Inspiration

Inspiration is one of those funny things. You never know where or how it will strike. Many writers feel that waiting for it is pointless and anyone wanting to be a writer needs to go out and find their ideas without it. Well, here are some thoughts on finding it.

Making Jacketed Bullets

In another section I went over how to make cast lead bullets. There is a limit to how fast these can go. That’s one of the reasons for jacketed bullets.

A modern bullet is normally two parts. There is a lead core to give it the mass and a copper jacket to hold it together before, and after, it hits. There are other types, but the copper jacket represents the bulk of the market. While far less common than casting lead bullets, there are people who make their own jacketed bullets.

Making Bullets (cast)

In another section we went over how to load your own ammunition. This one is different. This is how to make your own bullets. From (nearly) scratch.

First up is cast bullets. These are far more commonly found made at home than jacketed ones. As with making most things, you need equipment. In this case, you need moulds, a furnace, a sizing press, and lube.

The first thing to keep in mind is that:

Reloading Shotguns

Shotguns rounds differ from handgun and rifle rounds in three main ways.

The first is that they are mostly plastic. Some are actually paper, but they can’t be reloaded. More accurately, they shouldn’t be. Shotgun casings are also commonly referred to as Hulls, and can come in a number of colors. Most 12 gauge hulls are red. Most 20 gauge are yellow, and most 10 gauge are black. 16 and 28 gauge are rare enough now that I can’t recall which is purple, and have no idea what the other one is.

Reloading

It probably goes without saying that no company actually makes silver bullets or rounds filled with holy water or garlic powder for those pesky vermin that come sniffing around some stories. Fortunately, it’s really not all that hard for a person to make their own conventional ammunition. This is not completely without risk, but it’s possible. Specialty stuff is a little harder.

How easy is it?