Gassiest primers?

[JustJim]

No igniton problems with shotgun primers? I wondered about that. Not sure the DA hammer strike from a K/N frame is quite the same as the SA strike from a BH. Might be worth trying though.

No ignition problems that I could detect shooting wax bullets, but that was just in one gun. I don't think the gun was modified beyond a trigger job.

On a few other occasions--including with S&Ws--I've used WLRs w/o problems. These were usually cylinder-length shot loads for various revolvers using rifle brass. Pistol primers would often set back and tie up the cylinder, but they worked fine with LRs.

I also modified some 357 cases to use WLPs with wax bullets. These worked fine in the Model 13 I had then. Judging by the splatter when the wax hit the target, the velocity of the projectile was higher.

Any of the modifications (except enlarging the flash hole) was a pain with my tooling. It was doable with a drill press, but would have been much easier with a lathe.

 

[JonB]

I have a "Convert-A-Pell" kit (bought it in the 1990s) that can be used on any 357 Mag revolver with 6" barrel, uses small pistol primers and shoots .177 pellets. I've found that .177 lead round balls work better than pellets.

The kit looks like this. Barrel sleeve held in with rubber orings, and machined brass cartridge cases.

Convert-A-Pell .357 To .177 S&W, Ruger, Colt +

This kit is in excellent condition and I believe it is considered the Deluxe version. Barrel insert is 6.5 total length so I believe this will work in any .35

www.gunauction.com

 

[Bret4207]

Keith, I've used a LOT of the Speer plastic case and bullet set up's. They were standard in our Academy for the girly boy snow flakes that had never been around guns too. I've also used the wax bullet per Bill Jordan. I can tell you that both those, powered just by a primer, sting like a son of a gun through denim if your buddy decides to pop you from 15-20 feet away. They will also go right through a felt hat at a few feet, through heavy cardboard, will break windows and will break the skin if hit right. I'm not sure you are going to need anything special in the way of a primer based on the welts, bruises and black and blue marks I've suffered and broken windows I've had to replace. And yes, I was among the young and stupid at one point in my life. Fortunately, that period only lasted 50 years or so...

 

[Brad]

I would think was bullets would be a fine idea. A bad of old newspapers will stop them and a primer alone will make them go.
Paraffin with a little microwax should be a good mix and the price will be right. Might run $12/lb but a pound of wax bullets is a LOT of bullets.

 

[RBHarter]

209ML are probably about as excitable as your going to get .

If you're making cases with a stop shoulder and a deep flash hole just big enough to remove the primer it would remove the space that needed to be filled before the pressure building .

 

[david s]

Keith, I've used a LOT of the Speer plastic case and bullet set up's. They were standard in our Academy for the girly boy snow flakes that had never been around guns too. I've also used the wax bullet per Bill Jordan. I can tell you that both those, powered just by a primer, sting like a son of a gun through denim if your buddy decides to pop you from 15-20 feet away. They will also go right through a felt hat at a few feet, through heavy cardboard, will break windows and will break the skin if hit right. I'm not sure you are going to need anything special in the way of a primer based on the welts, bruises and black and blue marks I've suffered and broken windows I've had to replace. And yes, I was among the young and stupid at one point in my life. Fortunately, that period only lasted 50 years or so...

Used the Speer plastic ammo on deer in the fruit trees, the deer actually learned.

 

[KeithB]

Here are a couple of graphics showing a cross section of the Speer type primer powered cartridge and my idea for a cartridge. Forgive the shakey drawings. I want to use a hollow based bullet that fits over a post on the base case. I can control the gas expansion volume by the depth and shape of the bullet's base. Obviously a lot of figuring out various dimensions is needed.

 

[bruce381]

I like the first none O ring idea or just copy the Speer primer powered .38/.357 size cartridge with a plastic reusable bullet.

 

[fiver]

your making this hard.
everyday store bought glue sticks come in 312 diameter [there are other sizes too] and you can just cut them off and shoot them in a 30 caliber handgun.
[only not at your nice metal garage door, even if it's covered with 1-1/2"s of Styrofoam]

barring that just get out your hot glue gun and your favorite mold then squeeze it full of hot glue.
put a primer in the case and seat the bullet down inside as far as possible
wad cutters and SWC's work best, but RNFP types will work just fine too if that's what you got.

 

[Mitty38]

Not trying to be mysterious or anything. My ultimate goal is to be able to shoot some of my centerfire revolvers indoors in our shop using low powered reusable loads. I have a sample of a Speer primer powered .38/.357 size cartridge with a plastic reusable bullet. I'm trying to come up with something similar but designed a little differently. I don't have access to any plastic molding equipment but I can make anything I need in any practical quantity using our CNC lathe.

I also have access to all sorts of materials, I can try different types of polymers for the projectile, maybe even for the case (instead of metal). Like to try some Teflon impregnated stuff for the bullet, Nylon is pretty slipppery also.

I understand adding a pinch of powder to generate more gas but at this point I'd like to try using primers only.

Some pretty good ideas from you guys but now that I've described the situation you can see that some just don't apply but thanks anyway for sharing your thoughts.

I've tried BB and pellet pistols but none are quite the same as a full size DA revolver.

I'm with Joshua and the foam earplugs.
I do not now his formula but ran across a fellow shooting those in a .357 at a range. Think he said he used just a small pistol magnum primer. They were pretty accurate at 5 yards.

 

[JustJim]

Did a quickee experiment this evening. Reamed out a cut-down 44 mag case to take a .22 power load (Remington Yellow #4), seated a wax bullet. The gun didn't tie up, but it took two tries to get it to go off (I'm blaming that on the "primer" being centered in the case rather than offset so the rim would be struck). The wax bullet broke a piece of 1/4" masonite at about 20', with splatter breaking one of the fluorescent tubes on the ceiling.

Power loads leave a lot of fouling, and I suspect the "primer pockets" should be off-center, but using .22 blanks as a primer might be an option.

 

[L Ross]

I would think was bullets would be a fine idea. A bad of old newspapers will stop them and a primer alone will make them go.
Paraffin with a little microwax should be a good mix and the price will be right. Might run $12/lb but a pound of wax bullets is a LOT of bullets.

I you use the wax to pluck ducks first would the feather residue make them "fly" better?

 

[fiver]

only if you get them all aligned in the same direction.

I don't know if I'd use those 22 power load thingies.
22 priming compound has quite a bit of 'stuff' in it to make it more sensitive.