Canning wax bullets?

[doghawg]

I was thinking about using wax bullets as a squirrel deterrent on wifey's suet bird feeders. I don't want to kill the little buggers and I'm thinking about canning wax bullets in a .38 spl. Maybe set an unprimed case with drilled out flash hole in about 1/2" of melted canning wax. Could coat exterior of case mouth in something to keep wax from sticking...then after cooling prime with magnum primer?

BUT...before I attempt to reinvent the wheel....has anyone attempted such a feat before? Could I hope for minute of squirrel accuracy at 30 feet?

[Winger Ed.]

We used to play around with magnum primers in .38Spec.
Wax would work, we just jammed the case down on a 1/2" or so thick bar of soap like a cookie cutter.

There's a thread up now that talks about converting cases to take a 209 shotgun primer.
It'll make a wax boolit zip right on along.

[John McCorkle]

We used to play around with magnum primers in .38Spec.
Wax would work, we just jammed the case down on a 1/2" or so thick bar of soap like a cookie cutter.

There's a thread up now that talks about converting cases to take a 209 shotgun primer.
It'll make a wax boolit zip right on along.Post up on cast boolits? This I gotta see.

Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk

[poppy42]

I’ve cast boolet using hot glue works real for targets. As far as a squirrel deterrent, I seriously doubt there effectiveness! I’ve tried everything from slingshots to electric cattle fence! It has been my experience that if a tree rat manages to leave the seen of its crime it’ll be back! My preferred method of deterring tree rats is a pellet gun administered to its furry little head! It’s the only thing I’ve found effective! GOOD LUCK

[JM7.7x58]

I work with a guy who enlarges/drills the primer holes of .38 special cases. He then uses primers to shoot ear plugs. This is on my list of things to try.
JM

[DiverJay]

Airsoft.

[Drm50]

I have made wax bullets buy pouring melted wax in cases, then priming. It didn't work to well. Pushing case through a block of canning wax worked a lot better but all I used was standard primers. I had some factory wax 38/357 bullets that were made of some kind of hard red wax that worked good. They were exceptionally good out of 35Rem for yard pests and out of K38 at 10' they were very accurate. I think they are for Fast Draw type competitions but never have seen them for sale.

I found something better for yard pests in 410. A standard nipple for table lamps, avaible at most HWD stores will fit tightly in 410 shell. The inside OD is perfect size for pencil erasers. They are reusable, just use a punch to deprime and push another eraser to bottom. They will shoot through both sides of cardboard box. 3" size is the best.

[JBinMN]

Last Winter, for a guy I know who asked about something to use in his garage in order to practice with a .380 he had just bought, I just melted some candles in a small pan & then put in the reefer icebox to cool a short time so the wax was starting to set up but not yet hard as completely cooled.( I did not time it, just checked on it every few minutes)\
Then taking some regular cases that I drilled out the primer flash-holes to 1/8", I pushed the mouths of the cases into the wax, ( this batch was approx1/4-3/8ths inch thick) & let them sit in the wax while it cooled down.
After the wax cooled hard I pushed the cases thru the wax "cake" a little bit, then turned them a little bit & with drew them from the wax.
This made the cases have the wax boolits int the case a reasonable depth so they would not fall out if handled.
I then primed them using a Lee hand primer set up, using regular SPP, but I think even a bench mount or press ram type would have worked just as well.
The wax boolits did not seem to push out from any air pressure, but they may have a little bit; it just did not seem like it to me that if they did it was not too much.
I then gave them to him to try out.
The only info I got from his shooting them was that he said they worked fine for him & his girlfriend shooting at upside down Solo cups at around 15ft, or so, he guessed, and the only drawback was have to rack the slide each time.

I have not used them myself, but that is how I made them for Joe & he seemed satisfied.

I supposed one could do the process using pre primed cases into the wax when it was getting hard, but I am not sure that the air pressure created would push the wax boolits out of the cases after the got hard & some time passed.

That is all I can offer to try to give suggestions. I hope it was of some help.
:)

[richhodg66]

I have a real old Lyman manual that has an article on doing this and had a recipe for making the bullets using wax and water pump grease (is that even still a thing?). They recommended melting it into an old cake pan so it was a half inch thick, letting it cool, pushing unprimed cases into it to seat the "bullets" and then priming last. Also recommended drilling out primer flash holes.

I would think the slabs of paraffin wax you can buy at the grocery store would work fine.

[Finster101]

Try these http://gunfighter.com/waxbullets/ I bought some in S&S a while back and they have been fun to play with though I have spent very little time with them. Might avoid a lot of aggravation for you.

[rancher1913]

you could also use the plastic bullets they make, painted orange they could be recovered and reused.

