Roll yer own .22LR

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by Tully Mars, Jun 2, 2016.


  1. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    Start Loading Your Own 22 Lr Ammo Today! - 22LR Reloader

    Has anyone seen or used one of these yet?
    I came across this while bidding on some stuff on e-bay this morning. After doing some checking it seems legit. Read a few reviews on the web, and the ones I've read were all favorable.
    While reloading .22LR seems to be a bit labor intensive, I'm thinking that this kit and a good supply of the primer compound cached away may not be a bad thing. I'm thinking it's earned a place on my "want to buy" list.

    Thoughts?
     
  2. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    First thought is wary. Why? Because rave reviews on the mfrs website are, to me, suspicious. Second thoughts come after finding some independent reviews, which turn out to be hard to find. I'll wait a while --
     
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  3. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    I know someone who has that kit or one like it. It works as advertised, but obviously labor intensive. I think what you get from something like this is less dependence on outside resources in SHTF. Also could be educational to show kids the reloading process.
     
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  4. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    I found a few reviews/comments on a couple different gun boards that popped up during the search. They seemed favorable. In the end, I suppose it is a "you pay yer money, takes yer chances" situation at least for now. I found the idea interesting for a SHTF type of deal.
     
  5. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Be very very careful with the Priming Compound.... As Lead Styphanate is a Primary Energetic and both heat and shock sensitive, and holds considerable Chemical Power when decomposing.... even in small quantities...
     
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  6. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    Great input @BTPost.
    If one were to purchase several packages of the compound, vac seal the factory packaging then store in a cool, dry, dark place would that be satisfactory for long term storage?
     
  7. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    I would store it in my Powder Magazine, just like I do with my REAL Black Powder, Caps, Boosters, & Det-Cord....
     
    Tully Mars likes this.
  8. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    I have a locker here that we use for primers,powder,ect. Packages would be stored there.
     
  9. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    I have reloaded .22 rimfire using ground match heads dissolved in alcohol as a primer-compound. I used a frayed toothpick to work the compound beneath the rim. I have also used it to reload primers by removing the anvil then taking a ground nail as a punch to flatten the firing pin indentation. I loaded several rounds of each that successfully detonated and pushed a bullet out the barrel and found that nothing they can do will ever deprive me of ammunition completely. I imagine I can turn brass on my Unimat, if it came right down to it.
     
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  10. Altoidfishfins

    Altoidfishfins Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    I'd have to wonder about the reliability. If the firing pin strikes at the same point as the previous indentation would there be a misfire?
     
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  11. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    If they are using the same Primer Compound, as original. (Lead Styphanate) Misfires are not going to be really an issue, as it is very Shock Sensitive. The Firing Pin hits with considerable Force, compared with even a seriously hard downward Throwing action into the ground.......
     
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  12. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    They say to either rotate the round so it doesn't (not doing that) or use a tool the push out the indent before repriming.
     
  13. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I didn't look very closely, but didn't see what the priming compound is other than needing mixing of two (or more?) components, and indications that it is as sensitive wet as dry. Lead styphnate is only slightly soluble in water and methyl alcohol and I might have misread, but I thought I saw that it was made into a liquid before putting into the casing. Did you see anything pointing towards styphnate, or do we not know and don't care?

    Store it unmixed, that should be fine. Mixed, well, maybe not so much --

    There very well could be, that's why there's talk of indexing each round. Not a fun thing in an auto loaded with several times fired reloads, sez me anyway.
     
