[i] I found this at another web site and thought it was funny as hell!!  It's kind of long but definitely worth the read.  The guy writing this is explaining how to make your own cheap ammo...out of wax!!  I would also like to know if anyone actually tried this...LOL[/i]

[b]SUPPLIES - TOOLS - PROCEDURES:

SUPPLIES:

Used Brass Cartridges:

Used cartridger ( Spent Brass ) is available in most calibers from well stocked
sporting goods ( Gun ) stores.

Also, always police up ( pick up and save ) the spent brass from your shooting
sessions with normal ammunition.

At the local discount sporting goods store, spent pistol brass costs 6 cents each, anpears to be indefinently re-usable.

New, primed brass is also available if you want to experiment with a minimum
of fuss. Locally, it costs 10 cents each ( 9mm ).

Be sure to get the proper size brass for your weapon - it is possible, for instance.
to jam a .40 caliber S&W / Ruger cartridge into a 9mm automatic and then need to have
it extracted by a gunsmith. Take the gun along and check the fit.

Primers:

Primers are available in several sizes, and you will need the ones which fit your
spent brass.

The 9mm Luger full metal jacket rounds make by Winchester use a "Small Pistol"
primer. The Winchester "Hydro-Shok" hollow point rounds appear to be larger
possibly a " Large Rifle" primer. If you have your choice of sizes, get brass which
will accept the larger primers.

The larger the primer, the more power your re-loaded wax bullets will have, but
even the "Small Pistol" primers have sufficient power for practice ammunition. If
you are shooting .45's, .38's, .357's, or even .25's, most of these cartridges will
accept a "Large Rifle" primer.

Locally, primers cost 1.7 cents each ( $17.00 / 1000 ) in all sizes. The nice person
behind the ammunition / re-loading counter can help you select the proper primers
to fit your spent brass. Always use the strongest primers you can get to fit your
brass.

Wax:

This is the easy part - go to your local supermarket to the canning supplies section,
and buy 1 pound boxes of parrafin wax. It comes in a box like butter quarters, and
typically has 4 slabs of wax which are just about the right thickness for re-loading.

TOOLS:

Only simple tools are needed - the only thing you really should have is a set of
medium or large size Vise-Grips or water pump pliers.

A decapping tool and die will make things easier and more convenient, and only
costs about $2.50.

Hammer

Long thin finishing nail

Block of wood drilled to accept back end of
brass cartridge with smaller hole drilled
through to let caps drop out

* These only needed if tou don't get the de-capping
tool and die.

Oven to heat and soften wax ( kitchen stove or convection oven )

PROCEDURE:

De-Capping:

1. Using either the de-capping die and tool, or wood block and nail, insert the point of the or the thin end of the tool into the open end of the spent cartridge and work
it into the little hole in the center of the back end of the cartridge - this is the primer ocket.

( NOTE: DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DO THIS TO A CARTRIDGE WHICH HAS A

LIVE PRIMER IN IT !!!!! ( as would be the case if you bought new, primed brass ).

ALWAYS CHECK TO SEE THAT THE PRIMER HAS BEEN FIRED !!!!!!!!!!!! THERE SHOULD BE

A ROUND DENT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PRIMER FROM THE FIRING PIN !!!!!!!!! ATTEMPTING

TO PUNCH OUT A LIVE PRIMER COUL

[b]Re-Priming:

1. Examine one of the primers - you will see that it has an open end with a lillte
piece of metal in it, and a closed, rounded end. The open end goes into the
cartridge first, so that the closed end sticks out of the back of the cartridge.
If you have any doubts, look at a regular bullet - that's what the end of the
cartridge should look like when you are done.

2. Set the opening of the Vise-Grips, or the water pump pliers so that you
can squeeze the long dimension of the cartridge when you close the handles.
( Don't squeeze hard - you will deform or crush the cartridge and ruin it ! )

( NOTE: FROM THIS POINT ON, YOU SHOULD BE WEARING REASONABLY HEAVY CLOTHNG ON YOUR R BODY, AND SAFETY GLASSES OR OTHER EYE PROTECTION - IF YOU
ACCIDENTALLY SET OFF A PRIMER THERE WILL BE SMALL METAL BITS FLYING EVERYWHERE.

THERE IS NOT A LOT OF POWER HERE, BUT IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH TO DAMAGE AN EYE !!!!!!!! )

3. ( This is the tricky part ) Set a new primer into the pocket ( opening ) in the end of
the cartridge with the open end of the primer facing INTO the cartridge, and press
on it with your fingertip to get it to stay in place. ( The primers are small, slippery,
and sometimes difficult to start this way - practice makes perfect ).

4. GENTLY !!!!!!!!! (This is also a tricky part ) use the Vise-Grips or water pump
pliers to squeeze the primer into the pocket.

( NOTE: COMMON PLIERS, NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS, ELECTRICIAN'S OR LINEMAN'S

PLIERS ARE REALLY NOT SUITABLE TO USE FOR THIS - YOU CANNOT APPLY

THE STRAIGHT LINE SQUEEZING FORCE REQUIRED. )

DO NOT SQUEEZE SUDDENLY OR HARD !!!!! - YOU COULD SET OFF THE PRIMER !!!!!

Slow steady pressure is what you want !!!. If the primer gets cocked to the side,
or is not going in straight, tease it around with the pliers until it slides straight
in. The primer must be squeezed all the way into the pocket, or the cartridge may
misfire because the primer is not solidly seated. ONCE THE PRIMER APPEARS TO BE
MOST OR ALL OF THE WAY STRAIGHT IN, Y SQUEEZE AS HARD AS YOU CAN WITHOUT - REPEAT - WITHOUT DAMAGING THE OPEN END OF THE CARTRIDGE. This is
about the right amount of force needed to fully seat the primer and insure
reliable firing. ( This is all a lot easier than it might sound, and a little practice
will allow you to re-prime a hundred cartridges during an episode of Gilligan's
Island. )

( NOTE: IF YOU SHOULD ACCIDENTALLY LOAD A PRIMER BACKWARDS - WITH THE OPEN END

FACING OUT OF THE END OF THE CARTRIDGE - YOU CAN TRY TO PRESS IT OUT AS

WITH A SPENT PRIMER, BUT DO NOT - DO NOT - DO NOT TRY TO HAMMER IT OUT.

IF IT WON'T COME OUT WITH GENTLE PRESSURE, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY DISCARD

THE CARTRIDGE - REMEMBER - IT ONLY COST ABOUT A NICKEL, AND EYE SURGERY

COSTS A LOT MORE - A LOT MORE !!!!!!! ABOVE ALL, DO NOT TRY TO FIRE IT

IN YOUR GUN - ESCAPING GASSES AND METAL PARTICLES COULD CAUSE SERIOUS

INJURY !!!!!!!! )

Reloading the cartridges:

1. Set your oven to the lowest possible temperature setting and warm the wax blocks
until they are fairly soft, and can be easily bent without breaking.

( NOTE: This is not REALLY necessary - it just makes things a lot easier - cold wax is
difficult to penetrate. )

2. Set a warmed block of wax on a flat surface and press the open end of a
re-primed cartridge all the way through the block so that the cartridge is filled
with wax.

CONGRATULATIONS ! You have just finished your first wax

This method would certainly make more room on my work bench once I tossed all the clutter caused by my Dillon equipment.

I guess a better title for this topic might be [b]The Getto Homeboy Reloading System![/b]

sgtar15