doomsday/what if / making ammo type question

[soundguy]

ok.. all funny aside about zombies and such... here's just a simple what if i'm throwing out.

for whatever reason.. society colapses and we are on our own ( war, plauge, zombies.. aliens.. whatever.. )

ok.. tose of us with guns and that have relaod supplies are set... for a while anyway.

ok.. lets get down to it. many of us may have ? pounds? 10-20 of powder.. maybee more.. maybee less? a few thousand primers at least. not uncommon to have a brick or more of each type you use.. so having 4-8k primers on the shelf is no big deal.

projectiles? ok.. may hit a lil limit there.. we might have a couple boxes of 100 of each type we use for each caliber. maybee enven boxes of 500 for those prolific shooters. ok.. starting to hit a lil crunch there....

answer to that one could be easy... have access to lead and melt your own. in a doomsday situation it's not too far fetched to scavenge old batteries and in a pinch.. cast some lead projectiles... ok.. doable.. so that one isn't dritical.

cases... I think this is where we may have an issue. how many cases we got? for my lesser shot calibers.. I bet i got 300 or less.. for a few i shoot ALOT.. like 222 and 3006.. I probably got 750-1000

ok.. these things are life-limited. many of my 222 cases are now on their 2nd if not 3rd shot now. same on my 3006. I still got maybee 200 virgin factory to shoot and add into the mix.. but the rest of my 3006 is all range pickup and some of it is 60's era greek milsurp for sure.. last batch i picked up was quite old.. actually had a primer pocket fisure that allowed some gassing after fireing. . thus these cases .. the bulk of them.. might only have 1-3 fireings left.

that's gonna be an issue. we can make out own projectiles if push comes to shove.. but eventually.. cases will be useless.

at that point? revert to muzzle loaders? ( )

only semi joking there.

I have an online rifle using #11 caps.. have a small 36 cal musket as well

have one flit lock.


also have a couple 22cal peperboxes.. they shoot 22 cal pellets loaded backwards intot he cyl.. neat lil guns....charge dipper is a 380 cal shell with a hex key pressed intot he primer pocket. fill dipepr with pyrodex, charge and then mas the pellet in.. x6 then cap and go. neat lil guns.. but anyway.. back to the issue.

cases... that's gonna be the issue right? I mean.. we can make projectiles..a nd back to basic chemistry.. if nothing else.. black powder... coal/charcoal, a nitrate.. like potasium nitrate.. and sulfur..e tc..

any comments or opinions?

i know one thing. having a FEW ( and a few more ) bricks of 22lr in ziplock baggies with a lil dessican't packet.. then those wrapped in tin goil, then those stored in metal ammo crates with good greased gaskets and good paint ont he exterior....might be a LIFESAVER at some point...

[76Highboy]

Oh no, I'm only good for a cylinder full.

[jack404]

dont ask

dont tell ..

ready? AYE READY!!!

you can make factory grade powder for CF if you think about it

try alcohol precipitation ... you'll triple your expansion rates and get awful close to factory MV's

primers ( percussion caps) can be made too

now if you want to try some sweet mixes ( dex sugar based ) then you will exceed factory MV's

[soundguy]

i'd have to think a nit on fulminating compound for perc caps.. hmm....

[skullfr]

Thats when ya do your shopping by ambushing convoys.

[jack404]

i've just swapped to oftig's mix aint bad eh

stolen from where he posted it

[Alpo]

You do not want to use battery lead. Not for the last 30 years or so. The chemicals and heavy metals they add to modern batteries, to make them "maintenance free" are exceedingly dangerous.

http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/show...ight=nerve+gas

Read post 12. I'm too lazy to say it again.

[aa1911]

Like Skullfr said, use your (relatively) small cache to gain more ammo!

There's tons of ammo already made for ya out there, just gotta go get it. (may be easier said than done)

A little ammo can last a long time if you're frugal also; most game can be taken with one or two shots. Save some for personal defense though too. If you do get into a gunfight and survive (but deplete your ammo) chances are that the other guy(s) have ammo 'cause they were just shooting at you, so loot their corpses for their boo-lits!

But I do believe in having a fair amount to start with. It's what your wallet can handle I guess, or at least it is with me.

