Guys since the weather has been so crappy we have decided to experiment with ball loads like buckshot for indoors and the occassional crow that I want DEAD! Any body share some input? Thanks Chaps

I have used drilled out 38 Special brass and small pistol primers to shoot wax bullets at 20-25'. I don't remember which drill I used, but I will say this: I took a block of paraffin and cookie cuttered the projectiles using the brass. At 20-25' using only the primer, the wax would shoot completely through a tightly stretched piece of carpet used as backing for the target.

Be DARNED careful! I wouldn't use a lead ball under any circumstances...

The NRA Handbook of Reloading gives a very good explanation of how to work up gallery loads as well, but the same caveat applies: be DARNED careful!

Can I load lead balls for the crows in the yard and how?

.38 Special round ball loads can be made with 000 buckshot or .360" round balls. They are even fairly accurate at short range (accuracy for crow to about 15-20m).

I would recommend using light charges of fast burning pistol powder.

Safety precaution: PROPER VENTILATION WHEN SHOOTING INDOORS !!!

Thanks now to find the correct balls. I will scratch around in my shotgun asstd ammo box. Are the balls seated directly onto the powder or do put a filler over powder and insert ball? crimp in place?

Get the CCI shotshell plastic cups and put the balls in them and load. Check the weight of the load and use the appropriate amount of powder for that bullet weight. A company called Strike Three used to make them this way. They may still, but I started doing it myself.

Strike Three loads

I'd be very, very, careful with ANY "light" round ball load. For fear that you might end up getting it BACK into your eye.

I'd use wax, as DOUBLESS says for indoor use and seriously consider using, say, only NICKEL CASES if you usually shoot brass cases, or vice-versa.

Alternatively RED MARK the case base with a permanent red felt marker pen to avoid any use with regular re-loads with that drilled primer hole.

For crows I doubt that the accuracy will be good enough with wax bullets AND the revolver won't shoot anywhere near point of aim.

I'd just use a rimfire rifle and deal with the "corvid menace" that way. Or use your REGULAR ammunition in your .38"!

As a matter of reference, I loaded some sub-sonic 22 Hornet loads several years ago just fooling around. I used a half grain of AA #2 and a small pistol primer, with a lead bullet of about 40 grains and a pinch of cotton to hold the powder against the primer. Dead quiet in my scoped NEF: the only sound the round made was the click of the hammer hitting the primer, and the loads shot into one hole at 25 yards. The NEF is a single shot, and you had to break the rifle open and blow down the barrel to push the cotton pellet out!

If you are going to use jacketed bullets, I would start with half a grain and work up. There is a lot more friction with copper jackets than there is with lead.

quote:

Originally posted by lal:
Thanks now to find the correct balls. I will scratch around in my shotgun asstd ammo box. Are the balls seated directly onto the powder or do put a filler over powder and insert ball? crimp in place?

No. The balls are inserted by a VERY HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED METHOD...... a short section of wooden board.

No filler desired and the balls will be seated slightly less than half diameter into the case. Just enough to hold them firmly in the case.

Remember round balls swage down very easily to the desired diameter of the rifling because there is very little surface contact between bullet and bore.

Easier route is .22LR....... But I don't know if that's an easy or desired option where you live.

What if i use the wax method, no powder and finger seat a BB pellet into the wax?

It's easier than that! Cast a slab of fairly softish wax and use the primed case like a biscuit cutter to cut out the bullet.

That way you are also loading the bullet at the same time and that slab gives accuracy.

Thanks enfieldspares, will do.

Speer make a plastic case that uses plastic bullets. Just seat primers, snap a buulet in the case shoot. Reprime case, reuse bullet shoot. In the midway catalog they have them.$8.89 for 50 bullets, $8.69 for 50 cases. They also have 44 cal cases and bullets and 45 c al bullets.I had them for my 44's lots of fun, shot well to better than 25 feet, I just used them for indoor practice. Never tried them for hunting something. A good pellet rifle will kill your crows just fine. Quite and cheap to shoot.
I have used mine to hunt rabbits. The neibors never new I was around.
Leo

Years ago, we got some rubber bullets for the 44 Remington Magnum.

We drilled out the flash hole of a box of 44 brass, painted the cases RED, and used then for indoor target shooting.

They were quite fun.

We tried using 22 air pellets in the 22 Hornet, and got mixed results.

I then took a few Hornet cases, opened them to straight walled cases. Then I made a brass insert that fit inside below the neck, with a hole in it.

After putting the insert in the cases, I ran them through the sizing die.

They worked much better, loaded about 1 grain of Bullseye.