The C&R Wax Bullets arrived today...

[roundball]

Rec'd 1000 .44cal (.429”) wax bullets for $20 / 1000 Delivered.

A very hard wax bullet, I test started one with .015" x .54cal Oxyoke patch in a .45cal barrel...it was a tight fit so I used a short starter, seated it down, and it was so snug I could not budge it back up with a tank full of 140lb compressed air...exactly like you'd want it to be.

So I used a ball puller like it was a lead ball, and pulled it right out...the ball puller screw did not pull out of the wax at all...these are very, very, very hard wax bullets.

They are about half again taller than a .45cal ball (but only about 2/3 as tall as a .45cal Maxi-Hunter) so I used a larger .54/58cal patch to keep the wax from rubbing the bore.

These have a lot of promise...I'll be shocked and disappointed if they aren’t accurate...and assuming they are accurate, there are probably a number of different things they could be used for...backyard or basement practice obviously, inexpensive range practice, safer practice for youngsters shooting balloons at 20 feet, etc...I'll post results as soon as I can test fire some.

 

[windwalker_au]

roundball they sound good how about some pics.
bernie :thumbsup:

 

[ChrisPer]

I first read about wax bullets in the Popular Mechanics handyman encyclopedia. Told a college mate (about 1970s, ok). He cast some in his normal mould for the Marlin .44 Magnum. Shot a pigeon on the roof out of his college dorm.

Then he thought, if a primer is puny, a touch of powder may help. He put a gas check behind the wax, a tiny charge in there, and lined up a target on the back of his door...

KABOOM!

The bullet whizzed through the door, across a corridor and smashed on the rendered brick wall opposite. NOT smart.

Amazingly, no-one came to see what was up and thnak heavens no-one was hurt. Trembling, he covered the holes wiht pictures and went off to buy filler.

 

[roundball]

roundball they sound good how about some pics.
bernie :thumbsup:

Here you go:
[url] http://www.gunfighter.com/waxbullets[/url]/

 

[50cal.cliff]

Got to ask Roundball! I heard of leading up a barrel. So aren't these wax bullets going to wax up a barrel somethin fierce? :hmm:
Sounds like it could be a real pain in the lower end to clean! What has your experience with these was bullets told you so far?

 

[Bearbait2]

Mr. 50cal.cliff,
Believe he is using a ".015x.54cal Oxyoke" patch.
Best Wishes

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you load the wax " bullets " bare, of course they will wax up the barrel. But if you use a cloth patch, you should be fine. Don't confuse plastic bullets( sold commercially) with wax bullets. The wax bullets my father made for his .32-20 were made with beeswax and motor oil. He shoved an empty casing into the cooled wax, and then primed the casings. The wax bullets were very quiet, and accurate out to about 25 feet, which was more than enough for shooting wasp nests off of the second story gutters, and to get rid of some dog, or cat that was raising noise repeatedly in their back yard at night. The motor oil gave the " bullet " both some weight, and softness, so that it would fly, but still would not cause any serious bruises if he popped a dog in a hind leg. However, The barrel of his gun needed cleaning with Alcohol, to remove the wax, and the oil. He used a bore brush dipped in rubbing alcohol to clean the barrel.

 

[roundball]

Got to ask Roundball! I heard of leading up a barrel. So aren't these wax bullets going to wax up a barrel somethin fierce? :hmm:
Sounds like it could be a real pain in the lower end to clean! What has your experience with these was bullets told you so far?

"...I used a larger .54/58cal patch to keep the wax from rubbing the bore..."

 

[Legionair]

If they are that hard... How much of a safety factor could there be?? As in, say, a botched fast draw shooting at your own foot? :hmm:

I think I'd stick with beeswax bullets... lots of sting but no blood... :haha:

Maybe you could check the energy by shooting light pine boards with lead, C&R, and beeswax.

Unless safety wasn't the point...

Legion

 

[roundball]

If they are that hard... How much of a safety factor could there be?? As in, say, a botched fast draw shooting at your own foot?

I've thought the same thing...can you imagine they are so hard that I could use a ball puller to pull it out?
And it created the neatest threaded hole down into it...looks like a hollow point...no straggly material raised up around the hole or up in the air like you usually get when pulling a lead ball.

But...since MY interest wasn't one of "leg shooting safety", the hardness is not only no concern to me but I assume (hope) will work in my favor, resulting in accuracy...if .45cal Maxi-Hunters are tack drivers in my 1:48" twists, these even shorter 'bullets' should be equally as accurate, at least in the 50ft sort of back yard range.

My frustration is that the little place I normally shoot muzzleloaders is closed for 3 weeks due to matches being held.

So I figured I'd go out to the trap & skeet club I belong to and use the patterning board to see how these wax bullets do...checked the schedule on the website and found it's closed this weekend due to a skeet tourneyment!


What ever happened to all the gravel pits we used to use decades ago !!

 

[roundball]

Check the Q&As...particularly numbers 4, 8 & 9.

If a 209 primer gets 800 FPS velocity out of a relatively short barrel, I guess 10-15 grns of Goex should easily get 1000-1200 FPS out of a long ML barrel.

And hopefully if they're accurate to 30 feet out of a pistol barrel, maybe a long barreld ML will get 50 feet.

I'm going to find somewhere to shoot these this weekend even if I have to just go to the woods where I normally deer hunt.
[url] http://www.gunfighter.com/waxbullets/cr-faq.html#4[/url]

 

[CrackStock]

RB,

I am curious about the method of manufacture. Do the look moulded or is this a slightly heated and pressed through a tube and cut process?

I have not given up on moulding balls, but it has problems. (I also need more bees wax since I was also down to the dregs, which did not help.

CS

 

[roundball]

RB,

I am curious about the method of manufacture. Do the look moulded or is this a slightly heated and pressed through a tube and cut process?

I have not given up on moulding balls, but it has problems. (I also need more bees wax since I was also down to the dregs, which did not help.
CS

Well, they have a tapered nose...look sort of like a short semi-wadcutter...could they be swaged?
Here's a closeup of Hornady .440s and a .45/255grn maxihunter for comparison.

 

[CrackStock]

I'll bet that they are warm swaged and if so, there should be a nib at the pointed end for air to escape.

Interesting idea. You can't hardly make them for that price.

CS