improvised bullet mold

[Gary]

Was reading Frederic Remington's Crooked Trails and in it he recounts the tail of the wily Apache, Massai. Anyway, Massai needs bullets so he melts down some Winchester bullets. For a bullet mold, he carves it out of cactus. :: If I ever build another smoothbore, I'm going to make sure it shoots the same caliber as those melon ball scoopers you buy at a grocery store.

 

[musketman]

Massai is the one on the far left...

Massai (scout), Apache Kid (Sergeant of Scouts), and Rowdy (who became a Medal of Honor winner) taken when all three were Army scouts...

Making a bullet mold out of cactus you say, I might have to try this out with my mom's house plant... :winking:

 

[2172]

I think it'd be do-able...a few years ago, I was in London, and went to Hanley's, the best toy store in the world...the Brits still sell "make your own lead soldier" sets. I bought one...they come with some special, melts-easy metal, and the molds are a kind of synthetic, rubber kind of material...I melt their metal in my hotpot, so it is probably close to the temperature of the lead with which I cast balls....and the stuff doesn't damage the molds...tells me that there must be stuff that'll resist the temp of lead, especially on a temporary basis...Hank

 

[Gary]

We all know that you don't want water to fall into molten lead. The danger of splatter is too well known to all of us. I'm not a plant person and houseplants wilt when I pass by. My take is that the catcus used by Massai must have been relatively dry or he was one tough, lead splattered Apache.

 

We used maple blocks for a mould & that worked just fine, for a dozen or so balls.
; Being from North/Central B.C., I have no idea with dried cactus looks like or what it's properties are.