[toot]

I just push the case mouth into a bar of IVORY SOAP. BTW. IVORY is a very hard soap, works fine.

[Pressman]

I first learned about shooting wax boolits as an 18 year old from reading gun magazines, in 1967. I got a new Super Blackhawk the following year and snitched a bar of mom's canning paraffin, took a couple of 44 mag cases and drilled the flashholes then proceeded to have a literal blast plinking at paper targets in the basement.

Today I have an airsoft pistol, a Dasiy BB pistol and a Crossman CO2 pistol. But wax bullets remain my favorite for basement or garage plinking.

A Lyman wax boolit set from 1960, all the tools needed, a bar of wax and clearly written, illustrated instructions.

Plink On,
Ken


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[15meter]

As far as I know the quick draw guys used wax bullets, might try a search using quick draw loads as a query.

[15meter]

Or you can get a powered or spring loaded bird feeder and sit back and watch the fun. At least until it's outlawed by peta, anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3Ut-BA6WW4

[doghawg]

Sure do appreciate the responses so far. I'm not delusional enough to think I had an original idea here but I'm surprised how many of you have been down this trail. Keep 'em coming.

[rockrat]

Drm50

Those red wax bullets were called "Red Jets" and were made by CCI. IIRC, it was a wax/plastic fiber bullet. I used to load them over a healthy charge of Bullseye in my 357 Ruger blackhawk. I still have some. They made them in 30,38,44 and 45 I believe

doghawg---if you could find some, they would work great

[georgerkahn]

doghawg -- Last Spring I acquired a .45 Colt Ruger New Vaquero, and the water, water, and more water kept both ranges closed (for handgun shooting). For "kicks and giggles" I spent $26.00 to get over 1,000 wax bullets in the mail, with super-quick delivery. I did a bit of reading, and I found two ways to "go": To wit, drill the flash hole in the case a bit larger, and use regular primers; OR, one can buy brass with enlarged primer pockets where one drops in a 209 shotgun primer. I use NO powder, having magic-markered 50 cases who's flash holes I enlarged. An interesting note is one loads wax bullets kind of reversed compared with normal loading. E.g, you insert the wax bullet first -- then, prime the case. (If you go the other way, the air behind bullet gets compressed, and pushes wax bullet back out.) To load the bullets, you can do it by hand, but I turned some aluminum on my Unimat lathe to make followers for a Lee Hand Loader which works great to ensure each bullet is same depth.
At camp, my targets -- on a corrugated cardboard box -- prove remarkable accuracy , and most times the wax bullet will go through both the paper target + front cardboard, with a good percentage of the time going through the box back as well. I did quite a bit of reading re making one's own wax bullets, but got a wee apprehensive re the FIRE hazards involved, and... again at $26.00 per thousand, reckoned buying ready made being the way to go.
I "started" NOT to be a wanna-be-cowboy or whatever -- just wanting to be able to shoot my new to me revolver until outdoors dried up. But... you want to know something? Shooting the wax bullets surely is a lot of fun. Quiet; no recoil; and... quite affordable to shoot lots!
geo

[FLINTNFIRE]

I have a older handloading book that discusses it in detail and a old friend of mine wanted me to buy his sp101 years ago with it he included his wax bullets and his cci red and black I believe plastic bullets , those plastic with a primer would put a heck of a dent in osb the wax was fun to lay in bed and shoot the brick fireplace across the room

[Beagle333]

It'll be fun, but nothing short of capital punishment will keep them from coming back. They'll come back on 3 legs or with no tail or missing an ear.
But.... have fun. :Fire:

[WRideout]

I have a real old Lyman manual that has an article on doing this and had a recipe for making the bullets using wax and water pump grease (is that even still a thing?).


I actually still have a can marked "water pump grease" that I acquired from my stepfather when he was alive. I never figured out what kind of water pump it was for. It looked automotive, like maybe it was used on the old car engine water pumps that you could rebuild.

I never had any success with it as a lube, but I can't throw it away.
Wayne

[mac60]

I first learned about shooting wax boolits as an 18 year old from reading gun magazines, in 1967. I got a new Super Blackhawk the following year and snitched a bar of mom's canning paraffin, took a couple of 44 mag cases and drilled the flashholes then proceeded to have a literal blast plinking at paper targets in the basement.

Today I have an airsoft pistol, a Dasiy BB pistol and a Crossman CO2 pistol. But wax bullets remain my favorite for basement or garage plinking.

A Lyman wax boolit set from 1960, all the tools needed, a bar of wax and clearly written, illustrated instructions.

Plink On,
Ken


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The decapping punch I get. What is the function of the 2 items just above it?

[Pressman]

On the right is the base for decapping. On the left is the primer tool, it works like a Lee but uses Lyman J shellholders.

