Speer Plastic Training Bullet question

[nonferrous]

We have a handgun shoot out coming up and I would like to get in a little more practice than I have time for the range.
I am ordering some Speer Plastic Training Bullets for short range training and have a couple of questions.
If anyone has used these things in .38 cal.could you please give me some info. It would seem that either the bullet or the case would wear out first, so buying more of that item would seem smart as with Midsouth the shipping is almost free as you add to the order.
Also, it looks like they use a large pistol primer so the question comes up as to how to prime .38 with a large primer as the press is set up for SP.
The .45 plastic bullet is to be used with the standard brass case, I would guess that is because the .45 uses the LP.
Has anyone used the bullet only with a standard brass .38 case possibly with a SP magnum primer?
Anyway, it could all be a bunch of nonsense and another reason to move back out into the country, but if any of you have some experience with these I could use a little help.
Thanks

[Cherokee]

The ones I bough many years ago had separate plastic cases. Easy to prime and de- re-prime with standard SP primer. Bullets last a long time. Haven't used mine in years.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

SP primers work fine, but regardless of caliber you will need to open up the flash holes to prevent the primer from backing out and binding the cylinder on your revolver. I found the opening up of the flash holes to be a real pain, so if the plastic cases don’t cost much I would go that rout just to save time and avoid ruining good brass… If you do decide to open up the flash holes on brass cases be sure and mark them using a file on the head so that you never load a real round into those cases. I found the plastic bullets to be rather messy inside the bore and it required cleaning ever 15~20 shots to maintain accuracy. I don’t use them much anymore, just load light loads now.

[Hurricane]

Give the plastic bullets the same respect of regular ammo. The standard primer gives all the velocity you need. I know from experience that they will shoot through a hollow core door at close range. Don't ask how I know.

[nonferrous]

Thanks guys,
The one thing I had not counted on was the frequency of the cleaning factor, this is more than I would want. I think I will try some hot glue bullets first and see how that works out. It looks like I have everything I need to set up for that.
Thanks again

[XWrench3]

it has been a long time for me as well. plus i sold my 357, and i have not bought any for my 44. anyway, if i remember right, the primers just push in and out of the plasic cases by hand, you do not need a press to do that part. they do work very well for practicing indoors, but i know now that there can be lead poisoning from the primers, so use with ventilation. if your neighbors are close, probably the best way would be to put a fan in the futhest window of the house, and only open the window in the room you will be shooting in slightly so the noise does not get to much of a chance to get out. i used a cardboard box filled with old clothes to shoot into. you can retrieve the "bullets" very easily by just opening up the box, and shaking out the bullets. you will need to change the box often. it does minimal damage, if any to the clothes. especially if they are blue jeans. frilly stuff will not fare as well.

[sagacious]

The plastic cases I had could be primed-deprimed by hand. The primers just push in and out. The 'cleaning factor' is caused by primer-residue accumulation. It's more residue than one might expect. This is the fly in the ointment of primer-only ammo. Good luck.

[beagle]

Amen on that caution.

Had a friend when those came out that got some and we had great fun shooting them into a box with a double folded towel to catch the projectiles. One Saturday, we shot up all the pistol primers and quit for the day. Sunday morning, the neighbor's rooster was in his garden making a general nuisance of himself and he popped a rifle primer in one of the cases and let fly.

Bottom line is that with a rifle primer, it completely penetrated the rooster and he had to negotiate with the neighbor.

Be careful with those things./beagle




Give the plastic bullets the same respect of regular ammo. The standard primer gives all the velocity you need. I know from experience that they will shoot through a hollow core door at close range. Don't ask how I know.

[Larry Gibson]

I used them a lot when training LEOs in building search techniques. Running a solvent (Hoppe's #9 works well) damp patch through the chambers and barrel every 2 - 3 cylinder fulls keeps accuracy on par and makes the final cleaning easy.

Larry Gibson

[buck1]

dont over look good old dry fireing, It works. make dubble sure its unloaded of cource.

[cajun shooter]

The plastic bullets are a good training tool. The 38's,44,s come with their own case. The 45 which can be used in both the ACP and 45Colt has to be used with drilled cases. I shoot them in my back yard and my neighbors have no idea what I am doing. They are not that bad with residue, as a patch with solvent will clean with one pass. When I worked in a gun store in the 70's we had matches on Saturday mornings with prizes given away. Lots of fun. When I shot PPC matches and we would travel we all would be in the hotel room dry firing for hours. It also works as a good training aid. If you have a floating firing pin then use snap caps.