Not sure if its been asked but, can pellets be cast at home, are molds available? I know pellets are reasonable in price but I like to be self sufficient especially in today's world.
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Not sure if its been asked but, can pellets be cast at home, are molds available? I know pellets are reasonable in price but I like to be self sufficient especially in today's world.
Depends what size and type you want. Typical Diablo pellets are swaged and that can be done at home using soft lead. there is a guy in England that sells swaging kits. Only ones I have seen but then I don't look for that stuff.
Bigger balls or solid boolit of .22 cal and up can certainly be cast at home. In fact there is a group buy on for a .22 boolit for air guns but PCP's I believe.
Longbow
Most of the existing molds or "catalogued" molds are dimensioned for PB bore sizes which usually are too big for airguns, ie: .225" for .22 pb vs. .219" for airgun, .258" for .25 pb vs .251" for .25 airgun, .310" for .30 cal. pb vs .301" for airgun .30......folks may want to contact Veral Smith of LBT as he may be able to help with the "odd" sizes.
Ok thanks, have a 22 cal Webley Tomahawk, I will probably keep buying pellets, will just stock up and forget about it, thanks.
If you want shoot for free, use your spent primers in your air guns!
.177 = small primers
.22 = large primers
They fit nicely in the gun and I shoot them all the time. Relatively accurate at 50 feet.
Not sure what you are using your AG for, but these will take out pigeons well!
banger
I tried this in my old Sheridan Silver Streak after I read about it. I dunno what I did wrong, but I couldn't get it loaded. I had to knock it back out with a cleaning rod.Originally Posted by bangerjim
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
"If you want shoot for free, use your spent primers in your air guns!"
A loaded one or two every now and then is fun too. You need a hard target backer though.
That is ONLY if you are trying to get a NEW primer to fire on impact. I am talking about using spent primers that I normally just throw in the garbage. If you are very lucky you can get a live new primer to go off if it hits a brick wall. But then you can have stuff flying back at you. Not a safe idea.
And a live primer will NOT go off if it hits a pigeon. It takes a lot of force in just the right way to even get a primer to fire. I've tired!
banger
If I'm not mistaken the "old Sheridan Silver Streak" is .20 caliber, not .22, at least all the older Sheridans that I am aware of are .20 caliber.
Jim, you will notice I said you need a hard target backer. It has been many years ago since I did any of this but I never had a problem. It's just a silly fun thing not a big deal. Besides, primers are too dang expensive now!
James
The old ones were .20 caliber. Mine was newer, I bought it when I was in high school in about 1995. Mine is a .177 and it's fired thousands of pellets by now. I actually had to have my parents give me a ride and be there, since I wasn't 16 yet. This was back when Service Merchandise decided that even air guns were bad for their image, so they decided to mark them down 50%.
I tried this again with a Daisy .177 bb/pellet gun. It was tough to load the primer because it kept trying to turn sideways. Maybe that was the problem in the Sheridan.
The primers really blew through an old beer can. Sounded like they hit the driveway gravel and ricocheted on every shot.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
Might have to try primers, have a bunch of them in a container, thanks, John.
umm...there is no such thing as a .177 or .22 Sheridan. lately they are just like the Benjamin 397 or 392...but those are Benjamins( same parent company: Crosman ). Sheridans are *ALL* 20 cal...which makes perfect sense that a 22 cal primer wouldn't fit
cheers,
Douglas
1990 D250, NV5600, Luk 05-101, 16cm housing, TST Kit KDP tab, 366 spring, Powr-Lok'd 3.07, HX35...IC soon
She wasn't built to travel at the speed a rumour flies
They used to sell gang molds for air gun pellets. Haven't seen these offered for many years. You could cast about a dozen or so pellets at a time.
I think that being self sufficient is great but common sense plays a part in it also. By the time you buy a mold,lead and every thing you will need it may be a large cash lay out. Then you have to hope that they shoot well from your rifle. The best thing to do in my mind would be to buy pellets that shoot well in your rifle and stock up a few thousand rounds and store them in a ammo box till needed. The cost of a mold will most likely buy you a life time supply of pellets. Rick!
was the silver streak a .20 cal 5mm? my friend has a .20, so we swage .22s down for it.
camotes2
Just bought a Benjamin Marauder in .25 cal. It hasn't even made it to its new home yet, so I am a "new-guy" to an airgun. [I don't think that my old Red Ryder BB gun counts.] I bought the .25 in hope that I might be able to come up with some type of boolit that I might be able to cast. I was told that a #3 buck would work as a roundball in the Marauder, but I don't know if the "expert" that I got that information really know that or even if the roundball in the Marauder is a good idea. Any of you have a good handle on casting for airguns or if a roundball is a good idea in the Marauder?
RCBS makes a .251 diameter mold for .25 acp pistols. With some modification and a drill fixture you could likely cast them from pure lead and then run a bit into the base to lighten it slightly. It's a 50 gr. bullet, so if you removed about 20% the hollow base would help it to grab rifling and you'd probably have a pretty potent ammo.
couldn't find a good picture but this is from RCBS website:
https://shop.rcbs.com/WebConnect/Mai...&route=C12J059
I have a variety of airguns including a pair of Sheridan's, the oldest one, mine is from 1977 and still shoots like gangbusters.
The only effective looking molds I've seen where by the guy in England, who was selling a mold and swaging tool.
Pricey though, have to go through a LOT of pellets to make up 70$ worth.
I have discovered by accident that some .22 pellets are small enough to chamber and fire accurately in the Sheridan with just a sharp rap on the bolt handle. But I mostly save that sort of thing for an "at need" affair. Much easier to just stock up on pellets, and I see now pellet prices are near double what they were only 3 months back.
I got 5 tins of 500, didn't pay over 8:50 for any of them now. Now the best price is over 12$ the average price is 15 and the top price is at 20$ a tin. Making mine the same as gold in the bank, and able to be shot at need.
For the price it really is hard to beat one of the little crossman 1322 pump up carbines. Basicly a pistol, that sometimes sells with a rifle stock (2 screws, quick and easy swap) I know even my wife has no problems putting 5 rounds inside a nickle at 20 feet and getting change back.
Quiet, but determined, they are for the price (under 100$) and ideal bug out gun.
Pellets are too cheap/available to bother with.
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