[mac60]

On the right is the base for decapping. On the left is the primer tool, it works like a Lee but uses Lyman J shellholders.


Ok, thanks Pressman. You go back a little farther than I do. I've never seen or heard of that kit before.

[KCSO]

Started with wax loads in 1970 and still practice once a week with them. I have an old cake pan with 1/3 beeswax and 2/3 paraffin 1/2" deep. I use pistol primers in special cases with the primer hole drilled out to 7/64th to keep the primer from setting back in the revolver. I used fired cases from the gun I am using as they are fire formed. Do NOT shoot anything you don't intend to kill with these as they pack quite a wallop and will kill cats and such with a head shot and will break bones. If done right at 50 feet groups of around 1 inch are not unusual. I clean the cases every other loading or so and wipe the excess wax off the outside when loaded.

In our shop we use to have once a week indoor cowboy shoots in the storage rooms. I don't like shotgun primers as they tend to distort the bullets on firing and are too powerful for indoor use IMHO.

[Tom W.]

And you won't get any leading......[smilie=w:

[georgerkahn]

And you won't get any leading......[smilie=w:

Tom W. : You are indeed correct with your astute observation :) -- and, from it, I coged a bit re whether to add a tidbit of a comment. While lead bullets can and do "lead" -- believe it or not, wax bullets likewise do leave a layer of wax in the barrel. If you check some of the Cowboy Action sites, they have pretty firm recommendations to brush and clean the wax: this in continual wax bullet practice and shooting.
What's a genuine safety concern imho -- the reason for this post -- is while I so enjoy shooting the wax in my Ruger New Vaquero .45 Colt -- I do an extra OCD cleaning/all wax removal before I return to sending lead bullets down the barrel. In my years as a Hunter Safety: Firearms instructor, the stressing of clean, in no way obstructed barrels was never skimmed over. Most of us do not need think too long re the required removal of, say, oil from a barrel before shooting, and WAX REMOVAL is every bit as important.
The Cowboy Fast Draw Association people even purvey a solvent. ( http://www.cowboyfastdraw.com/generalstore/index.php/wax-bullets-shells-accessories.html )
geo

[Tom W.]

Indeed. I know about the build up. I am a certified firearms safety instructor and Hunter Education instructor for the state of Alabama.
I haven't been too active since my heart attacks and the Colon cancer though....

[Lloyd Smale]

don't want to kill them? Just maim and wound them?? Get a pellet rifle and do it cleanly. Getting hit by a wax bullet at 500 fps is about like you getting hit by a pail of water at 600 fps. good chance there going to run off and die a painful death. Fine if you realize it and your goal is to keep it happening out of your wifes eye sight but if it were me it would be a pellet gun and a closed mouth

[KCSO]

WD40 and a wire brush ev ery 50 rounds or so. About the best use of WD40.

[georgerkahn]

WD40 and a wire brush ev ery 50 rounds or so. About the best use of WD40.

KCSO-- thank you for this suggestion. I laud WD40's ability to dry the distributor cap on vehicles still having these -- with not much "good" about the product for me to add. However -- I had fired exactly fifty wax bullets through my New Vaquero in .45LC, and had on my "do-it" list the barrel cleaning before my planned range trip on Tuesday coming. I dampened a patch with WD40, ran it down the barrel a couple of times, following with a WD40-wetted Dewey .45 bronze brush. I was/am impressed with the marvelous wax-removal and cleaning which occurred! (I had been using a home-concocted "witches brew" of mineral spirits base, and your suggestion IS so much easier!)
Thanks again for posting!
geo

[country gent]

I have shot wax bullets in several handguns for fun and practice. did some experimenting with them also. Length, wax mix, primers. Just to see how well they could be made to do. They are a short range option for practice.

In 38 spl I drilled flash holes to .105 dia and opened up the primer pocket to large size ( simply so the cases couldn't get mixed in with regular loads). also a medium to heavy chamfer helps here. That's about it for case prep.

For the bullets I also settled on the 50-50 paraffin beeswax mix with just a little oil added. I made several aluminum trays a little bigger than a cartridge tray from a ammo box ( 50 rds). This was 3/4" to 1" deep. I melted the wax into these and settled on 5/8" thickness ( best of velocity and accuracy) I tried 3/8", 1/2" and 3/4") not super critical but it does make a difference.
I prepped all the cases and put them in a ammo tray from a box that was shortened to just the solid upper portion. Set the block on the wax tray mouths down a board or flat stock and press thru the wax seating the bullets flush with the case mouth wadcutter style. In this way I could seat 50 rds in one pass I did use a small arbor press here.

Seat the primer of choice after bullets are seated other wise you'll be reseating bullets all day since the airlock will push them back out.