On cases, maybe invest in some BP cartridge guns (even ones using smokeless now), low pressures and straightwall cases can last thousands of reloads. Who was it, Pope that shot the same case in a Sharps or something like 100,000 times shooting buffalo?

[Twicepop]

I read a story several years back about the Afghan warriors fighting the Russians. They had a motley assortment of weapons they were using, the ones that I remember the most from the story were older British SMLE's and copies of the same. The were using fire brass as long as it held up, and in several cases they reverted to the old process of making coiled brass cartridges to supplememt the ammo shortages. Primers were removed from the cases and with a small punch the firing pin indent removed, and a mixture of ground/pulverized match heads and some other chemical (I don't remember what it was) used to re-charge the primers. The cases were charged with old celluloid movie film cut into very small squares, and used in the place of rifle powder. I don't recall what the story said about projectiles, but I thought the other bits of the information were interesting in what could be done when you're out of conventional components.

those who beat their guns into plowshares, will plow for those who didn't

[zkovach]

I took some criminal justice classes and the things guys could make in prison was amazing! I even saw a coffe maker fashioned out of scavenged items. The thing is I bet u could put these guys in home depot and the wouldn't be able to make anything. Give them nothing and then they come up with all sorts Of items made from nothing.

[1LoneWolf75]

There are several books out there about makin yer own ammo from various things. The hardest is the brass. I've read one that told me how to reload rimfires once. Can't remember now. Like the OP said though brass is gonna be the most limitin part.

[jack404]

zkovach , mate here reckons its a few smart ones who do the inventing in the can , the rest copy ..

making a jug element aint hard two bits of wire to plates of metal and something to hold em apart so they arc under water ..

tattoo gun a bit harder but doable

a gun , same same ammo would be the hardest...

lone wolf , i'll happily pay if yo can find that for me , ( reloading rimfire) i've a couple ways now so looking at others

[1LoneWolf75]

Jack the book I read is called "Homemade ammo how to make it, how to reload, it how to cache it" by Duncan Long. www.paladin-Press.com. Haven't tried any of it, just a good idea to read as much as I can. Here is the only place I've found it http://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Ammo-.../dp/0873648161. The copy I read is my uncles and he's had it fer a while.

[jack404]

http://i.minus.com/1344662895/Iu5PqD...And%20Ammo.pdf

http://i.minus.com/1344663985/_6Rlhl..._Ammo_Book.pdf

http://i.minus.com/1344664714/FGbWZN...Book%20(1).pdf

[X Ring]

Save some for personal defense though too. If you do get into a gunfight and survive (but deplete your ammo) chances are that the other guy(s) have ammo 'cause they were just shooting at you, so loot their corpses for their boo-lits!

This is a good excuse to have one gun of every caliber made, so any ammo you find can be used. At least that is going to be my story.

[skullfr]

I feel the best bet would be using what you have to obtain whatever the enemy is using so you could resupply off thier dead.Plus I would want full auto in whatever the enemy carries and it gives you the ability to scrounge explosives in the form of grenades and c4.Alaways best to use thier own stuff against them.

[soundguy]

Originally Posted by skullfr

I feel the best bet would be using what you have to obtain whatever the enemy is using so you could resupply off thier dead.Plus I would want full auto in whatever the enemy carries and it gives you the ability to scrounge explosives in the form of grenades and c4.Alaways best to use thier own stuff against them.

yep.. take enemy ammo.. then give it back to them with extreme accuracy!

[RandyP]

In the event of an actual end if the world scenario? MOST will quickly die and they will be the fortunate ones. The rest of the survivors will quickly become Amish and hermits and try to protect what they have hoarded from the 'others' who will try to take the stuff from them. There ain't enough bullets.

[jack404]

Randy , ex mennonite here , 99% of folks aint got what it takes to be armish or mennonite , me included , thats a awful hard working life

[soundguy]

Originally Posted by RandyP

In the event of an actual end if the world scenario? MOST will quickly die and they will be the fortunate ones. The rest of the survivors will quickly become Amish and hermits and try to protect what they have hoarded from the 'others' who will try to take the stuff from them. There ain't enough bullets.

randy.. in an EOW ( end of the world ) situation.. none of us will have to worry about it. the world will be gone!

In an EOC, ( end of civilization ) situation. that's where the grain will get seperated fromthe chaff..e tc.