Wax Bullets for Indoor Shooting

Wax Bullets for Indoor Shooting
Want to shoot your Makarov indoors or in the backyard without freaking out the neighbors? Try casting your own wax bullets, then use a primer-only case to shoot them.


Don't Want to Cast Your Own?
We also carry X-ring rubber bullet sets. The only downside is that you need to recover the rubber bullets, clean them and reuse them. See the On-Line Shopping Cart Makarov Page for how to order.

Here's how to mold them:



Get a Lee Makarov bullet mold - Midway carries them and we might look into offering them.
Melt some candle wax from old candle stubs in a double boiler made of an old pot filled partially with water and a tin can as the inside pot. You don't need much and it's more efficient if you only melt a little at a time.
Pour the wax into the mold. If there's a top sprue plate, move it aside and pour directly into the mold. Then move the shield into place while the wax is still liquid. I found I didn't need to lube the molds for the bullets to drop free later.
Wait about 1 minute...this time becomes longer as the mold metal warms up and it takes longer to solidify. An ice water bath will compensate for that and increase your casting rate.
Open the mold and push the bullets out. Be careful not to put too much pressure on them yet or they'll deform. Put them in the fridge to completely cool, especially in hot weather.
Here's how to shoot them:



Take the appropriate brass and run it through the resizer/decapper and reprime the case. Run the case through the belling die being careful not to open it up too far.
Be sure the belling stage did not drop any powder into the case. You want the primer only.
Push the wax bullet into the case. Make sure you don't seat it to far. Since more bullet molds oversize the bullets in anticipation of a bullet sizing operation, the bullet should not go that deep. Make up a few more rounds this way.
Spritz the bore with a quick lubricant like WD-40 to minimize "waxing." This should be done every few rounds.
Put on eye and ear protection.
Chamber the round, aim and fire. This will not cycle the slide, so you'll have to eject each case separately.
Notes:



Follow all accepted safety rules. Wax ammo does not make your gun a toy and should never be fired at people or animals! OK, you can shoot cockroaches. :-) Furthermore, penetration is still considerable at short ranges (mine puncture 6 layers of Priority Mail box cardboard).
When shooting indoors, be sure you have proper ventilation. The fumes from primers are not good for you and will, at the least, give you a headache.
When you're all done, be sure to give the barrel a good scrubbing to make sure no buildup will cause problems at the range using real ammo.
Pictures:
Hover over pictures for captions