Muzzleloader Practice Balls or Bullets?

[roundball]

What can we collectively pull together on the subject of practice balls or bullets for muzzleloader sessions in the garage or back yard? Years ago I bought a couple hundred .38cal plastic bullets which fit into plastic .38cal cases that you seated a primer into with a reloading press or hand primer tool.

The force of the primer was plenty to expel the plastic bullet with sufficient force to be accurate at 25 feet...fun indoor practice in the garage using a .38/.357 revolver...with a thick patch, they'd probably work fine in a .40cal, just to practice shooting form, trigger squeeze, etc.

Pieces of a wooden dowl cut into 1/2" lengths or something...#11 caps would expel them fine in a caplock...a flinter would have to have 5-10grns dropped down...IE: I mic'ed a 1/2" wooden dowl in the garage and it mic'ed .490 of all things...add a .010" patch and a dowel's worth of "bullets", there's a .50cal garage practice bullet...shoot into a box of old towels.

And don't some kids toy guns use plastic balls the size of a green pea or something...seems like I've seen jugs of them in stores...too small to be paint balls...might fit a .40cal

Ideas...????????

 

[rabjr]

I think your looking for readily available materials to make practice balls/bullets but to bad they can't make an extra thick skinned paint ball....wouldn't mind loading one like a round ball and seeing where you hit with a nice splat. :haha:

 

[CrackStock]

Wax? I guess that you could cast them in a mould of your favorite diameter and use a very thin and smooth patch...

CS

 

Wax? I guess that you could cast them in a mould of your favorite diameter and use a very thin and smooth patch...

CS

A freind of mine used to take the lead out of 22 shells and put bar soap in them.They shot good.

 

[roundball]

Seems like bore size cushion wads would work great!

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Interesting idea. Having a projectile that could be used without a powder charge would be preferred. No cleaning. I wonder if the patched wood dowels could be pushed out of the barrel with just a cap? Maybe this is a good use for sabots. :grin:

 

In the craft sections of dept. stores they sell various sizes of wooden balls.

 

[paulvallandigham]

bullets made of wood can be used on top of an over powder wad, and with some kind of patch to carry lube to protect the bore, and keep BP fouling soft. Cut the charges down to 20 grains and less. you biggest problem will be all the smoke inside a garage or other building.

YOu can use beeswax, or mix motor oil and parafin wax to make bore size bullets. You will have to reduce the powder charge much, and use an over powder wad to protect the soft bullet, but inside 25 feet, they should be fairly accurate. My dad used a few grains of smokeless powder in a 30 cal. short rifle with bullets made from motor oil and parafin, to give the slug some maleability, and a little weight, using them to shoot wasp nests off the second story gutters at his home. He also sent a couple of stray dogs running with a pop in the butt, with one of these slugs, leaving his little dog alone. YOu can recover these slugs, and remelt them if you insist.

 

[silverfox]

dMy brother back in college for western days used to load 45 long colts with just primer and then put a parafin wax slug on top. Shot very well at 30 to 40ft. Might even be deadly on small vermin.
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

Interesting idea. Having a projectile that could be used without a powder charge would be preferred. No cleaning. I wonder if the patched wood dowels could be pushed out of the barrel with just a cap? Maybe this is a good use for sabots. :grin:

I bet they'd pop out as long as they weren't too tight of a fit, and had a good enough patch seal around them.

But for flinters, gonna have to clean it afterwords cause it'll take a few grains of powder...I believe a bag of a prelubed cusion wads for a few bucks would be perfect...and a "catch box" of old towels, or a towel hanging behind the target paper would probably let the wads be reused several times...

 

Neoprene slugs punched with a wadcutter, patched and run down the bore over a small charge.

It will take more than a "few grains" or you will be losing the charge out the vent.

with a caplock you might get away with no charge if you swiched to a musket cap.

I have used the plastic .38 & .44 practice caps and rhey are great in pistols.

I have also used the pressed wax in .38 spl cases. You do not want to do that in a ML gun!

 

[Russianblood]

How about cork balls fired with just priming? :hmm:

 

[CrackStock]

just priming will provide no chamber pressure.