I only had to size cases every 4-5 firings, when the case mouths were distorted from push thru wax. Cases lasted for ever. Report was negligible and velocity seemed to run around 550-600 fps with good accuracy. Care still need to be taken and basic safety followed as these can seriously injure up close. I used an old beach towel and box as a bullet trap, like lead the wax can be cleaned and reused for ever just re add the few drops of oil every 3-4 melting.

I got accuracy as good as most wadcutter loads and used these with old salvaged primers to practice. I loaded them in several revolvers a titanium scandium 340 ( the only comfortable load Ive shot in it) a 36 both are 2", A ruger security six, colt python, ruger red hawk, 25-2 smith and a 1917 in 45 colt. In reality the snubbies and shorter barrels do better with these loads for me.

Again be safe these will break glass damage or perforate wall board and cause injuries
Also like dry firing no " live ( full power ammo) where they are being used at the same time.
Bill Jordan and a lot of the old shooters used these for a training tool years ago. Exhibition shooters used them and very light loads also. Outdoors the bullets are light and slow wind really affects them.
I have considered trying them in my 45-70 40-65 and 38-55 rifles just to see how they would do.

[swamp]

I plan on trying some 44 lads in my Ruger 1.
swamp

[Drm50]

I've shot the commercial 357wax bullets in Rem 141 35rem cal. It definitely keeps varmits out of yard. I shot a starling with one at about 20' and it tore it apart. Feathers came down for 5 minutes.

[doghawg]

OP here. I appreciate the very interesting responses. My intention was to "educate" the squirrels that my wifes suet had a little bite to it but would not have guessed 500+ fps from a primer fueled wax bullet. A head shot with CB's or CCI "quiet 22" will humanely dispatch a squirrel without alarming the neighborhood. And, as Lloyd pointed out, I don't want injured critters suffering either.

But...this winter when life slows down a little bit I will be experimenting with wax bullets for basement target shooting.

[georgerkahn]

doghawg -- You indeed started quite the (enjoyable, educational, fun) thread! And, it is germane as bullets are cast of wax, too! Thank you!
What I'm adding is I have read MANY warnings re shooting wax bullets indoors. Claims are the fumes from primers are super-high in toxic lead in air. Also, from detonating primers in, say, a basement, lead will end up on walls, floor, ceiling -- all surfaces -- which, too, is a hazard from their lead styphnate base. (To children, pets, future buyers of your house...._
I've been intrigued with getting lead-free primers, which I've read about, but have yet to find a source, for my wax bullet shooting. A great "read" on lead-free primers is https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1410/1410.6390.pdf , and they even have a table listing pressures generated in our lead styphnate based ones (to choose the ones with highest pressures?).
I have gotten quite a bit of enjoyment with my fairly recent entry into shooting wax; again, thanks for the thread -- when I read your desire to shoot in your basement, it prompted this reply. Good luck!
geo

[doghawg]

georgerkahn...Thanks for the heads up and yes, I guess I should have thought of that. An even greater hazard came up with my wife's reaction to basement shooting....

[Winger Ed.]

I actually still have a can marked "water pump grease" that I acquired from my stepfather when he was alive. I never figured out what kind of water pump it was for. It looked automotive, like maybe it was used on the old car engine water pumps that you could rebuild.

It's still around. Lucas is one company that makes it.

Old cars had a grease fitting on the water pump, and that was what you were supposed to use.
Some Fire Depts still use it on some of their pump bearings.
It also is used in older generation, non-shifting lower units of outboard motors, and is a good choice for the grease fitting on boats.

Its basically a Lithium base grease with adhesion properties, is a high pressure lube., and has good corrosion resistance.
It would be a good choice to thin out hard wax for making wax boolits.

I wouldn't buy it if I didn't have to have it for something, but--
If ya got some, I'd keep it and use it up.
Its good stuff, and way more expensive than common wheel bearing grease.

[swamp]

I used wheel bearing grease in my batch. It seems to work. Takes awhile to melt.
swamp

[fcvan]

I started shooting wax in the mid 1980s, before paintball was a thing. We made vests out of carpet and wore motorcycle helmets with full face shields. I started out using a metal lid that was smooth sided to make 1/2" thick wax pucks. I found that running warm water over the wax softened the wax enough to where pushing a case through was a breeze. I put marking line chalk in the metal lid which sank to the bottom causing the tip to show red. As I would place the wax loaded cartridges into Styrofoam trays designed for wadcutters the wax often would take the shape. When the wax got dirty from the primer and subsequent re use they would look like wadcutters and so the chalk. Also, the impact left a red mark on your opponent um target :-)

I took those wax boolits to the range at work and the rangemaster hollered out 'you need hearing protection.' I replied 'no I don't' and let one fly. 'Let me check that out' he said and the next thing I knew every rangemaster loaded up a revolver and soon were hunting lizard around the rocks. Good times.

