fineshot getting too spendy, what to do?

[Dick Dastardly]

Years back I started making my own fineshot.  Then, prices went down far enough that I simply bought it.  I remember paying something like $11 a bag.  So, my Littleton Shot Maker got mothballed.  Things have changed.

Last fall, Pukin' Dog, Rotten Redeye Randy and myself got together and got that shot maker running again.  Cut to the chase.  A box of One ounce reloads is running me $2.50 now.  That's a dime a roar.  I can still enjoy my scatterguns.

So, get some pards together and rent, borrow or buy a Littleton shot maker.  Then, get yer hands on all the ww metal you can and start making fineshot.  Magma Engineering sells Littleton shot makers.

DD-DLoS

[sundance44`s]

The sticker price on that little machine makes the price of a bag of shot look good ...I haven`t bought a bag of shot in a year but last time it was 28 bucks for 25 lbs could hardly see makeing them at that price . I know a pard that makes his own with a little LEE electric pot that leaks , just right .

[Dick Dastardly]

Ho Sundance,

That would be Six bags of shot and it's paid for.   There's one on ebay with the current bid of $280.  It's a piece of equipment, not a one shot deal.

You never want to sit and make fineshot all alone anyway.  Get Five pards to go in with you.  It'll easily pay for it's self in one season.

DD-DLoS

[Fox Creek Kid]

http://littletonshotmaker.com/

[Howdy Doody]

D.D.
There is lots of things I have never seen and making shot is one of them. I just always bought it by the bag. Well, it seems that I am going to have to go out on the limb and get a shot maker.
So, what is involved beside the equipment? I understand you have to drop the shot into antifreeze. Then how about cleaning the shot after that? How do you get the graphite coating on it. Is there a site that describes the process? Do you use wheelweight lead for shot?
I have had to do a lot of things out of necessity. Like casting. I had to have a Snakebite bullets to feed in a 38 spl case for a Marlin. That got me into casting and of course the complete array of Big Lube bullets. I guess one more piece of equipment won't hurt too bad.

[Dick Dastardly]

Thanks for asking Howdy,

I don't drop my shot into antifreeze.  I use kerosene because way back when I bought my unit, that's what they specified.  I use WW metal and it works great.  You will want to be able to supply both ingots and melted metal to the unit depending on OAT (outside air temperature).  Keep on changing the tank(s) that you drop shot into when the kerosene starts getting too hot.  I like to have at least three tanks.  You will want something like a Five gallon bucket with a screen to pour the tanks into.  The screen catches the shot and the kerosene goes back into the catch tank.  Watch out for stalagmites to start forming at the bottom of the catch tank.  If this happens your kerosene is too warm.  Change tanks.  Real soon you will get a feel for it and it's easy to make a LOT of shot in a good afternoon.  It helps to have several people available for metal re-supply, tank changing and shot handling.

I clean my shot by washing it with soap and water and rinsing with water.  The graphite coating is added in a dented coffee can on my rotary tumbler.  I don't sort my shot except to remove any obviously oversize ones.  If a few have irregular shapes, they seem to fit into the pattern better.  This stuff takes down the KDs as good or better then store bought shot.

Here's a trick to try if you have a wide patterning shotgun.  Get some Ballistic Products un-slit wads made for steel shot.  Put them on top of a .135 over powder nitro card wad, dump in the shot and add Ballistic Products buffer (about 1 44 Mag shell full) and vibrate it down into the shot.  Mark these shells.  I use a roll crimp, so I just mark the overshot card.  They will act like a slug but will be safe and legal to shoot.  Those stubborn KDs WILL go down.

I loaded my home made shot for a trap league one winter and they wanted me to load for the summer league.  I said no.  I like to shoot, but not the production loading part.  Now I only load for myself and a couple of other SASS shooters.  When I make shot we set aside an afternoon, set up the production line and have lots of cold beverages on hand.

DD-DLoS