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orionengnr · December 4, 2012, 09:53 PM

I do not own a Judge, but I do have an S&W M25 in .45LC. I read these two threads on making your own shotshells and decided to give it a try.

The first uses loose shot, uses a home made undershot wad and overshot "cap". This is a bit more effort, but I believe you can fit more shot into the shell this way. The powder takes up very little room. I used #9 shot, but others have tried #11 and 12.
http://www.castbullet.com/reload/44shot.htm

The other method uses the Speer shot capsules. My LGS ordered them for me...50 to a box for under $10. And that was .45LC. I think .357 is cheaper, simply because they sell more of them. This is the neater/cleaner method. Once again, I used #9 shot.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=570054

One more thing--unlike many other applications, for handgun shot shells, when it comes to powder/velocity, less may be more. Less powder leaves more room for shot (in the first method) and a velocity of +/-700fps seems to keep the pattern tighter. We are only talking 10-15 feet here, and don't need 18" of penetration.

I tried both. I had some problems with the first method--the type of glue you use makes a difference. With a cylinder full of the handmade shot shells, after firing two, I examined the remainder. The overshot "caps" were coming off of one or two due to recoil. If a cap comes off, the shot goes...who knows where?

I went back to the drawing board and tried a different glue, and problem solved...for now.

Disclaimer: I only tried a half dozen of each, so my sample size is very small.
In actual use, I would probably carry one shotshell in the cylinder, maybe another "Barney bullet" or two in my pocket.

ETA: Snakes are fairly resistant to dying. When I was a kid my dad killed many a snake and the old wives' tale was that a snake would not die until sundown.

December 4, 2012, 09:53 PM	#24
orionengnr Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2004 Posts: 5,176	I do not own a Judge, but I do have an S&W M25 in .45LC. I read these two threads on making your own shotshells and decided to give it a try. The first uses loose shot, uses a home made undershot wad and overshot "cap". This is a bit more effort, but I believe you can fit more shot into the shell this way. The powder takes up very little room. I used #9 shot, but others have tried #11 and 12. http://www.castbullet.com/reload/44shot.htm The other method uses the Speer shot capsules. My LGS ordered them for me...50 to a box for under $10. And that was .45LC. I think .357 is cheaper, simply because they sell more of them. This is the neater/cleaner method. Once again, I used #9 shot. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=570054 One more thing--unlike many other applications, for handgun shot shells, when it comes to powder/velocity, less may be more. Less powder leaves more room for shot (in the first method) and a velocity of +/-700fps seems to keep the pattern tighter. We are only talking 10-15 feet here, and don't need 18" of penetration. I tried both. I had some problems with the first method--the type of glue you use makes a difference. With a cylinder full of the handmade shot shells, after firing two, I examined the remainder. The overshot "caps" were coming off of one or two due to recoil. If a cap comes off, the shot goes...who knows where? I went back to the drawing board and tried a different glue, and problem solved...for now. Disclaimer: I only tried a half dozen of each, so my sample size is very small. In actual use, I would probably carry one shotshell in the cylinder, maybe another "Barney bullet" or two in my pocket. ETA: Snakes are fairly resistant to dying. When I was a kid my dad killed many a snake and the old wives' tale was that a snake would not die until sundown.