyes and I didn't think to check for rifling marks. But no damage or markings jumped right out at me... Wink
The bad news is the revolver locked up with the first shot. Well DUH! Roll Eyes Of course it would! I'll drill out the flash hole on the brass before I continue with my experiment! Cool
BTW, just for grins, I checked to see if the Glue bullets would work in the commercial (Speer) plastic bullet cases. And, with bullets from my 44 mould they will! But said mould is the RCBS 44-240-SWC, a GC mould. Only the GC rebate area slips into the plastic case. I doubt if a bullet from a FB mould would work. No worries, in my opinion the brass cases are better anyway.
Now, if I finish up my basement range this weekend I can shoot 38, 44 and 45 caliber pistols and rifles whenever I want! Let it rain, let it rain...(end quote)
no worries, i only have plans of shooting them at my shooting range.
also in the vid info, he suggests using 2.0grs of bullseye and a poly fill wad. what kind of ballistics are we looking at for that recipe, also what kind of reaction would that have on an semi auto handgun as opposed to a revolver. he also suggests small rifle magnum primers for best results, primer charge only.
[youtube]3kwv8sZxdtc[/youtube]
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