Casting hot glue boolits

[rfd]

a very interesting and fun read thread. a decade or so ago i'd used cut off glue sticks into a 45acp case with primer, single shot outta my 1911. fairly accurate and good training at 10-15 feet. these dayze i can walk to my indoor pistol range, however, i really like the idea of casting the glue and will give it a go with an old lee mold i have.

NOW, wondering how this would work with rifle rounds? i've got a s/s h&r buffalo classic 45-70 that would be a hoot to shoot at home without having to deal with the hour's drive to the range.

[Jim]

Done it many times. I've shot gluelits in 30 caliber up to 45-70. Put a thin coat of automotive grease on the gluelit, seat it and shoot it.

If the gluelit is greased and seated and put away, the grease will dry out. An unlubed gluelit has a very high friction factor. This will cause glue 'leading'. It's not so hard to clean out, but I see no sense in causing a problem when there's a way to avoid it.

With a long rifle barrel (as opposed to a handgun barrel), you'll get the full effect of the energy of the primer. First time I tried it, I put a 30 caliber gluelit through the bottom of a metal coffee can at about 10 feet.

Wanna see something cool? Take your rifle outside, fire it and watch the gluelit go into a long cork screw trajectory.

[rfd]

Done it many times. I've shot gluelits in 30 caliber up to 45-70. Put a thin coat of automotive grease on the gluelit, seat it and shoot it.

If the gluelit is greased and seated and put away, the grease will dry out. An unlubed gluelit has a very high friction factor. This will cause glue 'leading'. It's not so hard to clean out, but I see no sense in causing a problem when there's a way to avoid it.

With a long rifle barrel (as opposed to a handgun barrel), you'll get the full effect of the energy of the primer. First time I tried it, I put a 30 caliber gluelit through the bottom of a metal coffee can at about 10 feet.

Wanna see something cool? Take your rifle outside, fire it and watch the gluelit go into a long cork screw trajectory.

thanx for the good scoop, jim.

i was kinda concerned as the buff classic has a 32" barrel.

as i've read within this large thread, i should ream out the primer hole to .125"-.140", correct?

a regular large rifle primer ok in the 45-70, or go with a magnum?

much obliged, sir!

[Jim]

There's no need to drill out the flash hole for use in a single shot rifle. The problem of primers backing out manifests mostly in revolvers. A magnum primer will give you a bit more velocity than a standard, especially in a barrel that's measured in meters.

A wet lube like grease or heavy oil works better than a dry lube. You might also experiment with a thin coat of oil in the barrel to give the gluelit a nice slick barrel to ride down.

Bad going to worst, you might stick a gluelit. Big deal. Push it out of the barrel with a dowel or ram rod, clean the barrel and get back in the saddle.

Just to give you an idea of how much energy there is in a gluelit pushed by nothing but a primer, here's a photo of a plastic cat litter box I shot. You're looking through the exit hole at the entrance hole in the opposite side.

The load was a gluelit cast in a Lee 430-230 RN mold. The gluelit was loaded in a .44 Special case with a standard large pistol primer and fired from a Charter Arms 3" Bulldog at about two feet. Don't think for a minute that this wouldn't sting the doo doo outa' somebody.

[rfd]

good advice, jim - much obliged, sir!

[fcvan]

I have shot a lot of glue out of my guns and it's been a lot of fun. The first time I shot glue, it really fouled up my barrel something fierce. Right now, I'm not wasting any primers shooting glue as primers are kinda scarce. But when I do, I plan on coating the glueblits with Lee liquid alox and see how that works. Dipping them in wax seem to work okay but it was more of a pain than tumble lubing. I'm also curious to see how a gas check would work on the glueblit, probably a plain based soda can check.

[rfd]

what about revisiting paper wraps for glueblits? didn't someone work all that out and just about stopped the glue fouling?

[Jim]

I'd be very interested to see the results of these experiments when they're done. The older I get, the more I appreciate the 'KISS' principle.

[40Super]

I dug some 9mm , 40S&W, and 45acp aluminum cases out of the brass bucket at the local range. I'm going to do some playin


I hadn't known they had .40 cal in aluminum, they have to be strong enough for a couple reloads, if I needed to. But I don't

[Silver Eagle]

Anyone tried replacing the lead core in a swaged boolit with hot glue? Might make for a very interesting lightweight round.
Probably would have to be very careful on working up the powder charge to keep them from disintegrating in flight.

[Jim]

I have fired 30 caliber gluelits cast in a 150 gr. mold from a .308 Lee Enfield tanker rifle and was barely able to track it with my eyes. This was propelled with nothing more than a large magnum rifle primer. I had to prelube the barrel as the lube on the gluelit ran out before it exited and I found glue 'leading' in the muzzle. I'm just guessing here, but I imagine a powder charge as small as one grain might push a gluelit beyond visual tracking speed.

I will say, through all my experiments, I've never been able to achieve any acceptable accuracy beyond 'basement' range.

[350Gr]

Amazing Thread...

[Capn Jack]

Haven't tried the hot glue yet, but those Speer "Target 38" plastic bullets sure make good garage bullets.
I believe they also make them in .44/.45.

jack...

[leeggen]

reloaders definantly "think outside the box"
don't ya just love us!

[TexRebel]

I have shot a lot of glue out of my guns and it's been a lot of fun. The first time I shot glue, it really fouled up my barrel something fierce. Right now, I'm not wasting any primers shooting glue as primers are kinda scarce. But when I do, I plan on coating the glueblits with Lee liquid alox and see how that works. Dipping them in wax seem to work okay but it was more of a pain than tumble lubing. I'm also curious to see how a gas check would work on the glueblit, probably a plain based soda can check.

Try Pam it works great

[destrux]

Didn't have time to read through the thread... but what if you took fine lead shot and mixed it in with the glue when you melt and pour it? Then put gas checks on the bottom and load them with powder instead of just a primer.

Might be interesting to see what they'd do.

[Jim]

Didn't have time to read through the thread... but what if you took fine lead shot and mixed it in with the glue when you melt and pour it? Then put gas checks on the bottom and load them with powder instead of just a primer.

Might be interesting to see what they'd do.

If you read the thread, you'll find the answer to your question.

[snowshooze]

As an alternative... wax bullets.
Just pour a layer of wax on a cookie sheet to whatever thickness you like, take your primed case and stuff it in there cookie cutter style.
I shot one of these into a fir tree and the wax slug flattened out into the bark nicely.. I am certain they would hurt like heck at close quarters.
Dad used to pop the seagulls off the roof to get a rise out of them. With a charge of just a primer, as I recall they shot quite well.. but at 20' or so they parted trails with point of aim..
I should try this again... burn off the mystery primers.

[leeggen]

would like to thank all those that brought this fun to the rest of us shooters!!!

[ghh3rd]

"burn off the mystery primers"

Thought I was the only one who had some of them

I found out early on that I really can't reliably remember what kind of primer I put into a sandwich baggie, unless I mark it. Now I tear a corner of the primer 'box' off and stuff it into the bag.

I've skipped around in this thread, and need to read it entirely... I'd like to make a batch of wadcutter glutlits for my SW 642 and see how they shoot.

Randy


ps - I did find out that I could launch an 'unknown' primer from a slingshot against the front porch support and make a very loud bang (wore goggles)... however I also found out that they can launch fast enough to pass through a nearby window .