Worst Case Reloading

[ka8nbg]

I have heard of a guy in Australia that supposedly is making his own primers and powder because factory stuff is now all gone. Has anyone ever thought about once the powder, lead and primers are all gone, what can we do?

[ridgid1]

if they made there own primers and powder in the1800's we shurly should be able to find a way to manafacture ammo, right?

:confused:

[Rustyshakelford]

if they made there own primers and powder in the1800's we shurly should be able to find a way to manafacture ammo, right?

:confused:

I keep a lifetime supply on hand.

[ridgid1]

Nice....im Workining On Stocking Up Myself

[Rustyshakelford]

Nice....im Workining On Stocking Up Myself

Just remember 1+1+1. 1 part sulphur, 1 part saltpeter, and 1 part charcoal.

That is black powder.

[ridgid1]

Good To Know!! Where Might I Get These Items?
Do You Crush It All Together?

[shadowwalker]

There is a series of books,16, called Foxfire. I would recommend these to anyone. For just reading or survival or just to know how our pioneer ancestors did it. One has (mine are packed due to move) exactly how to make black powder from scratch, making chacoal,makeing saltpeter,finding and storeing sulpher.
31 years ago I had a buddy in Montana that made his own no. 11 caps. He had punched the circular discs out of aluminum beer cans,with a tandy leather hole punch. Then he had a pin type press he put the disc in and just pushed down. He made mixed the ingredients for the inside of the caps and put them in with a eye dropper. Let the mix dry and put in a good sealed container. He also made his black powder. He hunted the mountains around central Montana for over 64 years until he died. Driving to his hunting spot for mulies one fall.

[ka8nbg]

That is the kind of stuff that we will need. Thanks for your input. Will try to find these books asap.

[lazer128]

That is the kind of stuff that we will need. Thanks for your input. Will try to find these books asap.

Books are written by students at the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in NE Georgia. I have all (I think) of them. Great books to have on hand. Here's a link to a few on eBay right now. I have Vol. 1-10 I think.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Foxfire-Books-Volumes-1-4-Eliot-Wigginton_W0QQitemZ130276701870QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAntiquarian_Collectible?hash=item130276701870&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

[shadowwalker]

Thanks for the direction to them Lazer128. I also got most of my books on ebay one or two at a time until I got the whole set. For those that have never read one. You will be in for a real treat. The books are people telling stories to highschool kids about how they had to live growing up and how some of them still lived and survived in the seventies. They learned how to make do with nothing or almost nothing.
Alot of libraries around the U.S have these books to check out. Incase someone wants to read before you buy.

[lunicy]

There are a million resources to get the recipe for black powder. There are some ways to make primers, but very spotty at best. If, by some odd chance, I run out of ammo. Then run out of components. I go with a flintlock. Make the blackpowder. The rest is simple. Flint ignition, cast lead round balls. You can put shot and wadding down there too.

Realistically, if all the ammo is gone I'd probably work in a different direction. Bow and arrow for game. Improvised munitions for enemy. But If you must have a fire arm, that's how.

[Morguns1Cam]

Keep in Mind that black powder and smokeless gunpowder are entirely different beasts. Black powder is a class A explosive, gunpowder is a propellant, it burns rapidly and generates a lot of gas but it doesn't detonate. Making gunpowder as we know it today is a lot more involved, although I'm sure it can be done.
Ive often thought that if the govt wanted to kill hand-loading they would make it hard/difficult/prohibitively expensive to get primers. Ive seen books about recharging primers, but I think it would be a rather iffy proposition. It would definitely put a damper on your plinking. Better stock up just in case. Ive had primers for years and never had any go bad, and as long as they're kept dry they should keep for decades. Ive fired ammo that was loaded in the 1940's that still went bang!

[ka8nbg]

Primers

Ive seen books about recharging primers

Interesting. Do you happen to remember the names of any of these books? (HR 45 may just dampen reloading also, not to mention making a lot of people felons. You gotta just love the government.)

[Morguns1Cam]

(Do you happen to remember the names of any of these books? )

I dont remember the titles, Ive seen them at gun shows in the "literature" section. I remember thinking "I hope it doesn'.t come to that" I think Ill pick one up the next time I see one.
A Hi-Power rifle shooting friend of mine has a favorite expression concerning ammo " Buy it cheap and stack it deep" While ammo certainly doesn't seem cheap these days there may come a time when we look back and say " that was cheap" ( especially if we can't get it at all) So buy what you can and store it away for that rainy day. .22 rimfire is still relatively cheap (when you can find it) Its great for practice, small game and ITSHTF it will be good barter too.

[Dracos]

A friend once showed me how to reload primers using scraped off wooden matches. After about a dozen tries he got one to fire. I don't like those odds. If one could acquire some mercury fulminate or some lead stiffnate you may be able do better, but it would be tedious. And dangerous, and against the law. The only solution I can come up with is to buy enough primers to last your grandchildren a lifetime. Keep them in a cool, dry place. One buddy of mine says he turns the 5000 round sealed cases over once a year. I don't know about that, but it can't hurt.