Bullet casing to suit 5/16 wooden shafts

[MARK GILMORE]

#7560

Does anyone know of a bullet casing to suit a 5/16th wooden shaft? This is to use as a blunt.

Kind regards,

Markg.:o

[Raymond Coffman]

#63282

It was .38 Special cases — but can’t remember what size wood shaft, it has been so long since I used them { the cases for blunts /not wood shafts }—I believe it was 5/16ths – although i think it would work for 11/32s also depending on how you taper/sand the tip of the shaft.

Scout.

[William Warren]

#63869

Well I’ve used .357″ (.38/.357)cases on 11/32 shafts. According to the Speer Manual the next sizes down are .338″, .323″ (8MM) .321″ (.32) and .308″ (.30).

You could mic your shafts to see which one of these closely matches them but my guess might be to try .32’s. They probably will be to light to fly right. Another suggestion would be to cut some 2″-3″ sleeves from a 2217 aluminum shaft and epoxy them to the end of your shafts, Then you could slide a 11/32″ rubber blunt over that. If your shafts are cedar this will only move the weak point to the rear of the new sleeve so they won’t be “break proof” This works best on carbons but would also work on tough wood shafts. Good luck.

[Mark Turton]

#8230

Like Duncan I’ve only ever used .357, this leaves plenty of room for some lead shot to get the weight right and still have a good length of shaft inside the case with hot melt.

A while ago in TBM there was an article that showed a nut used to add weight behind a glued on case, I have never tried this but it was a good idea.

Mark.

[handirifle]

#10392

Given that the 5/16″ shaft is .312″ in diameter, the closest fitting case would be the 32 Long Colt, and MidwayUSA has them in stock, http://www.midwayusa.com/product/941617924/starline-reloading-brass-32-s-and-w-long. They are $17.49 for 100, not a bad price. The inside diameter of these is .318″, leaving just enough room for a thin layer of glue. They are .916″ long, by the way.

As for weight, why not melt a few drops of lead into the inside base of the cartridge? That way you can make it as heavy as you want, without affecting flight. With the lead melted in the case, simply heat the cases until the lead flows easily inside and it will self level.

[codger]

#10817

i was interested in how to get the weight up led shot? where do you get that? In calif we cant have led anymore even fishing sinkers arent made of led.

[handirifle]

#10900

Sure you can get lead. I live in CA also. Go to tire shops and they usually have plenty of lead they pull off wheels. They may need to recycle it but most usually will give some. I used to get buckets of it from them. Gun shops might sell it. Dont buy shot, too hard and too expensive, get lead bars. Also check ebay

[Mark Turton]

#11561

New tyre weights are often now made from a ‘non=toxic’ alternative and cant be melted in the same way as lead or so I’ve found.

I like lead shot as its easier to weigh, however I’ve not bought any for years as I have a small stock for reloading. Any gun shop that caters form reloaders or muzzle loaders should help and if you tell them you only need a mug full of shot, any size I’ll be surprised if they wont help.

Good idea to melt it in the case I just added some glue but melting will reduce volume.

[Wexbow]

#12126

Duncan wrote: Another suggestion would be to cut some 2″-3″ sleeves from a 2217 aluminum shaft and epoxy them to the end of your shafts, Then you could slide a 11/32″ rubber blunt over that. If your shafts are cedar this will only move the weak point to the rear of the new sleeve so they won’t be “break proof” This works best on carbons but would also work on tough wood shafts. Good luck.

Thanks for this tip Duncan. With a 31″ draw I’ve been looking for a solution to moving my blunts away from the arrow rest (blunt slipped over a 32″ shaft catches the rest). This sounds like just the ticket.

[William Warren]

#13597

handirifle wrote: Sure you can get lead. I live in CA also. Go to tire shops and they usually have plenty of lead they pull off wheels. They may need to recycle it but most usually will give some. I used to get buckets of it from them. Gun shops might sell it. Dont buy shot, too hard and too expensive, get lead bars. Also check ebay

Don’t want to sound like a killjoy here but please be careful with molten lead, not only is there the obvious burn risk but more importantly the risk of breathing dangerous fumes. Tire weights are likely alloyed but with what metals? Melt lead outdoors and keep your head out of the fumes. By all means please don’t use commercial shot as it has high levels of antimony and may contain arsenic. Melting it releases these agents that help it retain roundness when used as shot. I think most who use shot just weigh out what they want and drop them in the casing and then epoxy it in place with no need to melt the lead.

Duncan

[handirifle]

#13720

Duncan wrote: [quote=handirifle]Sure you can get lead. I live in CA also. Go to tire shops and they usually have plenty of lead they pull off wheels. They may need to recycle it but most usually will give some. I used to get buckets of it from them. Gun shops might sell it. Dont buy shot, too hard and too expensive, get lead bars. Also check ebay

Don’t want to sound like a killjoy here but please be careful with molten lead, not only is there the obvious burn risk but more importantly the risk of breathing dangerous fumes. Tire weights are likely alloyed but with what metals? Melt lead outdoors and keep your head out of the fumes. By all means please don’t use commercial shot as it has high levels of antimony and may contain arsenic. Melting it releases these agents that help it retain roundness when used as shot. I think most who use shot just weigh out what they want and drop them in the casing and then epoxy it in place with no need to melt the lead.

Duncan

It’s not voodoo, but folks like me, have been casting bullets for many centuries, and as long as you use common sense there is no danger. For one, I suggested melting the lead once it was already in the casing and this could be done easily with a propane torch, in fact that would be a preferred method, since you could weigh them beforehand to match weights. Stay in a well ventilated area, and you could even have a small fan going.

Always wash your hands when done, this is sufficient to clean the lead residue off your skin.

Nearly all of the old style wheel weights were pure lead. Modern weights are usually zinc, and this could be used as well, it’s just lighter than lead so you’ll have to use more. Use the same precautions. You could use commercial shot with NO ISSUES, as long as you do it the same way as described earlier. Shot is a LOT harder than pure lead and requires a little more heat to melt.

[William Warren]

#15205

Handirifle is right its not voodoo. I think we got the message out to be careful and always use in a ventilated area, and melting a few shot in a few casings will probably not hurt you as long as you don’t hover over the fumes.

If you do breathe the fumes you will probably notice nothing immediately if ever. That is because lead has long term effects on the brain in even small amounts and it will build up in your system over time. Don’t take my word for it, look it up.

Zinc oxide fumes can and will make you sick, I know first hand as a professional welder, however the low heat at which we melt lead with zinc alloys will usually not release enough to hurt you. The lead itself is more of a risk.

Antimony is what makes shot hard to minimize deformity and increases accuracy of the shot by retaining roundness when shot. It is heavy like lead and occurs naturally like lead in nature. When something occurs naturally in nature it does not mean it won’t hurt you. Antimony carrys some heath risk too. Look it up.

To me its like this, if you ate enough onions it would kill you but nobody does that so use lead responsibly and it won’t hurt you.

[Author]

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