Ammo for Reduced Loads - Home Shooting

Here we are.
In the SHTF thread I posted a few pictures taken after shooting with a new “toy”.
I bought a pack of 6 .38 Special shells for shooting at home during this frigging lock-down.
I was a bit scheptical, but actually only heard good opinions about these products.
They are made for 9x21 and .38 Special/.357 M. And now also for .223 Rem. No idea if they’re ok yet, but I’ve seen that there are the first few reviews on the net.
The manufacturer suggests to use Large Rifle Magnum primers for the handgun calibers.
I’ve seen the video of an Italian U-tuber and it seems that with those primers the bullets land at POA at 10 metres. .38 that is.
I used Large Pistol primers, not even magnums, and my bullets landed, at 10 metres, 6 inches lower than my normal wad cutters at 15 metres.
I adjusted my POA and the group was phenomenal. I normally use the 6 ‘o clock hold, but that threw me off the box with the target. Aiming at the red dot at 12 ‘o clock made the trick.
The noise is nothing, just a small bang. No ear protection needed. It just stinks a bit, but to me that is perfume;-D
Backstop.
With LP primers, my bullets go through two complete cardboard boxes (the big brown ones for a table-kit) and a lighter one (the black one with the target on it). Perfect holes, through and through. But no signs on the wall.
I put three or four newspapers in the small box and so I could catch all the bullets in the small box already. The bullets chow up the papers, but get stuck.
With LRM primers, the result could be quite different. The energy is over 23 joule, so pretty substantial.
Loading is simple. Just a hand-priming tool or a rubber mallet, and then pressing the bullet with the thumb in its place.
Depriming can be done with the proprietary tool, if you buy the kit including it, or with a simple punch, as I did.
Goes fast enough and is very easy.
The kids had a lot of fun.
The bullet shown in the picture has 4 or 5 “rounds” already on her shoulders, so, if you don’t shoot walls or hard surfaces, they last a lot.
I was thinking about buying the 9 mm brass. The bullets are the same.
I want to train a bit for dynamic shooting, and need to regain my ability at draing and shooting quickly.
The thing is called Aravon’s Blu.
It is made by an Italian Company.
Sorry for the turned pictures. I don’t know why that happens sometimes...

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Very interesting. I could possibly set up a range in the basement for these. Not sure I can get them in the US however. Checked a website I can fudge through a bit but as I don't speak Italian, unsure of most of it.

I have been doing something similar with full bore ammunition using the French method of making gallery ammunition, using flash paper for propellent and a lead ball projectile.. I have managed to source proper flash paper from a Magic Supplies company and cut them into 1/2" x 1 1/2 " rectangles, folded into a W and put in the case. The projectiles are simply lead balls of the appropriate diameter (basically bore diameter plus a few thou) coated with liquid Alox. I am using .312 for .303 and 7.62x54 and .324 for 7.92x54, 7.92 Kurtz and 8x50 Lebel. You just need to press the ball into the mouth of the case with thumb pressure.. no need for a press. I believe buckshot will work with .308, but you need to check..
They are perfectly usable on a .22RF range and are extremely accurate. There is no danger of detonation, over charging or use of wads etc.. The bore is a bit mucky afterwards, but this is mostly from the Alox..

The method works well for rifle calibres up to about 8mm.. above this there is a tendency for the ball to stick in the bore.

The French manufactured a round lead ball or spherical ball for reduced loading at 15 meters called the Mle 1895 2nd type. The round lead ball loaded 8Attachment 113590Attachment 113591Attachment 113592 mm Lebel in my photos is headstamped 3 - 18

I used a method involving a primed 38 Spl case and a plate of half inch thick wax. Use the empty case like a cookie cutter and the bullets are flush with the case mouth. They fly fine for eight yds, the distance across my basement in one of my married quarters. There was no real buildup of wax. The targets are paper and hung suspended from a wire, towel behind them. Just use a box for the catch. Yes, the primers back out.

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Originally Posted by RCS

The French manufactured a round lead ball or spherical ball for reduced loading at 15 meters called the Mle 1895 2nd type. The round lead ball loaded 8Attachment 113590Attachment 113591Attachment 113592 mm Lebel in my photos is headstamped 3 - 18

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There is also such ammo for the Carcanos. Now it is collector's stuff...

For the loads I'm using, I found that amazon.it, Mcallister.it and probably also Brownells.it have them.
Maybe ebay could be helpful too.

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Originally Posted by browningautorifle

I used a method involving a primed 38 Spl case and a plate of half inch thick wax. Use the empty case like a cookie cutter and the bullets are flush with the case mouth. They fly fine for eight yds, the distance across my basement in one of my married quarters. There was no real buildup of wax. The targets are paper and hung suspended from a wire, towel behind them. Just use a box for the catch. Yes, the primers back out.

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Just the normal Small Pistol primers?

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Originally Posted by Ovidio

normal Small Pistol primers

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That's all I used, here have a read about it... American Rifleman | How to Make and Reload Wax Bullets

Matter of fact, I shot a tin beer can and it about tore the bottom off.

I'll take a look at that too.
Would be fun to have also some "wax cutters"...

Made some of those wax wad cutters myself. I did bore out the case to take 209 shotgun primers. That sent them.

I vaguely recall that Speer? once made dedicated PLASTIC, reloadable 38 Spl "ammo". Separate plastic (polycarbonate??) case and bullet. These were around in the 1960's and '70's.

Primer ONLY propulsion, good for 8 - 10 yards. Not too noisy. Just run the extractor fan to remove the lead fumes, although, these days, you MIGHT be able to find 'lead-free" NT small Pistol primers as loaded by several ammo makers. NT primers have a different "flash" which is why the cases have flash holes that are larger than normal,

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Originally Posted by Bruce_in_Oz

I vaguely recall that Speer? once made dedicated PLASTIC, reloadable 38 Spl "ammo". Separate plastic (polycarbonate??) case and bullet. These were around in the 1960's and '70's.

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Yep, those too.

I have some in my collection, believe from the 1970.s. Not too accurate, had a red case and black bullet

So who can find primers. I hear maybe April or maybe April of 2022

Seems they’re expanding the range of products.
Interesting.

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Since I like shooting a lot, and I don't want to always be limited by Covid, by holidays, by other impedimenta, I decided to give a dry-fire system a try.
Yesterday I received "the bullet" and set up a short range at home, 7 metres.
Downloaded the app on my iPad and put a standard 8 inch target, in this case all white, on the wall.
Chambered the round and started shooting at it single action with my Bernardelli P-One. Being that a personal defence pistol, POA and POI coincide perfectly.
I must say that the system works well.
I got all the shots, showed them exactly in the right spot also in the iPad and got me happy enough to be really willing to start using it regularly.
This week I'll be a tad busy, but maybe on Sunday I will be able to set up my range in the garden, where I can shoot at 15 metres without being seen by nobody, and start training.
Tonight and Saturday morning I'll be RO on the range, so I'm not giving up the real shooting. I just wanted some simple way to keep the skills even in case Dystopia should go on still...

https://spitfire-wax-bullets.myshopi...nt=25797458691
Looks like all is in stock...not surprising with primers so hard to find. Do was bullets shoot well in, say, a 1903 Springfield? I'd love to work with my kids on positional shooting with these.

This is how the target looks like.
I’m really enjoying it at the moment.
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