One of the guys was a buddy I went to the academy with and he asked me to make him up a box which I obliged. A week later he asked me for another box. 'Did you shoot all those up?' He said 'no, my wife did.' It seems she was quite the landscaper and her lawn was pristine. In fact, all of her shrubs and plants were well manicured. Across the street was bare land for hundreds of feet but the neighborhood dogs preferred squatting on her lawn. She shot the male dogs in the testicles and they never pooped on her lawn again. In fact, when they walked down the road they would go on the far side as they passed their house.

Later, I taught him how to make his own wax boolits. Then I showed him how to reload his shells. Then I taught him how to cast and size. One day, we mined 6, 5 gallon buckets of lead from the pistol range. I told him I would come by on my next days off (or his) as we worked different shifts. I came by a few days later and he had smelted all of it into ingots. We cast some boolits and I went on my way. On my next days off (or his), I went by his house again. There was a 5 gallon bucket of 230gr 45 RN, a 5 gallonb bucket of 125 RN 9mm boolits, a 5 gallon bucket of 158gr .38 SWC, etc. I knew he was hooked. By the end of a month he had bought pretty much all of the same equipment I had, same molds, furnace, lube-sizer, and a couple molds I didn't have. He got bit by the bug badly after showing him how to make wax boolits.

A few years ago, I started making hot glue boolits and had fun with that. My neighbors get a kick out of shooting down the hall at targets pasted on a cardboard box. I did learn one thing the hard way, glue boolits need lube. Liquid floor wax as a tumble lube worked wonders. Huh, more wax boolits. Who knew?

[doghawg]

fcvan...That was a very informative...and entertaining post.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Olive oil and beeswax.. The only lube I am permitted to make in the kitchen. Basis for our BP lube.
I would think 10% olive oil to 90% (1-9) would get you there. Can always add another small amount of olive oil. Even tastes good !
Mike in LLama Land

[Iowa Fox]

Squirrels are horrible here and I can't make a dent in them. I use Super Colibri and a table for one at 20 yards

[roysha]

So, what is the concern about just shooting the wax buildup out with a mild metallic bullet load?

I realize this may seem like a dumb question but it appears to me that it would not be any worse than the practice of shooting jacketed bullets after lead bullets without cleaning in between.

I recall, back in the day, that there was a school of thought that after a session of lead bullets, one was supposed to fire several jacketed bullets to remove any leading. In fact some of the fellows following that theory would load some very square based jacketed bullets, backwards in the belief that it would scrape the lead out better. Personally I didn't have much luck doing it but those same fellows followed the practice religiously.

[Lostinidaho]

I like this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWlAIcwxxD0

[JBinMN]

I like this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWlAIcwxxD0

Thanks! Good to watch & interesting!
:)

[RoyEllis]

Old NRA article on making wax bullets.... https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2010/4/12/how-to-make-and-reload-wax-bullets/

[georgerkahn]

So, what is the concern about just shooting the wax buildup out with a mild metallic bullet load?


roysha -- A good question for which the only answer -- why I remove all wax -- is FEAR! ;). I have first-hand witnessed a barrel ruined from being fired with a coating of oil which had not been removed -- it turning into a galling agent instead of a lubricant.
My "fear" is of the unknown affect of leaving a wax coating, which like rust-preventative oil, is quite easily removed. I have taught so many years of firearm safety classes where a pristine, clean of anything barrel is requisite, I guess (in this case) I do practice precisely what I preach. My quite quick, easy, and simple "drill" is, immediately before range/hunt, I pull an Otis-type brush, followed by a couple of patches through each barrel. Generally, two shots are then fired to "prove" both sight-in and function, with -- a superstition I have -- ensuring the third shot, after the 2-shot fouling -- will be right on! Fyi, in my kit is a small container of cigarette lighter fluid, and that's what I use on both the brush and patches to ensure absence of oil. wax, and/or ???.

Perhaps one may shoot lead/jacketed safely in a wax laden barrel -- but, again, my FEAR of the unknown damage/personal injury prevents me from my trying.
geo

[jonp]

I first learned about shooting wax boolits as an 18 year old from reading gun magazines, in 1967. I got a new Super Blackhawk the following year and snitched a bar of mom's canning paraffin, took a couple of 44 mag cases and drilled the flashholes then proceeded to have a literal blast plinking at paper targets in the basement.

Today I have an airsoft pistol, a Dasiy BB pistol and a Crossman CO2 pistol. But wax bullets remain my favorite for basement or garage plinking.

A Lyman wax boolit set from 1960, all the tools needed, a bar of wax and clearly written, illustrated instructions.

Plink On,
Ken


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Wow, never knew they made such a thing. Now I have something to go look for.

