Reloading Ammunition

Reloading ammunition can be a real money saver if you are an avid shooter or storing up for "the rainy day". But it is also a nice skill to have when commercial ammunition becomes scarce or you're not near a store. Lee Precision Reloading Kit on Amazon

Black Powder Rifles and Cap-and-Ball Revolvers provide a simple solution to sold-out ammuniton. While they are limited in capacity (how many bullets they hold), your ammunition supply is limited only by how much lead or aluminum you can acquire to melt down for the bullets. Also "breach-loading" weapons (vs Muzzel-Loaders) help to improve how fast the weapons can be reloaded. Muzzle-loaders are the simplest, but slower, to use on the fly while the breach-loader requires pre-building the cartridge. Do LOTS of research on this topic if you have an interest, to determine the type of black powder firearm that is best for you. This section cannot go into all of the details but is here to present an option to conventional firearms when their ammuniton may be difficlut to find.

• What is a black powder gun? Also known as a muzzleloader, a black powder gun uses historical firearm technology, which includes handloading both the ammunition and black powder into the muzzle.
• What are the benefits of owning a black powder gun? Aside from them being fun to shoot, a black powder gun also gives you control over how much powder you’re using and how your bullets are made. This makes them cheaper to shoot than a modern firearm, plus, a muzzleloader is not legally considered a firearm by the federal government. However, your own state's laws should be considered.
• Can you hunt with a black powder gun? Yes. Hunting with a black powder gun may actually extend your hunting season as many states have muzzleloader only seasons.
• How accurate are black powder guns? The ammunition travels at a slower velocity so your hunting range is 100 yards or less, forcing you to be a better marksman. Muzzleloader Hunters or Primitive Hunters take pride in taking down their game, since it relies on their own personal skills in stalking and tracking instead of falling back on the effectiveness of an expensive firearm.
• Are the supplies, like ammo and powder, easy to get? Yes. You can find kits with everything you need to shoot including the ammo. The only thing you would need to purchase separately is the powder and that can be found at your local firearms supply store.
• Are black powder guns good for home defense. Depending on the type of powder and ammuniton used, keeping a black powder gun loaded may cause corrosion in the powder chamber so it is not the best firearm to have laying around for months at a time without being used.

Black Powder Revolvers and Smokeless Black Powder
45 Colt Ammo Conversion Cylinder for Black Powder Revolvers
How to make Black Powder (Gunpowder) from Scratch (mixture of 75% potassium nitrate [saltpeter], 15% charcoal and 10% sulfur)    [Video]
Lead Bullet Casting    [Other Resources]

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