Fun Days

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JimT
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Fun Days

Post by JimT »

Back before the CPC (Current Primer Crisis) shooting wax bullets was a fun way to practice, maintain your skill level or improve it and have some fun without going to the range. With just a little thought and preparation shooting can be done indoors during bad weather and in the back yard, in your garage or most anyplace else where it will not upset the little old ladies who run our society.

Powered solely by the primer, wax bullet loads can be fired from rifles or handguns. The cartridges were prepared the same way. Using fired cases from the guns they were to be shot in, the cases were de-primed. Using a drill bit slightly larger than the flash hole, I opened up the flash hole in each case that was to be used for wax bullets. The case heads were marked to indicate they were not to be loaded with any other loads than wax.

The reason for opening up the flash hole was to prevent primer set-back at firing. With a standard size flash hole, sometimes (in revolvers especially) the primer would set back a little bit and either tie up the gun or make it hard to cock and fire the next shot.

Once the flash holes were opened up I used pocket knife and later a Lee Chamfer Tool to remove the crimp and "sharpen" the edges of the cartridge mouth. This helped "cut" the bullet out of a block of paraffin.

When the cases were prepared I took a block of paraffin and shoved a cartridge case into it, filling the case with a wax bullet. Once all the cases had bullets of wax in them, then I primed them. If you prime the cases before shoving them through the paraffin you compressed air inside the cartridge. This kept from getting a full size wax bullet, and often the compressed air would shove the bullet part way back out of the cartridge.

I used these for target practice, quick-draw, practicing point shooting, shooting insects and other targets. They were definitely more fun than dry-firing. I had swinging targets, balloons, little wooden boxes and all sorts of things to shoot.

When I was younger I shot a lot of them from a Model 92 .44-40 levergun. In fact, I experimented with wax bullets powered by fairly heavy loads of Bullseye at one point. I loaded a wax bullet on top of 10 gr. of Bullseye in the .44-40, then fired it into a 1" thick piece of oak plank. I had it set in the fireplace (it was summer and no fire was burning). The wax bullet punched a clean .44 caliber hole through the oak. It was not ragged on the back. There were no marks on the brick of the fireplace. I never discovered any trace of the wax.

I miss the fun of shooting flies, wasps, grasshoppers and crickets with wax bullets. Hopefully one day we can get past the primer shortage, though from past experience I doubt we will ever see the return of the prices we enjoyed just a couple years ago. However I have never put a dollar amount on what has been important to me. You can never spend too much on good guns, ammo, knives, books, boots or hats. As my friend John Taffin says, "Cheap is too expensive."
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Grizz
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Re: Fun Days

Post by Grizz »

Good Info ! filed for the rainy day that comes after everything else on the get done list gets done. :)
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: Fun Days

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

I was quite a fan of Bill Jordan when I was a young man. I read "No Second Place Winner" every year that I carried the badge. I still think it is one of the best books on the social use of a sixgun. Wax bullets were a great idea becasue you could practice your draw stroke from the holster without the danger of shooting yourself in the foot. An old canvas tarp served as a backstop. I even shot them in my 1911, though they had to be single loaded. I used a bastard mill file to cut a notch in the rim of every case that I used for this practice to signify that the case had an enlarged flash hole.

I tried the Speer plastic cases and bullets too, but they were never as satisfactory as the wax bullets. Just kept a brass brush on a cleaning rod and brushed the bore and chambers every once in a while.
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JimT
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Re: Fun Days

Post by JimT »

Scott Tschirhart wrote: Sun May 30, 2021 7:12 pm I was quite a fan of Bill Jordan when I was a young man. I read "No Second Place Winner" every year that I carried the badge. I still think it is one of the best books on the social use of a sixgun. Wax bullets were a great idea becasue you could practice your draw stroke from the holster without the danger of shooting yourself in the foot. An old canvas tarp served as a backstop. I even shot them in my 1911, though they had to be single loaded. I used a bastard mill file to cut a notch in the rim of every case that I used for this practice to signify that the case had an enlarged flash hole.

I tried the Speer plastic cases and bullets too, but they were never as satisfactory as the wax bullets. Just kept a brass brush on a cleaning rod and brushed the bore and chambers every once in a while.
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OldWin
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Re: Fun Days

Post by OldWin »

I find it just as fun as "real shooting".
I experimented using a product called Dip Seal. It was a simple coincidence that we used it at work to dip sharpened cutters in to protect them. It was a rubbery substance that melted in a pot. I melted it into a pan at the right thickness just like the wax. It worked great and didn't leave anything in the bore.
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: Fun Days

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

Seems like I was really willing to work hard in those days to do things to develop my skills.

These days, I grab a Ruger and a box of .22 bullets and head for the ranch.
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Ysabel Kid
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Re: Fun Days

Post by Ysabel Kid »

Jim, was the wax bullet the full length of the case, or did you have a preferred length for each caliber you shot?

Thanks,

Jay
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JimT
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Re: Fun Days

Post by JimT »

Ysabel Kid wrote: Sun May 30, 2021 9:23 pm Jim, was the wax bullet the full length of the case, or did you have a preferred length for each caliber you shot?

Thanks,

Jay
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I tried to fill the entire cartridge to the mouth in the straight walled cartridges.
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Ysabel Kid
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Re: Fun Days

Post by Ysabel Kid »

Thanks Jim.

I have an old box of .38-caliber wax bullets purchased decades ago. Was thinking of doing a little shooting in my basement. Now I know I can make my own. :D

Have you ever fire crayons through a .30-30? Turns out the little suckers are just the right diameter. I think someone here mentioned it way back when, so I had to give it a try. :wink:
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JimT
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Re: Fun Days

Post by JimT »

Ysabel Kid wrote: Sun May 30, 2021 9:55 pm Thanks Jim.

I have an old box of .38-caliber wax bullets purchased decades ago. Was thinking of doing a little shooting in my basement. Now I know I can make my own. :D

Have you ever fire crayons through a .30-30? Turns out the little suckers are just the right diameter. I think someone here mentioned it way back when, so I had to give it a try. :wink:
I haven't but I know it's been done and works just fine.
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Re: Fun Days

Post by AJMD429 »

“....well, what did the autopsy show...”

“....looks like the burglar was killed by Burnt Orange through the left ventricle...”
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JimT
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Re: Fun Days

Post by JimT »

AJMD429 wrote: Mon May 31, 2021 9:19 am “....well, what did the autopsy show...”

“....looks like the burglar was killed by Burnt Orange through the left ventricle...”
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Grizz
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Re: Fun Days

Post by Grizz »

that's completely funny
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Re: Fun Days

Post by piller »

Does it leave your bore shiny and smooth? Seriously, it is probably leaving a little waxed finish inside.
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Rimfire McNutjob
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Re: Fun Days

Post by Rimfire McNutjob »

Again with the primers. I think it was 2013 when the last primer crunch hit. I filled up back then and haven't really looked since. I guess the fact that you can't hardly find any 22LR ammo in stock should have been an indicator.
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