.177 pellet punch

[defcon]

I am trying to find a .177 pellet punch. When I was a kid we had a pellet punch.
It was a simple tool. It looked like a press drill with a lever, the bottom plate had 4.5 mm hole and a simple punch (smaller diameter than the hole to give thickness to the projectile and also produce the concave bottom of the bullet.) lowered with the lever to punch the lead through the hole. We gathered lead projectiles at a military range, melted them down and poured the lead. Then, we hammered the ingot to a sheet and punched out bullets. It was not sophisticated by all means, however it worked well. Nothing match grade not even commercial grade. Since it had to be done in secret (under communist rule one couldn't even possess an air gun, therefore no supply of pellets) it was really great. I shot doves with it for dinner since we were very poor. Anyhow, anyone knows where to get one of those punches in case the supply line breaks there would be a simple squirrel gun to fall back on?

 

[rcmodel]

I have never heard of one in the U.S.A. before.

Maybe a European thing?

As for the supply line breaking down on air rifle pellets?
Buy some now before it breaks down.

You could probably store two lifetimes supply of .177 pellets in a .50 cal GI ammo can.

rc

 

[pikid89]

perhaps this is what you are looking for

Pellet Swages that fit in a reloading press

http://www.corbins.com/pellets.htm

 

[defcon]

"As for the supply line breaking down on air rifle pellets?
Buy some now before it breaks down."

You are right about that.
My line of thinking was to be self sufficient. Using scrap lead tire wights or whatever one can lay hands on. You found it strange how some people think who escaped the sinking boat, climbed aboard a luxury liner what is about to hit the iceberg and the first class passengers have no idea what's coming toward them because they are blinded by the pomp. However, the escapee knows because he lived it through once.

 

[defcon]

perhaps this is what you are looking for

Pellet Swages that fit in a reloading press

http://www.corbins.com/pellets.htm

Thank you! I will look into it.

 

[defcon]

perhaps this is what you are looking for

Pellet Swages that fit in a reloading press

http://www.corbins.com/pellets.htm

Thank you again. It's quite sophisticated in comparison to the old (probably home made) pellet punch.

 

[Gordon]

Perhaps Defcon is the most insightful poster on the board!

 

[rcmodel]

My line of thinking was to be self sufficient. Using scrap lead tire wights or whatever one can lay hands on.

I do believe lead wheel weights will be outlawed entirely in the USA long before you cannot buy air-rifle pellets made of some other non-toxic metal.

They are already doing it.

rc

 

[BRad704]

If I were planning THIS intensely for survival after full social collapse, I would be stocking up on subsonic 22LR. Less noise, better range and accuracy than a .177 for sure!

 

[pikid89]

^ i dont know about that...ive heard subsonic ammo and ive heard high powered airguns...the 22 is still pretty loud

with the above swages, the pellets are not your normal lightweight skirt type pellets, they are solid heavy pellets (and quite accurate from what i read( their swages are used to make BR bullets)), more like actual bullets...in a quality high powered airgun, i imagine they would definitely hold their own in the accuracy and power level departments

i realize we tend to shun SHTF threads here at THR, but this thread kinda makes me realize that in long periods of ammo availability, even 22lr will dry up

it seems prudent that a quality mechanical piston airgun would be a good thing to have around, as with the above press, all one would need is to find lead to make ammo, rather than lead, brass, powder, and above all other ammo components, primers (which im sure would be the first thing to disappear)

 

[stickwhistler]

The link below is to a site where the 'owner' of the videos has made a mold for casting lead wire.

Obviously the bullets/pellets made will be solid, and therefore not waisted as per commercial bought pellets,
but when zeroed in should be fairly accurate. Enough to get dinner anyway.

Make a piece of lead wire the caliber you need e.g. 5.5mm for .22, and cut a consistent length i.e. 9mm long.
The slug would be flat, but so are wad cutter pellets, and they pack a real smack.

http://www.youtube.com/user/spinesales#g/u

 

[TimboKhan]

Defcon, I like the idea of self reliance, but this is a case where you will end up spending more time and money than it is worth. I went to pyramid air, and found these: [1250 count Crosman Premier Heavy pellets

Thats 1250 pellets for 23 dollars. Spend a 20 dollar bill plus change a month and you will have more pellets than you will ever need. Thats 2 cents a shot. In materials, time and equipment costs, can you really make them cheaper?

Also, I have no experience with that ammo. I just picked a random 5 star bulk ammo. There is other ammo on there that is cheaper, like 5 bucks/500 pellets, which obvious reduces your unit rate even less.

