bluemike807
CGN Regular
- Location
- Eastern Ontario
Im pretty proud of myself. Over the last few months I've been making the transition from urban student to rural, well, non student - and in the process expanding my inventory, and knowledge, of firearms and reloading gear.
What started as a Mec 600jr a trap instructor sold me is now a respectable, if still beginning, setup for reloading in 12ga, soon to also reload for .30-06.
Last week, I found a local auto scrapper who was more than happy for me to cart away his bucket of wheel weights for $20. The week before that, I'd bought a MSR Whisperlite Omni-fuel stove and put it to use melting down and purifying the lead. It worked like a charm; about 20oz of kerosine saw the lot melted down - all but two or three of the individual weights were lead - and poured into ingots.
Today, on my lunch break, I picked up my freshly delivered Lee 1oz Key Slug mould. Broke it in when I got home (though I had to fight with the stove, as I've switched to unleaded gas) and while the results aren't perfect, they're still pretty good. Time, practice and the right gear will yield even better results.
So now sitting on the table next to my laptop I've got six fully reloaded 2 3/4" shells - their no# 7 1/2 shot converted into slugs - they wont have the kick of a full fledged factory slug round; but that'll come later.
Its incredibly satisfying to make something as simple - but as practical - as these; knowing I've converted this material from useless scrap to purified metal stock to ready to go ammunition. I can't wait to get into it even more, maybe with pistol bullet casting...
What started as a Mec 600jr a trap instructor sold me is now a respectable, if still beginning, setup for reloading in 12ga, soon to also reload for .30-06.
Last week, I found a local auto scrapper who was more than happy for me to cart away his bucket of wheel weights for $20. The week before that, I'd bought a MSR Whisperlite Omni-fuel stove and put it to use melting down and purifying the lead. It worked like a charm; about 20oz of kerosine saw the lot melted down - all but two or three of the individual weights were lead - and poured into ingots.
Today, on my lunch break, I picked up my freshly delivered Lee 1oz Key Slug mould. Broke it in when I got home (though I had to fight with the stove, as I've switched to unleaded gas) and while the results aren't perfect, they're still pretty good. Time, practice and the right gear will yield even better results.
So now sitting on the table next to my laptop I've got six fully reloaded 2 3/4" shells - their no# 7 1/2 shot converted into slugs - they wont have the kick of a full fledged factory slug round; but that'll come later.
Its incredibly satisfying to make something as simple - but as practical - as these; knowing I've converted this material from useless scrap to purified metal stock to ready to go ammunition. I can't wait to get into it even more, maybe with pistol bullet casting...
