Expedient shotgun shot

[Greebe]

So I finally got some 20ga Magtech brass and have been trying to find some expedient shot to load with it. Do you guys have any other forms of shot other than commercial that would still work fine for small game and bird hunting? What things would be safe and usable that would be easy and cheep to come by?

Thanks
Greebe

[singleshot]

These days I use BB's from Walmart. I've heard all the horror stories about torn up barrels, but they are all zinc or copper plated and none of my shotguns has experienced harm as a result. It's also good for stuff up to coyotes.

[singleshot]

You could try airsoft pellets, but I'm not sure if they'd kill a bird or squirrel...'prolly just make 'em yell "ouch!" :-)

[Greebe]

LOL, thanks guys. I thought about the BB thing, but I have heard that it is best not to go under #2 shot in a 20ga, plus I have also heard that it would tear up the barrel. I am going to be loading with homemade OP and OS wads made from heavy card stock and 2 wads cut from 1/4" cork to make a 1/2" cushion wad. I guess I could try making a paper cup for BB's, but again I have read that BB's don't work so well in a 20ga.

I have been reloading most of my life, but never messed with shotguns so really don't have a clue. I am strapped for cash right now and we are expecting our second child this winter. It would be nice to shot some small game for the table and freezer this year. So I would like to be able to load for the shotgun and do it as cheap as possible. I have the powder, primers, brass shells, and wads, so the only thing I need is to make or get shot for cheap. I have also made reloading tools in my shop as well as the wad cutters. It is too bad really because I have tons of lead but no way to make usable shot. I have tried but get mostly lead fluff. The best solution would be if I could trade someone 2 to 1 lead for lead shot. Get 20 lbs shot for exchange of 40 lbs lead.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Greebe

[Vinne]

First thing is get a shotgun reloading book and follow it closely. Next make sure the right wad is for the correct hull and the powder charge is correct. I sent a PM to help.

[Greebe]

I wonder how 12 gauge solid copper wire cut the same length as diameter would work? I have some scrap copper cut offs from a job. That might be a waste of good copper though since copper has gotten so expensive.

[Greebe]

I'll send you a couple pounds of shot if you need it for freezer meat.

That would be awesome. My wife and I just got laid off from the same employer this past month. That was nice of them. Looks like I will probably not get unemployment either because they are giving me trouble and trying to say that I quit so they don't have to pay unemployment. Finding work where I live is not easy either. Oh the joy of it all.

I will send you a PM.

Thanks,
Greebe

[Greebe]

Well I went outside and cut up some 12 gauge copper wire. Here is what I ended up with.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r58/GreebeDBS/coppershot.png

This is just under 7/8 oz shot and it took probably around 2.5 - 3 ft of scrap copper not to mention a lot of time. That is a lot of cutting with a pair of plier and probably not worth it. I will load it up and try it at some point.

Greebe

[turbo1889]

Well I went outside and cut up some 12 gauge copper wire. Here is what I ended up with.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r58/GreebeDBS/coppershot.png

This is just under 7/8 oz shot and it took probably around 2.5 - 3 ft of scrap copper not to mention a lot of time. That is a lot of cutting with a pair of plier and probably not worth it. I will load it up and try it at some point.

Greebe

I wonder how long it would take in a drum tumbler with some large size hardened steel ball bearings to turn those copper wire cuts into reasonably round shot? Reason being is because one would think that some sort of automated machine could be patched together to short cut scrap copper wire like that - I'm thinking meshed feed wheels pushing the wire through a hole in a steel plate just a little bit larger diameter then it geared to a rotating chopper blade geared to the feed wheels to create short cut lengths like that with an electric motor and a switch and just feed scrap into it and then put it in the drum tumbler with big hardened steel ball bearings to make it nice and round.

I'm thinking non-toxic shot loads that won't damage the barrel (copper should be soft enough not to have to worry about that) and it would be denser then steel shot as well and if one had a source of copper scrap wire it could be a worth-while project.

[Greebe]

Hey thanks for the reply. I was kind of thinking the same thing about making a machine that could feed and cut the wire. The rotating cutting wheel is a good idea. The speed of the wheel could help determine the cut length. That gives me another idea. You could omit the feed system and just use gravity to feed the scraps. The spinning wheel would have a grove cut allowing the wire to feed down. There could be a stop to keep the wire from falling through when it gets to the opening on the cutting wheel and after the cut it would move to allow it to drop completing the cycle. Hehe, now look what you did. You got me to scheming late at night. I do have a machine shop so the design I just had in my head could possibly be put into practice. Now I am not going to be able to sleep.