 

[defcon]

This is the second time I losing a message due to automatic log-off.
I got the .22 lr, long and short covered from the same little single shot. I am talking about an air gun for cottontails, doves and squirrels. Also, rifle training the youngsters and practicing without plinking away essential life saving firepower including bullets, primers and powder (we just save the brass from existing ammo)

Great idea stickwhistler! Thank you!
I was also thinking to make my own similar to the press drill. Get a heavy duty steel plate, drill a 4.5 mm hole into it and order a hardened steel punch with concave cutting surface from a die maker like CH4D.

 

[defcon]

Casting 4.5 mm lead wire


I am searching now for a 4.5 mm mold to cast my own lead wire. I found only jewelers mold with 4 different sizes in the same mold what is 3" long. That would take a lot of time producing wire in 3" sections. I guess 3" wouldn't be that bad if all 4 holes were 4.5 mm. (Lemme see... that would be a foot in one cast. Buying a few of those... hmmmm.)

 

[mr.trooper]

If I were planning THIS intensely for survival after full social collapse, I would be stocking up on subsonic 22LR. Less noise, better range and accuracy than a .177 for sure!

Another vote against this!

My .25 cal Walther Falcon is FAR FAR quieter than any standard sub-sonic .22LR. It is as quiet as a CB cap... but it cost less per round AND is not considered 'ammo' by freight companies.

My .25 cal launches a pellet that is 8 calibers larger and 3 times heavier to produce three times the power of your average .177 airguns - PLENTY of punch to take anything under 20lbs live weight.... OH, and I can buy buckshot in bulk for even cheaper ammo.

I've got half a dozen .22Lr rifles and a few .22LR pistols... and I plan on keeping them... but for pest control and hunting pot meat, I choose the pellet rifle in most situations.

No noise, no legal involvements, no hassle, and enough power to do most survival type hunting. there is no denying that pellet rifles have their place.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Does Gamo make a .25 whisper?
best of a few world, powerful rifle, easy ammo, and quite

 

[arcticap]

Our own THR member named Busyhands94 recently posted in the black powder forum about the .177 mold that he made by hand for his .177 black powder pistol. He also posted a youtube video about it. He basically made his own mold blocks and simply drilled a hole that's sized to cast a solid pellet of the right diameter. It only needs a few drops of lead solder to cast a pellet.
Here's the thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=588509&highlight=mold

Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lsBD_olB9Y&feature=channel_video_title

 

[mr.trooper]

Does Gamo make a .25 whisper?
best of a few world, powerful rifle, easy ammo, and quite

Unfortunately not... I WISH they made a 25 version... But I'm wishing for a .25 Discovery first. As of now, your options for springer 25's are:

* Beeman RX2 - 725 fps
* Benjamin Trail XL - 725 fps
* BSA Super sport XL - 700 fps
* Gamo Extreme Hunter - 725fps
* Gamo SOCOM - 1000 fps (lead free)
* Walther Falcon / Talon - 800fps
* Weihrauch HW90 - 725fps

As you can see, the playing field is essentially level. They all fudge their numbers a bit, but I don't think any one gun has a real-world velocity advantage over any of the others. I went with the Walther Falcon because it was the only good quality gun available at the time that had decent irons AND an available gas ram.

There are other PCP style guns that will give you more power in .25, but at the cost of double the money and additional equipment.

 

[defcon]

Another vote against this!

My .25 cal Walther Falcon is FAR FAR quieter than any standard sub-sonic .22LR. It is as quiet as a CB cap... but it cost less per round AND is not considered 'ammo' by freight companies.

My .25 cal launches a pellet that is 8 calibers larger and 3 times heavier to produce three times the power of your average .177 airguns - PLENTY of punch to take anything under 20lbs live weight.... OH, and I can buy buckshot in bulk for even cheaper ammo.

I've got half a dozen .22Lr rifles and a few .22LR pistols... and I plan on keeping them... but for pest control and hunting pot meat, I choose the pellet rifle in most situations.

No noise, no legal involvements, no hassle, and enough power to do most survival type hunting. there is no denying that pellet rifles have their place.

mrtrooper,

what size buckshot? #4?

 

[dirtykid]

I use the Gamo- "hunting pellets " with the little copper BB embedded in the tip,, I discriminate between bird-feeder clientele by picking-off the black-birds ( i might be racist) and leaving the mourning-doves and yellow finches/orioles/cardnials to get the best pickin's (oh yea the robin's get a free pass also) at less than 10-yards it perforates them and sometimes leaves small hole in neighbors vinyl siding,,whoops ! good thing i found grey-caulk to fill-in holes !!