process even with the proper dies and hydraulic presses. You might create low-velocity, straight-walled cases with a drill press or lathe, however. These could be fired in a revolver, lever-action, pump, or bolt-action gun, but would be unsuitable for a semi-auto or automatic weapon unless you were willing to chuck the rounds through it manually. You would have to keep powder charges in such rounds very low to keep from creating dangerous pressure if the powder capacity was appreciably diminished. Chapter 4 Best Bullets and Other Projectiles Bullets are probably the easiest components to create — at least compared to the others already discussed. With a few good bullet molds or some swaging equipment, a person could make bullets with only a little scrounging around for materials. It's also possible to create bullets by turning brass or copper rods, though making these gets a bit tricky because they are armor piercing and therefore illegal to own in most areas. And even police officers who might turn a blind eye toward bootleg ammunition aren't going to do so if the rounds can penetrate their bulletproof vests. So you'd do well to shy away from these rounds unless everything has gone down the tubes in a big way. (For those interested in armor-piercing bullets, exploding bullets, and other exotic rounds, see my Combat Ammunition of the 21st Century, available from Paladin Press.) Of course, if you're in a real bind, almost anything that fits can be fired down the barrel of a gun. Hardware stores are a great source for such ammunition: brass bolts, steel bolts, or metal screws can all have their heads chopped off and threads flattened with a file to be seated as bullets in brass cartridges. If a metal rod is a tad too small to fit snugly in the brass {which should be resized — by the firearm's chamber if nothing else is available), tape or paper can be wrapped around the projectile before seating it. Barrel wear is horrendous with such projectiles (1 hesitate to call them bullets), but the risk might be worth it if you were completely out of bullets Plastic and wood have both also been used for short range bullets. Plastic can be augmented with a lead insert to lengthen range; in fact, one of the most effective 9mm Luger rounds currently on the market is Federal's Nyclad which is a soft lead bullet surrounded with a nylon jacket Plastics such as nylon are easy to work with, and a per son could easily fabricate a mold for such bullets (or even use a mold designed for casting lead bullets) . The big advantage of nylon as a jacket metal is that it is easy to work but still strong enough to minimize leading in high-velocity pistol bullets (but don't try it in rifle bullets — it will behind in the barrel, creating a bore obstruction that likely destroy the gun with another shot) . The possibility of a plastic bullet's shedding part of its jacket in the bore is always something to be kept in mind Experiment by firing a number of bullets down the barrel, carefully inspecting for obstructions between firings to be sure the jackets haven't loaded in the bore. The greater the plastic content, the faster the muzzle velocity of a plastic-based bullet and the faster the drop-off in its useful range. This can be useful in an urban area when you're trying to defend yourself but wish to avoid nailing some old geezer down the way. However, any projectile is dangerous, so don't think of plastic bullets as harmless. At close range, they are very dangerous. Lead bullets are even easier to make than plastic ones and have the additional benefit of greater range. If you've had the foresight to get hollow-point molds, lead bullets are also very effective in combat. Wheel weights are a good source of lead for bullets. Although they don't expand as well as purer lead, the metal is hard enough to minimize leading, making the alloy a good trade-off with a minimum of worry about mixing in lead to make them softer. Space doesn't permit going into the details of casting bullets. But most melting pots and bullet molds come with detailed directions to get you started. Of course, a bullet isn't just cast and crammed into brass cases. First it's sized (forced through a die) , and, in most instances (depending on your machinery) , it is lubricated at the same time. The grooves on the back of the bullet are for lube, which you can make yourself out of lamb fat and beeswax. Even if you don't have a sizer, you should still lube the bullets by standing them up in a flat pan and pouring molten lube up the level of the last groove. Lube goes a long way to help stop leading — that's why .22 bullets are lubed. And most bullet molds cast a rebated base on the back of the bullet, and this is so you can put on a copper gas check, which further helps stop leading.