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Posted: 2/28/2015 8:28:04 PM EDT
| Has anyone ever considered using the brass anvils as bird shot? I have about 10lbs that I was able to free from the spent primer wall and it got me thinking. I personally can't poke any holes, but this will be my first reload session attempting this. |
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Anvils wouldn't fly right. Maybe really up close work, but other than that it would be like shooting out tiny propellers. ETA: Let me get this right. You actually sat down and extracted 10lbs of anvils from spent primers? I hate to be the one to break this to you, but the cups are brass too. Plated in some cases, but brass none the less. Did you count them too? |
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$1.85lb x 10lbs = $18.50 and wouldn't be worth the hassle. The primers are are spent and separated from the cups, so I know for a fact that they're inert. The larger rifle/.45 anvils look like they'd be more effective than the smaller pistol/small rifle, however, they're far more of those than the ladder. The thought process would be in a defensive roll, or Turkey/Pheasant shot, where steel shot tends to be a bit more expensive (most of this was free, as discarded use). My only concern is them locking in to each other mid-flight, but for defense, that would be ideal. This is certainly going to be interesting as I test it and see what kind of spread I get. Since I can pull spent primers and even get them for free at several reloading shops around here, it could be worth the pain in the ass it was to get them out in the first place!!!!!! Yeah, 10lbs of this stuff took the course of several days. If someone finds a faster solution, please let me know.
After seeing this video: Homemade furnace, even if it turns out to be a bust, I could try a hand at casting the brass into shot any way. ETA: No, I did not count it HAHA! 
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Are all spent primera brass? I have silver, and brass colered ones, and 209's, that are both. Run a magnet through them. I was assuming they were brass because they will not stick to a magnet. I save mine in empty powder bottles and when I get some full ones I'll take them to recycle along with my scrap cases. The scrap yard I go to is about 3 miles from my house on the way to town so it's not an issue to go. They like to take in stuff like that all the time too!! |
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Quoted:
I bet that would be a wicked self defense load at close range. All those little things would make a nasty wound channel for sure!!! And I bet a bad guy couldn't pick those out of his ass as easy as bird shot!!!  And the courts would agree. I can see the headlines now. Homeles crack addict MAIMED by home brewed shot gun weilding homer owner. Victum states: He was lost and forgo where....... |
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And the courts would agree. I can see the headlines now. Homeles crack addict MAIMED by home brewed shot gun weilding homer owner. Victum states: He was lost and forgo where....... Quoted:
Quoted:
I bet that would be a wicked self defense load at close range. All those little things would make a nasty wound channel for sure!!! And I bet a bad guy couldn't pick those out of his ass as easy as bird shot!!! And the courts would agree. I can see the headlines now. Homeles crack addict MAIMED by home brewed shot gun weilding homer owner. Victum states: He was lost and forgo where....... I can donate some loads for ballistic gel testing, since I don't do that part of testing. The truth lies in the testing! This can either be a major success of spectacular failure. Either way, 90% of the components were free. |
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I have found a LOT of anvils are made of steel, not brass. I was decapping (hand tool) into a plastic bin and moved the bin close to a magnet - half the primers flew over to the magnet side. On the positive side, they don't stay stuck in the primer cups, so I have separated mine and the steel goes in the regular recycling and the brass cups in the brass recycling.
As for using brass anvils like fine bird shot, I wouldn't do it. Yes, they would be wicked, but they are an unknown quantity in terms of how they fly, what damage they'll do, and so on. They are VERY light, and would not retain much energy, so they probably wouldn't penetrate much of anything except (probably) eyes. And if that's all they can hurt, to me that sounds like a huge liability. |
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Quoted:
I have found a LOT of anvils are made of steel, not brass. I was decapping (hand tool) into a plastic bin and moved the bin close to a magnet - half the primers flew over to the magnet side. On the positive side, they don't stay stuck in the primer cups, so I have separated mine and the steel goes in the regular recycling and the brass cups in the brass recycling. As for using brass anvils like fine bird shot, I wouldn't do it. Yes, they would be wicked, but they are an unknown quantity in terms of how they fly, what damage they'll do, and so on. They are VERY light, and would not retain much energy, so they probably wouldn't penetrate much of anything except (probably) eyes. And if that's all they can hurt, to me that sounds like a huge liability. The smaller pistol/rifle primers give me doubts myself, but the large rifle ones show promise and have a similar weight than lead shot. I didn't take the steel ones into account, but I can spot the difference between them. The overall weight is definitely less and I always had concerns for them not being aerodynamic stable during flight. Ideally, if they flew sideways, it would be more predictable and far more effective in cutting. |
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$1.85lb x 10lbs = $18.50 and wouldn't be worth the hassle. Factor in the brass not worth reloading , it adds up. I wait till my 5gal bucket gets to the point it's too heavy to lift. Then hit my scrap place. It's worth our time as EVERYONE who reloads in the area makes use of the 1050 
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Quoted: Factor in the brass not worth reloading , it adds up. I wait till my 5gal bucket gets to the point it's too heavy to lift. Then hit my scrap place. It's worth our time as EVERYONE who reloads in the area makes use of the 1050 Quoted: Quoted: $1.85lb x 10lbs = $18.50 and wouldn't be worth the hassle. Factor in the brass not worth reloading , it adds up. I wait till my 5gal bucket gets to the point it's too heavy to lift. Then hit my scrap place. It's worth our time as EVERYONE who reloads in the area makes use of the 1050 The scrap dealers around here only pay about a buck/lb for scrap cartridge brass, and I have to twist arms to get that. |
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You guys didn't see the video!? Sand casting is very simple! If I ever figure out how to operate my end mill, who knows what else I can make with it. Besides, me most of my junk brass is converted to .300blk now.
It might be blasphemy, but if you're speaking of the Dillon 1050, then I wasn't all that impressed. I don't trust brass prep and reloading in the same operation, especially since my RT1200 broke on me. Consistent brass prep makes the XL650 run incredibly smoother, with far less problems. |
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