[SSGOldfart]

Yep I'm a fan of was bullets as well as mouse fart loads,but a old rough rider by gun keeps the squirrels at bay in my pecan trees, I don't want to kill them,but I do want my pecans. Besides they will make a great squirrel stew later in the year,followed with a pecan pie. Dean Grennell wrote a article on wax bullets in his book The ABC's of Reloading (3rd Edition). Good read

[Smoke4320]

had to laugh .. read the title of thread … thought why would anyone want to can wax bullets

[Alferd Packer]

Try a cylinder of shells loaded with dry tumbling material or grits or dried used coffee grounds to clean out the wax buildup.
Then just clean as usual.
WD 40 works to clean out the wax too.

[Drm50]

When I clean my guns, I wipe bore dry and apply a good coat of oil. I alway run a couple patches through them before next use. I too am leery of ringing a barrel, better safe than sorry. I just bought a box of gun misc at a sale. There is a box of reddish orange plastic bullets marked .224 on box. They look like 22rf bullets. Never saw anything like them before. They should make some good cat stingers in 222 or 223. Need to find load data for them, maybe just primer.

[doghawg]

After reading the NRA recipe I'm wondering if it would work to substitute a stick of 50/50 bullet lube to a pound of paraffin. I've got a few odds and ends sticks of bullet lube that may never get used otherwise.

[facetious]

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/bill-jordans-homemade-wax-practice-bullets.36350/

https://archive.org/stream/No_Second_Place_Winner_Bill_Jordan/No_Second_Place_Winner_Bill_Jordan_djvu.txt

Bill Jordan's book " No Second Place Winners" is where I first heard of them. The links I just found with a Google search. I have never tryed them but it is what he said he used for stunt shooting show's.

Go to page 83 of the book to read what he said about it.

[redhawk0]

To eliminate any wax build up in the barrel...try Powder Coating.

Sorry....I couldn't resist.

redhawk

[RogerDat]

I seem to recall squirrels don't like hot spicy things like cayenne pepper. Birds can't taste it. You might try sprinkling some very rowdy ground hot peppers on the suet. Or hot sauce on seed.

Have a dog with a strong rodent prey drive. Squirrel has to beat the dog to the fence or a tree every time. Dog only has to win the race once. With luck the dog won't bring the dead and bedraggled squirrel to the back door to show your wife, that doesn't always go over well. Leave you to guess how I know.

I think I get not wanting to kill them for just tryin to get food. On the other hand if one is going to shoot them it does seem like doing so fatally might be the more humane approach. Injured wild animals can have a struggle to survive. I figured a squirrel that kept coming in the yard despite being chased by the dog was taking his chances and I'm pretty sure it didn't suffer long when caught by a standard schnauzer.

[DanishM1Garand]

A warrant officer I worked for in the Marine Corps told of shooting rats at Khe Sahn. They pulled the bullets from .223 for the M16 and only left a tiny bit of powder. They took the case mouth and stuck it in a bar of Ivory soap. They shot the rats and the rats ran off to die elsewhere.

[Freightman]

Some hot glue sticks are just right to load in a 45 acp case works on grackles

[Texas by God]

I too, visualized a mason jar with wax bullets in it..... used to shoot indoors with those Gulfwax bullets. I drilled out the flash hole of 50 .38 Special cases just for them. Good Times.

[Alferd Packer]

I used wheel bearing grease in my batch. It seems to work. Takes awhile to melt.
swamp

I have used vaseline jell melted in with canning wax to soften to cookie cut out primer powered loads.

Have to to experiment to find satisfactory ratio.
Maybe try, 1/3 cup vaseline to one lb. Paraffin wax.
That should make it softer.
Maybe add 1/4 lb beeswax melted to make more flexible, takes away some brittleness so the slugs don't shatter.
Maybe easier to remelt.
Pure paraffin shatters on striking
Hard surfaces.

Cheaper to skip beeswax, but messier in area of impact.
Some like to use toilet ring gasket wax.
Was beeswax many moons ago. Not now though and for quite awhile.
Too soft to use alone.
Like putty.

[Alferd Packer]

You can Google making wax bullets.
Gasoline or deodorized
mineral spirits will clean up your wax in firearm as will WD40 as well.
Also, I use a punched out disk of thin cardboard loosely fitted in bottom of the case before I load in the wax slug.
The primer then blows out the gas checked wax slug which prevents the wax from melting onto the cylinder, in the barrel or in the case.
Really not needed, but for the anal worriers amongst us, it occurred to me as a way to maybe keep things cleaner.
Cleaning guns for me is not a chore. Just another part of my hobby.
The same cardboard gas check can be used on the glue bullets as well if you think you need them.
I always seat my wax or glue bullets all the way on the bottom of the case for maximum push from the primer.
Of course with bottlenecked rifle cases you have to seat them in the neck only.