Greebe

[Greebe]

You could use they same system to cut wire shot from standard soft bailing wire which is cheap. I was thinking of the possibility of using bailing wire when I was cutting up the copper wire.

The idea of a tumbler is also something I was thinking about. I made a quick lead wire extruder yesterday that made a nice 1/8" wire. I then cut it up like I did the copper. My thinking was that you should be able to put these in a ball mill and turn them round fairly quick with some steel slingshot balls as the lead is 99.9% pure lead and very soft. As for the copper, I do not know if it would ever get round or not with this set up.

Alright it is time for bed.

Take Care,
Greebe

[kenyerian]

If there is a trap range nearby check with them about reclaimed shot. Rotometals sells it online. Also check yard sales, estate auctions etc.

[preparehandbook]

I think you might find that making the shot round may not be necessary so long as the ranges aren't too great.

I have shot some absolutely terrible shot that grouped surprisingly well.

[Hogtamer]

America is still a great place!!! Turbo, I don't know what makes guys like you tick but it sure is fun to watch! I live near a quarry....any ideas how to salvage some gravel and mane it work???? LOL and thanks for an interesting post.

[Greebe]

Yeah I thought that this could be an interesting post. It is fun to get people thinking and brainstorming. I looked in my book and found that 12ga copper wire weights at 12.4lbs per 1000ft. I figured that the little bag of copper shot I made in the photo above used about 3ft of wire but I must have used more (closer to 4ft) based on my weight calculations. From this we could conclude that 1000ft of wire could make approximately 230 7/8oz loads. The buy on 12g insulated scrap wire, the insulation lowers the price, is around $1.25. So for 1000ft of wire I would get $15.5 locally. So each 7/8oz load of shot would cost $0.06 -7/10 cent.

If I sold the copper to buy lead shot it would cost $68.29 shipped from Midway USA for a 25 lb bag. This would give approximately 460 7/8oz loads at the cost of $0.15 a load. This is a bit surprising to me. I did not think that homemade copper shot would have been so much cheaper that lead shot. I might be on to something.

Like I had talked about last night, I did not sleep well. I was tossing and turning most of the night thinking about shot making. I came up with a pretty simple and elegant solution for cutting the copper wire into perfect lengths. So I guess at least I spent my tossing and turning coming up with something useful.

As for the weight of copper, we are looking at it being in between steel and lead. Steel is 490lb, copper 560lb, and lead 708lb per cubic foot of material. Copper just could be a decent alternative.

Greebe

[Greebe]

I think you might find that making the shot round may not be necessary so long as the ranges aren't too great.

I have shot some absolutely terrible shot that grouped surprisingly well.

Yeah I was wondering about that. The shape of the cut ends of my copper shot are nice and sharp too and seem like they would cut their way into game well. So perhaps the shape would be an advantage. I will have to make a few more loads up and pattern them at different ranges.

[preparehandbook]

As a kid my friend and I were allowed very limited access to commercial shells but if we managed to reload (without a press or new components) we could shoot more critters (mostly squirrel and rabbit)

When I was young we would melt wheel weight lead in a cast iron pan and pour it into water. It would make all these crazy shapes. The large chunks would be remelted, the little blobs and teardrops would get loaded into shotshells.

Not having new primers we'd tap out the firing pin dent with a flat pointed nail, and reprimed it with the white tips from 6 strike anywhere matches. We powered these with pyrodex we bought cheap at a flea market, measured with an old lee dipper. wads were either reused plastic or often card stock cut out with scissors.

One time we decided to shoot this deer that kept getting into the garden. We poured melted lead into the largest section of a broken car antenna, then cut it into 1/4 long chunks with bolt cutters. Because the antenna squished where cut this formed little jacketed projectiles the exact size and shape of a chicklet candy.

At 40 feet it dropped that deer right where it stood, blowing a near 4 inch hole out the far side of it's chest. the garden was safe, we had venison, the dogs had bones, and the far garden fence forever had these little chromed squares imbedded in it.

I learned a few lessons from these tasks...
-Pyrodex is forgiving
-Wads should be tight
-primers can be made if you have time
-Get pretty much anything moving at 1,000 fps and it's deadly

[Greebe]

Neat story, thanks for sharing. It is fun to hear what others have come up with and tried. Cool that you guys actually took a dear with you homemade shot.

[jimb16]

In the section on gas checks, someone suggested a paper cutter for making strips for checks. I wonder if it would also work for cutting the wire. You could certainly get enough leverage and it would be faster and easier than wire cutters or pliers.......Just thinking out loud.

[BAGTIC]

Those little sharp ends will not be hitting the game. They will act like the vane on a weathercock.