VII. Reloading Information

E. Miscellaneous Information

9. Wax Loads

by Norm Johnson (njohnsol@nosc.mil)

A rec.guns reader wrote:

How do you go about making wax bullets for indoor practice with a handgun?
For home practice, to stay familiar with your gun, trigger con- trol, point shooting fun, etc.

Wax loads. To load for revolvers:

  1. Set aside a lot of specially marked cases. Make sure that the marking is clear and easily seen so that these cases do not get mixed in with those used for regular cartridges.
  2. Fire these cases with regular loads in the revolver to be used/carried. DO NOT RESIZE.
  3. Punch out the old primer with a Lee type primer punch or one of those on the market that fits into a reloading press (it looks like a regular sizing die but is a universal primer punch used by people like me that prefer to clean the cases before resizing but want the primer pocket cleaned also).
  4. Clean the cases in your normal fashion. Do not reprime at this point.
  5. Drill out the primer pockets to about .100" for small primers and about .120" for large primers. This is a necessary step to avoid primer set-back when the wax rounds are fired. Primer set- back will tie up the cylinder.
  6. Melt and pour about 1/2" of household paraffin into a flat cake pan and allow to harden.
  7. When ready to make your wax "bullets", set the pan of wax in a pan of warm water (not hot) for 15 minutes or so. The wax is of an ideal consistency when one can imprint it slightly by firm application of finger or thumb to its surface. The hardness is not critical as long as the paraffin does not crumble when the cases are pushed into it.
  8. Push each unprimed case through the wax, mouth first, keeping the case as close to vertical as possible to assure that the wax bullet has squared ends.
  9. Using a dowel of appropriate size, push the wax bullet into the case as far as it will go without using excessive pressure. This will not kill the primer.
  10. Prime the case in the normal manner. DO NOT USE ANY POWDER!!! That's it!
Priming is done last because, if not, the pneumatic pressure that is built up when the "bullet" is pushed into a primed case will slowly push the bullet back out.

This load will usually shoot about 4 inches low at 20 feet. I am interested only in group size but if one wants to he can make a target with two bulls once the aim/hit relationship is estab- lished, one for aiming and the other for scoring.

Do not use these cases for regular shooting - it is purported to be hazardous to use cases with oversize flash holes for regular loads.

Again, mark the cases clearly (Birchwood Casey's Brass Black works well) so that they will not be accidentally used for regu- lar loads and so that it would be readily apparent if a regular cartridge got mixed with the wax loads - an occasion that might prove to be rather spirited!

Wax build-up in the rifling will need to be cleaned out occasion- ally but has not seemed to hurt accuracy at the 20 feet or so distances at which I use this load.

This load will hurt if it hits a person. My .45 ACP wax loads will dent plywood about 1/16" deep at 10 feet.

The wax can be remelted to use again.

It is remarkable how fast one can learn to point-and-shoot using wax loads. I had scarcely fired 50 rounds across my garage by the time I could hit a paint can every time without use of sights.

Do not use this load in an enclosed space if you are lead poisoning conscious. A back yard, an open garage, a family room with open windows or other spaces that can be well ventilated can be used to make an effective range. The report sounds like a cap pistol.

There are plastic cases/bullets on the market to do this but wax is inexpensive.

Have fun!