[Alferd Packer]

More

The circle of thin cardboard on the bottom of the case will keep the primer force from digging into the base of the soft wax slug losing some velocity.
When slugs are seated down on the bottom of the case, they get to max velocity.

[17nut]

doghawg -- You indeed started quite the (enjoyable, educational, fun) thread! And, it is germane as bullets are cast of wax, too! Thank you!
What I'm adding is I have read MANY warnings re shooting wax bullets indoors. Claims are the fumes from primers are super-high in toxic lead in air. Also, from detonating primers in, say, a basement, lead will end up on walls, floor, ceiling -- all surfaces -- which, too, is a hazard from their lead styphnate base. (To children, pets, future buyers of your house...._
I've been intrigued with getting lead-free primers, which I've read about, but have yet to find a source, for my wax bullet shooting. A great "read" on lead-free primers is https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1410/1410.6390.pdf , and they even have a table listing pressures generated in our lead styphnate based ones (to choose the ones with highest pressures?).
I have gotten quite a bit of enjoyment with my fairly recent entry into shooting wax; again, thanks for the thread -- when I read your desire to shoot in your basement, it prompted this reply. Good luck!
geo

Set up a fume hood (kirchen thingy hung over the stove) where you shoot!
Easy pleasy, no lead fumes.

[TNsailorman]

Did the wax bullet thing many, many years ago before I moved to the country where I could shoot without having to do it indoors. It does work and is easy to load was bullets. A case with the flash hole enlarged, a regular primer for propellent, and a pan of solidified wax is all you need. james

[Chena]

Great info in the NRA article.

[Newboy]

Set up a fume hood (kirchen thingy hung over the stove) where you shoot!
Easy pleasy, no lead fumes.

I never shoot in the kitchen, how can the fume hood help?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[ascast]

tree rats have been known to run away as tree rats and come back as black bears. they roast well with some bacon.

[challenger_i]

Wax bullets can be fun: X-Ring rubber bullets are way more fun, because they are easier to load! :)

[farmerjim]

I have a real old Lyman manual that has an article on doing this and had a recipe for making the bullets using wax and water pump grease (is that even still a thing?). They recommended melting it into an old cake pan so it was a half inch thick, letting it cool, pushing unprimed cases into it to seat the "bullets" and then priming last. Also recommended drilling out primer flash holes.

I would think the slabs of paraffin wax you can buy at the grocery store would work fine.

Yes they still make water pump grease. I found it on Amazon

[Alferd Packer]

So, what is the concern about just shooting the wax buildup out with a mild metallic bullet load?

I realize this may seem like a dumb question but it appears to me that it would not be any worse than the practice of shooting jacketed bullets after lead bullets without cleaning in between.

I recall, back in the day, that there was a school of thought that after a session of lead bullets, one was supposed to fire several jacketed bullets to remove any leading. In fact some of the fellows following that theory would load some very square based jacketed bullets, backwards in the belief that it would scrape the lead out better. Personally I didn't have much luck doing it but those same fellows followed the practice religiously.

Canning wax ,also called paraffin can easily be removed using lighter fluid or gasoline in a cleaning patch
Gasoline dissolves wax
A bore brush and lighter fluid or gas also works,followed by a cleaning patch.
Wax is not like leading from lead bullets.
No need to shoot out the softened wax.Bbq lighter fluid will also work as bore cleaner.
Haven't tried Kroil yet, but it's a good cleaner for regular fouling in bore too.

[farmbif]

save your primers and wax and get a pop gun that uses those little plastic pellets.

[Alferd Packer]

44 and 45 cal wax slugs will kill a squirrel.Use the 250 -300 grain molds to cast wax bullets and seat them to bottom of cartridge case using a paper disc on bottom to protect the wax bullet base and increase compression.
They hit hard.

[georgerkahn]

Canning wax ,also called paraffin can easily be removed using lighter fluid or gasoline in a cleaning patch
Gasoline dissolves wax
A bore brush and lighter fluid or gas also works,followed by a cleaning patch.
Wax is not like leading from lead bullets.
No need to shoot out the softened wax.Bbq lighter fluid will also work as bore cleaner.
Haven't tried Kroil yet, but it's a good cleaner for regular fouling in bore too.