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  14. Oltymer

    Oltymer Monkey++

    I read an article about these in a magazine in the past couple of years, but can't remember where. I looked through my stack of Backwoodsman mags without success. Doesn't mean it wasn't there as I only checked the covers listings of articles. Anyways as I recall the writer of the article had mixed results, but was satisfied in that he had a way to reload .22 rimfire rounds. My dad used to reload these back during the Depression with black powder, strike anywhere match head tips for primer solution, and a heeled .22 bullet cast from a mold that was probably handmade too. It seems like the kit had a brass resizing step also, but with a single shot bolt or lever action it might be no problem to cam the unsized rounds into a chamber. I also remember there is a rule about the strike anywhere match heads in that you never have more than 3 heads together at the same time to avoid finger removing explosions. Match heads used for primers are corrosive, as is the black powder, so you will want to clean the action, chamber and barrel well with hot soapy water, then dry & oil after shooting. The old timers when I was a kid said that a gun should be cleaned 3 days in a row after firing any corrosive ammo, and then checked after a week to make sure no rust was forming. The reason behind this was that the gas pressure in the barrel forced corrosive salts up into micro crevices in the steel which would leak out over the 3 day period. I've shot truckloads of old surplus corrosive ammo through Mausers and Enfields, always cleaned as above, and never had any problems. If you get one of these kits I hope you do an article about your results here on SM.
     
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  15. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Match Heads are a completely different formulation, these days, than what were called "Strike Anywhere" Matches during the depression... Those were Red Phosphorus and Potassium Chlorate based, the newer compounding is NOT Potassium Chlorate Based... Old formulation was BOTH Friction, and Shock sensitive... New formulation is only Friction Sensitive.... Wouldn't want the Young Pyro's losing fingers and hands, in the Modern Nanny State.... and @ghrit I am not sure what they are shipping for Primer Compound in the Kits, HOWEVER, Lead Styphanate is a Class A PRIMARY Energetic, that can only be shipped via DOT Truck Freight, and is a Regulated Compound by ATF... So, if you are right, and they are using a Binary Energetic, that goes in as a slurry, then I am not sure what it would be.... Maybe some alternate form of Tannerite, or similar compound... Which would make it significant;y LESS sensitive to the Firing Pin shock, and much more susceptible to Misfires.... Just my Opinion...
     
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  16. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    While I have no idea what the chemicals are, it is a four component mixture. It is my understanding from reading parts of the manual posted in pics on the E-bay ad that the chemicals are mixed dry, the resulting compound is then funneled into the base of the cleaned case. Two drops of liquid are then added. They offered several options for the liquid to be used. Again, this is just what I was able to get from reading PARTS of the manual that was posted in the ad I first saw on E-Bay.
    YMMV
     
  17. Altoidfishfins

    Altoidfishfins Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    I read somewhere some time ago, that the priming compound was distributed evenly around the circumference of the inside of the rim with centrifugal force. That would mean that the cases are spun at the time of the addition of the priming compound during that part of the manufacturing process.

    The re-manufacture of .22s, the sizing problems, the non-replaceable primer issues, the non-availability of suitable projectiles, just doesn't seem practical unless one owns or has access to a facility that manufactures rimfire ammunition.

    THis looks like it's an issue better tackled with the purchase of a few thousand rounds (or more) to keep on hand. That probably means purchasing enough rounds to last the estimated service life of the rifle (s) that are owned by any given individual.
     
  18. Tully Mars

    Tully Mars Metal weldin' monkey

    I agree with you wholeheartedly, but the tinkerer/gun nut/wannabe gunsmith in me is still intrigued...
    As for the resizing, they claim that the cases do not need to be resized until after the 3rd or 4th reload. They say, that simply crimping the new bullet in the case is enough for the first few reloads. I wonder about that with semi autos especially, but that's their claim. End of the day, I'll probably order one of these sometime in the future just to play with if nothing else it's an odd duck that I can show off in the reloading room. I've always been attracted to the tinkering or the oddities in the field of firearms. Making SP projectiles, especially for the larger stuff is another area I like to play with.
     
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  19. Altoidfishfins

    Altoidfishfins Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    We reloaders are tinkerers by nature. Otherwise, where would the fascination be? But attempting to reload rimfire ammo in a SHTF situation doesn't seem practical. Center fire stuff, with a stockpile of suitable components, is kind of a no brainer.
     
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  20. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    It would not be hard to make a jig that would spin a dozen or two dozen vertical. 22 shells from one motor/driver.
     
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