Wax Bullet Shooting - Anyone else doing/done it?

[THREEDFLYER]

Hello all,

I was reading a story about Bill Jordan in a Skeeter Skelton book recently and I read that Bill would make paraffin wax bullets for his shooting exhibitions.

I did some research and ordered up .38 caliber was bullets from two different outfits. I also ordered a few .38 Special cases that have been modified to use #209 Shotgun primers.

Although I realize these are mostly used by fast draw and cowboy action folks, I thought it might be fun to try.

I may order up some .44 and .45 wax items if this goes well.

I am reading that the accuracy can be good out to 30 yards or so.

If you shoot or have shot wax bullets feel free to pipe in with your results or thoughts.

 

[Alk8944]

I used to shoot wax bullets some in the 1960s, when I was in high school, but have given the idea up as not worth the effort. The whole idea was that they can be shot in the basement using a simple bullet trap that can be no more than a cardboard box with a few pieces of old carpet inside. Accurate to 30 yards, get serious! Reasonably accurate at 15 feet. I doubt a paraffin bullet will even go 30 yards, but I never had reason to try.

You don't buy wax bullets, you cut them from sheets of paraffin, aka canning wax. Warm the paraffin enough to soften it and use the cartridge case to cut the "bullets" out. Paraffin is available at the grocery store. You have to load the bullet first and then prime the case, otherwise when you cut the wax bullet it will just be pushed back out by the air compressed in the case. The only modification needed to the cartridge case is to drill the flash-hole out to 1/8" so the primers don't back out and bind a revolver

You do not need shotgun primers, standard pistol primers give all the velocity needed. Wax bullets are not playthings, they are still dangerous. Shotgun primers will make them even more dangerous! One time I fired a .38 wax bullet at a WWII Army helmet liner thinking it would just splatter on it. The shot penetrated the helmet liner just like a wad-cutter! The range was about 15'.

If you actually paid good money for wax bullets and cases modified for shotgun primers you have been had!!

Speer made, or makes, what they call "Target .38" bullets and cases. They are plastic and intended for the same use as wax bullets and are re-usable. They also sold .44.and .45 versions. They may still be available, but you will have a hard time finding them if they are still available.

You wanted experiences and opinions, these are mine! I haven't known any of my shooting acquaintances to still mess with wax bullets for a very, very long time.

 

[BC38]

I bought a couple of thousand red 38 cal wax bullets and modified some 357 cases to take shotgun primers.
Lots of fun to practice close range target shooting real cheap.
It was pretty easy. I got a 6mm drill bit off eBay and drilled through the primer pocket. Then I used a 5/16" drill bit to bevel the hole so the rim of the primer would sit flush with the case head.
They sound about like a 22LR and are decently accurate.
FWIW, I tried shooting these same wax bullets with SPPs. They were VERY underpowered. Only accurate to around 15 yds as others have said.
But when I tried using the 209 shotgun primers that made a BIG difference.
The shotgun primers are a lot more energetic and make shooting the wax bullets a LOT more fun.
Also, keep in mind that the pre-molded wax bullets are a lot harder than the old paraffin bullets. Kind of like the difference between soft lead and hard-cast bullets.
With the commercial wax bullets and the 209 primers my wax loads are pretty accurate out to around 30-40 yards.

 

[Venom6]

Messed with them in the distant past. Works as advertised. Still have a few hundred commercial wax .38's. At that time the instructions were to drill out the flash hole of .38 Special cases (otherwise the primer would back out and lock the gun up). Accurate to maybe thirty feet, not thirty yards IME. Definitely clean the barrel before reverting to full-power bulleted ammunition.

 

[rockquarry]

Tried wax bullets a long time ago. They work well, but once you try the Speer plastic bullets with plastic cases you won't want to mess with wax.

 

[DWalt]

Long ago, I fired prodigious numbers of wax bullet .38 Special loads in my basement during the Winter (that was in Cleveland). I pressed cases through blocks of canning paraffin as described. I enlarged the flash holes by drilling and used regular SP or SR primers. Those are all you need, would not fool with shotshell primers. I think in my basement, I was shooting at about 25’ or so. Don’t shoot at your dog or cat. I would re-melt the fired wax bullets. I did not resize the cases.

I also tried using the plastic bullets, but mine were Winchester, not Speer. The bullets were usually too damaged to use after three or four shots and the plastic cases would split after about he same amount of firings. I used mainly paraffin and brass. Maybe todays Speer plastic cases and bullets are more durable.

Frankly, I believe using a good air or CO2 handgun provides just as good practice as wax bullets.

 

[robvious]

shot the Speer plastic 38's 8n the basement back in the 1970's out of dad's revolver... it was fun... have only thought about the wax stuff.. just never pulled the trigger.. lol

 

[BigBoy99]

Don't get shot by a wax bullet. At close distances, they hurt!

 

[Farmer17]

The Speer plastic bullets and cases seem to be far superior to wax and if you hang a heavy tarp they won't bounce far and you can reuse them dozens of times. Don't underestimate the power, I hung a blanket in my garage from the garage door overhead frame and shot one and the plastic bullet went through the blanket and put a pretty big dent that showed on the outside of the garage door. I only shot .38s and .44s and the accuracy is OK to 15-20 feet but the bullets always shot WAY low because they,re so light.

 

[Shark Bait]

I've done it with some 44s. I melted the paraffin in a tray, let it set up firm, and pushed primed cases into it like a cookie cutter. Makes a perfect wax wadcutter. The primer will launch the wax bullet fast enough to go through a tin can at about 10 feet.

