4 ms·

> and rifle ammunition you can't make at home You can absolutely make rifle ammunition at home. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handloading http://en.wikipedia.o

by urda 11y ago

> and rifle ammunition you can't make at home You can absolutely make rifle ammunition at home. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handloading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handloading

ctdonath 11y ago
You can assemble shell, bullet, powder, and primer. You'll be hard-pressed to make any of those components yourself. Shell? could be milled (stamping unlikely in your garage) but relatively very expensive and probably imprecise. Bullet? swaging is possible, but possible != precise & accurate; milling is possible but relatively expensive. Powder? probably not to the precise quality needed (just shape of the grains can be an issue, as found in the Vietnam War). Primer? gets well into chemical manufacturing & toxicity issues you don't want to deal with. Yes, it can be done - but you won't be turning out sniper-grade rounds for $1 each.
ChuckMcM 11y ago
I was focused more on the 'making' rather than the assembling. I've reloaded shotgun shells for a long time for example, and pistol rounds. However I've always purchased the powder, balls (bullet ends), and primers. Of the three, primers are particularly challenging (certainly for reliability) but making a good, high performance, smokeless gunpowder is not just a simple "mix and hope its good" kind of thing. It should not be surprising that developing the capability to make high performance weapons "off grid" as it were is fairly actively tracked (which I discovered when ordering chemicals from Aldritch one time and getting a call back from them to fill out some government paperwork before it could proceed)
- hga 11y ago
  From reading about how Lake City does it, I got the strong impression that making reliable, military grade primers was pretty easy, albeit with access to the right chemicals. And there are several generations of chemicals that can be used, e.g. from corrosive to the newest lead free formulations. On the other hand, I'll point out that single base smokeless powder is made from nitrocellulose (the explosive also known as guncotton), and double base adds nitroglycerin to the fun.

by urda 11y ago

> and rifle ammunition you can't make at home You can absolutely make rifle ammunition at home. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handloading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handloading

ctdonath 11y ago

You can assemble shell, bullet, powder, and primer. You'll be hard-pressed to make any of those components yourself. Shell? could be milled (stamping unlikely in your garage) but relatively very expensive and probably imprecise. Bullet? swaging is possible, but possible != precise & accurate; milling is possible but relatively expensive. Powder? probably not to the precise quality needed (just shape of the grains can be an issue, as found in the Vietnam War). Primer? gets well into chemical manufacturing & toxicity issues you don't want to deal with. Yes, it can be done - but you won't be turning out sniper-grade rounds for $1 each.

ChuckMcM 11y ago

I was focused more on the 'making' rather than the assembling. I've reloaded shotgun shells for a long time for example, and pistol rounds. However I've always purchased the powder, balls (bullet ends), and primers. Of the three, primers are particularly challenging (certainly for reliability) but making a good, high performance, smokeless gunpowder is not just a simple "mix and hope its good" kind of thing. It should not be surprising that developing the capability to make high performance weapons "off grid" as it were is fairly actively tracked (which I discovered when ordering chemicals from Aldritch one time and getting a call back from them to fill out some government paperwork before it could proceed)

hga 11y ago
From reading about how Lake City does it, I got the strong impression that making reliable, military grade primers was pretty easy, albeit with access to the right chemicals. And there are several generations of chemicals that can be used, e.g. from corrosive to the newest lead free formulations. On the other hand, I'll point out that single base smokeless powder is made from nitrocellulose (the explosive also known as guncotton), and double base adds nitroglycerin to the fun.