Made Some Shot for my Tradegun

[Grullaguy]

I was getting low on #4 and #2 shot, so I figured I would give making some Rupert's Shot a try.

I drilled a hole in the lower edge of a sardine can with the smallest bit I could find. I then warmed the tin on top of my melted range lead so the lead would not freeze right away. Holding the tin with a pair of pliers over a tin can half full of water, I poured lead into the corner where the hole was and topped up as the tin emptied. By keeping a steady pace, I was able to keep the hole from completely freezing up.

Since I was dropping straight into water, I probably had a 75% percent reject rate due to pellets popping open and clumping. I could not turn the lead temp down too much either as my little opening would then freeze over as soon as the lead touched it.

All in all, I am very happy with the results. Here are the pellets that did not go back in the melting pot. They range in size from around #6 through #2.

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[cynthialee]

I have been thinking about doing this myself.

Now go shoot some of it and show us how it patterns.

 

[Robby]

It will be interesting to see how they pattern, but its pretty darn cool. They look a lot like some original shot found in our county museum, from about 1790, except your size is more uniform. :hatsoff: :thumbsup:
Robby

 

[Grullaguy]

I forgot to mention that I clipped most of the tails off to make the shot more uniform. :thumbsup:

 

[tenngun]

Its what they used in the old days waiting to hear how they work for you

 

[loco6725]

Check out the "Littleton shot maker" on YouTube. Looks kinda cool!!

 

[Joel/Calgary]

Rupert shot shouldn't have a tail but a dimple instead. This is more what's often called "drip shot". Rupert's method relied on two things that set it apart from just dripping lead into water:
1 - Glowing coals in the dripper/collander/whatchacallit to keep it and the the lead being poured through hot.
2 - An alloying agent that increases the surface tension of the molten metal. This was originally arsenic, but apparently antimony works also. You might try again with clip-on wheel weights and see if the shot come out any better.

Regards,
Joel

 

[Grullaguy]

Today I made it to the range and took lots of pictures.

The homemade shot was tested against the mixed shot that I have used on a few occasions. It is shot that I salvaged from badly corroded 12 gauge shells that were destroyed.

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My aim was a bit too high with the drip shot, but I think that most of the pellets caught the paper.
Nasty
It appears that some of the soft lead pellets clumped together from the force of the shot.




and tears in the paper where the shot exited



The commercial shot of course, performed much more predictably.



The homemade shot did a nice job on a tin can though...





All shots were taken from 12 yards back. The load was 75 grains powder and 75 grains shot with a paper fiber wad split in half and using both over powder and over shot cards.

My next batch of shot will be made from some ingots I have that are from reclaimed trap shot. I am thinking they will perform much better.
The soft lead even left lead deposits in my barrel.

 

[cynthialee]

well we all knew it wouldn't pattern as good as commercial shot, but it looks like it would work well enough in a pinch

Throw a wheel weight in the next batch, I bet that cures that clumping issue.

 

[Grullaguy]

I decided to make the shot on the spur of the moment and just used what was left over from my last casting session.

My biggest concern about using soft lead is all the little shards of lead that I found around the tin can. I would guess that the shot would shatter the same in game and contaminate the meat.
Our forefathers probably did not worry about that as they did not know the health concerns about ingesting lead that we do now.

Cottontail rabbits are an introduced species on this island and are considered (tasty) pests. I might try the shot on a few and see if my theory stands up.

 

[cynthialee]

wild springs rabbits roasted on a spit is one of my all time favs

It has to be a late spring/early summer rabbit. All the fresh greens just makes them yummy as can be. By mid summer and on they just are not as yummy.

 

[Billnpatti]

Have you ever used a paper cup to contain your shot within the bore? If not, you might consider giving it a try to see how it reduces or eliminates any leading. To make a paper cup all that is necessary is to cut out a cross of paper (typewriter or printer paper is perfect) in which the four legs of the cross are exactly 1/4 of your gun's bore circumfrence in width and the length of each leg is just enough to contain the shot when it is in your bore. When you are ready to load with one of the paper cups, you pour in the powder and then start your OP wad down the bore stopping it just an inch or so down from the muzzle. Then simply center the paper cross on the muzzle and start it down the bore until it reaches the OP wad. The legs will fold up and completely line your bore protecting it from the shot. With the tips of the legs sticking above the muzzle, you pour in your shot and run it down onto the powder. Add you over shot wad and you are ready to shoot. When you fire such a load, the paper cup will open up upon exiting from the muzzle, the legs will flare and catch the air and drop to the ground allowing the shot to continue on to the target unimpeded.

Note: When properly made, the legs of the cup will be just long enough to completely contain the shot without extending above the shot. If the legs are too long, the tips will fold over when the over shot card is seated on it and this will effect the opening of the cup and could effect the shot pattern. If the legs are too short, the shot will extend above the tips of the legs and contact the inside of your bore.

 

[Grullaguy]

Great tip on making a shotcup. I will give that a try. :thumbsup:

 

[Joel/Calgary]

Great tip on making a shotcup. I will give that a try. :thumbsup:

Some of us use a 2-petal rather than a 4-petal shotcup, in part because it's simpler. The shape is a rectangle with a width of 1/2 the bore's circumference, and the material can be HEAVY paper or light card-stock such as old business cards, phone-book covers, or such. Fold one around the end of your wad starter, even & straighten things up as you wrap the petals around the starter, fold the two peaks that result underneath the bottom, and insert it into the muzzle. With card-stock, it's often easier to load if you form them beforehand and roll the base against a hard surface to set the creases and break over the little points that raise, then open them out flat again for carrying.

Regards,
Joel

 

[Grullaguy]

Thanks Joel,
I will try both ways and see which works best for me.