I have been a proponent of squeezing a bit of lighter fluid into a small plastic container -- maybe (?) 3/4 of an ounce, to which I add three drops of gun oil. Shake it a little to mix, and then use a nylon brush -- mostly three pulls thru (Otis style) followed by two pulls of a dry patch. This works quite well for me in all my wax-bullet shooting. I will add, however, to note that ALL my wax bullets are purchased (.357, .44, and .45 sizes) from on-line cowboy action sellers, so I have no idea what (e.g., paraffin?) they're made from. Just -- to my way of thinking -- they are soooo incredibly inexpensive to buy them I have never poured/cast my own.
geo

[schutzen-jager]

i have tried the pressing of .38 spec. thru paraffin blocks for practice + fast draw - i seriously doubt you could hit a squirrel at more than 6 ft. - one alternative is this type of feeder - wooden bar near feed holes + counter weight at opposite end - set the counter weight so that it closes off feed under the weight of small birds - absoluetely drive Squirrells crazy, as soon as they get near seed the metal door closes till they leave feeder -it hold 20+ plus pounds of feed so it needs little constant attention - expensive if bought new but i have found them fot $10.00 or less at estate, yard sales, + flea markets -

[georgerkahn]

I have lonnng battled tree rats/squirrels both ruining and gobbling food from feeders with my intent to be for relatively small in size birds. My solution was to mount an inverted metal doo-hickey -- called squirrel guard (Agway) on the pole supporting feeders, and then use feeders which come with a metal guard. Bion -- it works!!!316375 I do have to shovel/move snow when it gets too high as the squirrels have jumped up, but this has been a rare need.
geo

[Nick Quick]

As I posted in a different thread wax bullets are cheap by the thousand. I won't repeat what I wrote but at 30 feet they will knock that pesky squirrel of it's feet. At 21 feet they will get stuck into the plywood backstop.
Make sure you spray some silicone into the barrel prior shooting otherwise after multiple shots the barrel will get clogged with wax. I shoot thousands of them wax bullets as a Fast Draw shooter and I know every trick in the book.
No need for powder. Just a 209 primer and the bullet. You can reuse the same shell for the rest of your days. I still have the casings I bought 15 years ago drilled for 209 primers and I still use them almost daily.
You should try shooting the squirrels with a lever action in .45LC. Is fun either way.
Don't forget the silicone spray before the first shot and every other 20-30 shots. It wouldn't hurt to run a brush once or twice after every 10 rounds.
And also make sure you won't shoot yourself in the legs or hands. You might end up in the hospital. Don't ask me how I know.

[mac60]

I too, visualized a mason jar with wax bullets in it..... used to shoot indoors with those Gulfwax bullets. I drilled out the flash hole of 50 .38 Special cases just for them. Good Times.


I used to do the same (shoot them indoors). I'd sit on the couch and shoot at a tide box with a towel in it and tape a target to the front. My fun came to an abrupt end when the Wife came home and found a nice little dent in her china cabinet and a matching one in the ceiling. My aim got a little cockeyed and one bounced off her china cabinet and hit the ceiling.

[beagle]

Got to watch those old red and blacks. Stronger than you think. Shooting partner attempted to run the neighbor's rooster out of his tomatoe patch with one.
Had to go explain why his rooster didn't show up again for meals./beagle


I have a older handloading book that discusses it in detail and a old friend of mine wanted me to buy his sp101 years ago with it he included his wax bullets and his cci red and black I believe plastic bullets , those plastic with a primer would put a heck of a dent in osb the wax was fun to lay in bed and shoot the brick fireplace across the room

[Charlie Horse]

44 and 45 cal wax slugs will kill a squirrel.Use the 250 -300 grain molds to cast wax bullets and seat them to bottom of cartridge case using a paper disc on bottom to protect the wax bullet base and increase compression.
They hit hard.

Going to have to try this with a 170 grain, 38 mold.

What distance you talking? I see so many squirrels when I'm camping it ain't even funny.

[Soundguy]

We used to play around with magnum primers in .38Spec.
Wax would work, we just jammed the case down on a 1/2" or so thick bar of soap like a cookie cutter.

There's a thread up now that talks about converting cases to take a 209 shotgun primer.
It'll make a wax boolit zip right on along.

cowboy action shooters here do that.. 209 primed 38 brass with wax bullets.

[Outer Rondacker]

cowboy action shooters here do that.. 209 primed 38 brass with wax bullets.

Anyone have a link to a video on how to do this conversion? I have searched and think I am just using the wrong key words to get a result. Thanks

[Bwana John]

Anyone have a link to a video on how to do this conversion? I have searched and think I am just using the wrong key words to get a result. Thanks

“C” drill bit. Depth of drilled out primer pocket is the most important spec. I also chamfer the primer pocket to help seat 209 primers.

Or just buy them here
https://spitfire-wax-bullets.myshopify.com/collections/casings

[GregLaROCHE]

If you have a 22, try some of the bird shot shells. Although I tried as a kid, don’t think I ever killed anything with it. It definitely frightened critters away. A single projectile, as long as it holds together, coud easy kill a small critter.