wax bullets.

[ironcowboy]

Well, i'm still waiting on my .45 colt die, and i cant find any .45 colt ammo local to buy, so i de-primed 6 rounds of brass and re-primed them, and just loaded in a wax "bullet" (pressed the casing into a soft wax candle till it was half full). At about 7 yards they shot real well, but i found it interesting, when i primed the brass the primer was slightly lower the the face of the casing, but after i fired it, the primer kind pushed back and stuck out just a little bit (enough to bind up my ruger vaquero).
Does anyone know why that would be? Also, would shooting a lot of wax out of my revolver damage it in any way? Anything i should do or look for?

Thanks!

-Samuel

[Lar5]

With no powder or reduced loads there sometimes is not enough pressure to hold the brass tight against the breech face so the primer will back out. This is not normally a problem unless the primer is punctured by the firing pin or the cylinder is locking up. In your case a different brand of primer or brass with a tighter primer pocket may eliminate the problem. Some people will enlarge the flash hole to reduce the pressure to the primer but I have never done this and I am not suggesting that it is safe to do.

[ironcowboy]

Thanks for the help. I'll probably make 12 rounds my wax rounds and drill the hole out a little. I'm not worried about blowing my self up with a primer.
Heck, at 3 cents a shot practicing a lot with the .45colt is looking up.

[Flash]

Originally Posted by ironcowboy

Thanks for the help. I'll probably make 12 rounds my wax rounds and drill the hole out a little. I'm not worried about blowing my self up with a primer.
Heck, at 3 cents a shot practicing a lot with the .45colt is looking up.

Right you are - - ream out the flash-holes, they will work so much better. BUT! Reserve those cases for wax bullets only.

Good to go.

Flash

[ironcowboy]

Awesome!! Thanks!

[Tim Ault]

Another alternative to wax is to find someone with a 45 cal bullet mould and make yourself some practice bullets made from glue! Yes glue from a hot glue gun.... just lightly oil the inside of the mould and fill it up with the hot glue wait till it cools and out pops a perfect copy of a real bullet but weighing alot less(my 44 cal. 255 gr mould cast a glue bullet weighing in a 22 grains.) And they are reusable many times if captured in a rag filled box.


Tim

[ironcowboy]

Awesome idea!! I want to buy a .45 mold anyway since my goal is to be able to cast my own bullets as well!! Thanks! You guys are great!!

[Franchi20/28]

Speer makes plastic .45 cal bullets that are meant to be shot with just a primer.

My kids have shot them out of my .454.

If you can't find them locally I believe Midway stocks them.