 

[WR Moore]

I did it with .44. One of the things they don't tell you about wax bullets-at least in my experience-is the fun you have cleaning the gun afterward. That said, I have to admit that particular gun didn't have much of a forcing cone at the time. Much later, I recut it. That might make a difference, but I'm not gonna repeat the experiment.

 

[oink]

I was with an agency years ago where we did force on force with wax 38s. The wax would leave welts on uncovered skin. I don't recall the recipe but it wasn't straight paraffin wax. It was melted and mixed with something, possibly vasoline, to make it a bit softer, but I don't really recall. We used SPP in cases with drilled out primer pockets. I don't know how acurate they were other than they were accurate enough to get hit with in building search type scenarios. I never patterned any on paper.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I bet it is a bear to clean out a gun after shooting these

 

[Iggy]

As the training officer on the Highway Patrol, I created and ran a “Shoot don’t shoot “ training program using wax bullets and took it to all of the division HQs in the state.

Hung a heavy tarp on a special frame and used a slide projector to put images on it depicting different situations LEOs might encounter during traffic stops.

Officers made decisions to shoot or not and drew and fired at the “threat “ images.
They all missed the revolver held by my good looking blonde secretary with a really short skirt sitting in a car with the door open.

All Patrolmen and local Police officers and Sheriff’s deputies were invited to participate.

I used paraffin bullets and spent the night in a motel room reloading for sessions at the next division the next day.

Twenty three divisions in the state and a lot of paraffin and primers used.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I used to shoot wax bullets some in the 1960s, when I was in high school, but have given the idea up as not worth the effort. The whole idea was that they can be shot in the basement using a simple bullet trap that can be no more than a cardboard box with a few pieces of old carpet inside. Accurate to 30 yards, get serious! Reasonably accurate at 15 feet. I doubt a paraffin bullet will even go 30 yards, but I never had reason to try.

You don't buy wax bullets, you cut them from sheets of paraffin, aka canning wax. Warm the paraffin enough to soften it and use the cartridge case to cut the "bullets" out. Paraffin is available at the grocery store. You have to load the bullet first and then prime the case, otherwise when you cut the wax bullet it will just be pushed back out by the air compressed in the case. The only modification needed to the cartridge case is to drill the flash-hole out to 1/8" so the primers don't back out and bind a revolver

You do not need shotgun primers, standard pistol primers give all the velocity needed. Wax bullets are not playthings, they are still dangerous. Shotgun primers will make them even more dangerous! One time I fired a .38 wax bullet at a WWII Army helmet liner thinking it would just splatter on it. The shot penetrated the helmet liner just like a wad-cutter! The range was about 15'.

If you actually paid good money for wax bullets and cases modified for shotgun primers you have been had!!

Speer made, or makes, what they call "Target .38" bullets and cases. They are plastic and intended for the same use as wax bullets and are re-usable. They also sold .44.and .45 versions. They may still be available, but you will have a hard time finding them if they are still available.

You wanted experiences and opinions, these are mine! I haven't known any of my shooting acquaintances to still mess with wax bullets for a very, very long time.

You are SO correct.........I made "em"(in 38spl cases) to shoot wasp nest off the house eaves and play with...........As I have stated here before. When the wive was gone. I'd open the fireplace doors and tape a target to the top....Then I'd sit on the couch and and shoot the target......I purt much gave it up years ago.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I bought a couple of thousand red 38 cal wax bullets and modified some 357 cases to take shotgun primers.
Lots of fun to practice close range target shooting real cheap.
It was pretty easy. I got a 6mm drill bit off eBay and drilled through the primer pocket. Then I used a 5/16" drill bit to bevel the hole so the rim of the primer would sit flush with the case head.
They sound about like a 22LR and are decently accurate.
FWIW, I tried shooting these same wax bullets with SPPs. They were VERY underpowered. Only accurate to around 15 yds as others have said.
But when I tried using the 209 shotgun primers that made a BIG difference.
The shotgun primers are a lot more energetic and make shooting the wax bullets a LOT more fun.
Also, keep in mind that the pre-molded wax bullets are a lot harder than the old paraffin bullets. Kind of like the difference between soft lead and hard-cast bullets.
With the commercial wax bullets and the 209 primers my wax loads are pretty accurate out to around 30-40 yards.

Accurate to 45 feet??????????????? Accurate to 120 feet???????????

 

[Nevada Ed]

Some used a blanket or sheet to catch the wax bullets,
to try and keep them from hitting the ground and picking up dirt or sand, which could damage the barrel if they were shot a lot with dity wax.
containg hard materials.

The funny thing is, when I started shooting lots of 9mm with the family members,
I never did shoot the Speer plastic "Loads" that I made up, with the 300 primers. They are still in a small plastic black bullet box, waiting their turn.
I still don't know what they are capable of?

A LOT of wax went down range in the "Fast Draw" games.

 

[sjmjax]

Thought I’d share this experience.

I have some .38 caliber rubber bullets. I think Speer made them but not sure. I’ve had them a long time. Made from a tough “O-ring” type synthetic rubber and shaped like a .177 lead pellet.

Used a modified primer flash hole as previously suggested and a standard primer.

Loaded some up to practice indoor point shooting. Worked quite well. Except I found out the hard way that they will penetrate a hollow core interior door!

Take ‘em seriously and be mindful of your backstop!

 

[THREEDFLYER]

Thanks for the feedback and observations on the wax bullet question.

Yes, I have some of the Speer plastic cases/bullets around.

Yes, I own a high quality Walther C02 target pellet pistol and use it for indoor match and general target shooting.

Just wanted to give the wax thing a try, not much of an investment so will give it a whirl.

 

[Narragansett]

Back in the 60's we melted wax into a square cake pan and just pushed a primed 9mm shell into the wax and loaded into the P38. Worked fine