Homemade shot

[coloradoclyde]

Homemade shot....Any body use it?

 

[vulture]

I would like to know how to make home made shot.
:hmm:

 

[bpd303]

The easiest way is to use a shot maker. http://www.brownells.com/reloading...ccessories/littleton-shotmaker-prod41902.aspx

Or you could make your own shot maker if you are handy.
https://www.google.com/search?q=lead+shot+maker&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

[coloradoclyde]

I should have added ...anybody shoot the teardrop stuff with tails?

 

[Grizzly Adams]

I have made and shot some of this so called "swan shot". I have a pattern that I shot with swan shot out of a .410. The testing took place at 25 yards. Mind you that the lateral cuts on the paper are from other shots. What worked better was cut lead. Simply flatten a roundball and cut it into squares. I made the swan shot by pouring the lead through a sieve and it fell into cold water about an inch below.

 

[JD Peppergrinder]

I haven't tried it but I would like to. I wonder if the shape effects patterns?

I did find a video on making swan shot. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aM5KMpZ3DyM

 

[coloradoclyde]

I actually like "swan shot" I have a spoon with tiny holes in it...fill with lead and tap it and it drops balls into water I have a homemade littlteton type that makes swan sometimes.
Cut lead.. too much work.

 

[Darkgael]

I have a Littleton machine with double drippers. I make most of my shot with it....maybe 250 lbs a year.
Pete

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Swan shot seems to work fine in bigger bores. I don't think it really got a fair shake in the .410 being so small. Cut lead is indeed a lot of work. I would like to see how cut lead performs with regards to stopping power on game- my thinking is that the sharp edges might be of benefit.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Have done. It worked just fine.


B.

 

[Many Klatch]

I have a mold for the teardrop stuff. When I shoot it the stuff must come out spinning. Every time I shoot it at paper they all go through sideways. At 15 yards, I have rung three gongs at once.

 

[Tinker2]

At 15 yards, I have rung three gongs at once.

:haha:

 

[Grandpa Ron]

I know of two folks who made their own shot with moderate success. Both stopped making it because of the effects of lead poisoning. Both also thought they we being careful enough.

I have a friend that loves to play with Swan shot. It makes nasty looking holes in paper. What its usefulness in hunting would be is hard to judge. You trade range, shot count and penetration for jagged looking wounds.

 

[coloradoclyde]

You trade range, shot count and penetration

I wouldn't make that distinction. I have had different results.

 

[Vaino]

Some yrs ago I bought a Browning Superposed O/U which had tight bores and I wanted to use it on ruffed grouse. Always handloaded all my shotgun loads, so tried to think of a way to open the patterns. Finally took #8 shot and sandwiched between 2 steel plates and whacked the top plate w/ a big mallet. The shot became somewhat flattened and did open the pattern quite a bit....although somewhat erratically. Shot many grouse w/ this flattened shot, but then got rid of the Superposed and no longer used the flattened shot....Fred

 

[cynthialee]

Your swan shot looks pretty spiffy.

It dawns on me that you could get this type of shot rounder if it was tumbled. Then you could sort by size.

 

[Vaino]

Deformed shot, a lot of it "homemade" is excellent for short range shooting because of its, wider erratic patterns. My flattened #8s did fine up close early in the grouse season, but later w/ the leaves off, was lousy for the normally longer shots.

Try pass shooting for ducks w/ deformed shot....shot is round for a reason which is well known...it's aerodynamic.

Just the shot rubbing on the bbl can deform it and that's why plastic shot sleeves are used in modern shotshells for tighter, more uniform patterns....which extend the killing range.

So....up close, deformed shot of any sort, will work fine...but, for longer ranges, it's not the "stuff" to shoot......Fred

 

[smoothshooter]

I have read that adding a little antimony makes a big difference in getting good quality shot when using the sieve method. Also , the higher up the melted lead is dropped from, the rounder it will be. Some of the old shot towers look like they were at least 100 feet tall, and some double that.

 

[R.C.BINGAMAN]

There is still an original shot tower in Baltimore Md.at the inner tower.

 

[George]

And what may be the first American one is in Wythe Co., VA, on the New River near Austinville. It's Jackson Ferry shot tower, in Shot Tower State Historic Park. You can climb it, and it's impressive to see.

Spence