How to make homemade air rifle pellets - How to make Air Gun Ammo

How to make Air Gun Ammo? Recycle, melt and mold homemade air rifle pellets for your Benjamin Bulldog How Air Gun. DYI pellets are super easy to make and require few tools. What is the Cheapest ammunition ? You can make your own cheap ammunition the cheapest ammo is not hard to make. Benjamin bulldog ammo is cheap and easy to make. These .357 caliber pellets are 357 caliber bullets that are easy to make and cost about 7 cents per shot. You just cant get a more cost effective platform than this once you make your own pellets and ammo or ammunition for the Big Bore Air Rifles or PCP air guns.
Make your own air gun ammo for A More Prepared Life
The mold we used is found on eBay (We are Not affiliated with sellers) The model is:
LEE 2 Cavity Bullet Mold 90328 328 358-150-1R With Free Handles 38/357 90328
The lead pot is also available on eBay. The model is:
Lee Precision 90009 Production Lead Melting Pot IV Reloading
Benjamin Bulldog .357 Air rifle (Not an affiliate link)
www.airgundepot.com/benjamin-...
Lead is available on ebay in many forms... you want SOFT lead only. buy it in 1 lb ingots and it is easier to work with.

[@wolfensus]

Just tried doing this for the first time. Same gun, same mold + another type. This is such a simple and good explanation that I followed very closely and got great results even for my first time ever casting my own ammunition. Simple easy and fun.

[@paulpearson6669]

I cannot imagine a better time to post this. Thank you!

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Thanks for the comment Paul! Hope this video gives you some options that will get you back to plinking again!

[@trevorhanlin4247]

this was helpful! I was already looking at this mold but did not know how they would shoot, this video is two birds with one pellet!

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Trevor, Thanks for taking the time to shoot us a comment! The pellets we have made with this mold have COMPLETELY replaced our stockpile of factory and store bought pellets. We think they are plenty serviceable for the shooting that we do. Someone who is doing competition shooting would obviously prefer something more refined, but I think these are just the ticket. Have a great evening! -Shane

[@okayestmedia]

thank you for this. finally a simple and to the point video on making airgun ammo.

[@jima4656]

You did a real good job explaining all that in a short time. Well done. If you ever need to remove the cutter plate on top, be aware that the screw is often left hand thread.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Jim, Great tip! Thanks for the comment! -Shane

[@AirgunChannel]

Great video...good pace...no BS!!!

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Thank you VERY much for checking out the video and for the excellent comment/review! It means an awful lot to us to get a good comment like this from an air gun authority channel... especially one that we wach! Have a SUPER day! -Shane

[@OH8STN]

Outstanding video. Thanks for sharing

[@minigpracing3068]

The Lee 356-125-2R which is a 125 grain round works really well too. On a stock Bulldog I am getting about 160-165 foot pounds of energy.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Very nice! Are you using pure soft lead? or wheel weights? or blended? -Shane

[@minigpracing3068]

@@amorepreparedlife4557 What I bought claimed to be pure lead, but it is harder than pure. I have a bunch of stuff I need to just blast into my trap or at the range. Need to buy from a real metals supplier next time. Also fooling with a Lyman 356637 which is 145 grains, and the hollow point version called the 9mm Devastator at 125 grains. Not having great luck with these last two, the 145 solid groups OK but slow compared to the similar Benjamin Nosler rounds. Haven't been to the range to try the hollow point version yet.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

@@minigpracing3068 Right on... I got really lucky when I chose the mold I did, it's pretty rare that I get ammo that is acceptable without a fair amount of trial and error. I have been using pure soft lead and I get a lot less "barrel plugs". This particular pellet doesnt even need to be resized or lubed to clear the barrel easily and that is a big deal to us. As far as accuracy goes it is plenty "huntable" which is our primary concern with this particular tool so I am really quite pleased. Have a super evening! -Shane

[@motorgearhead]

You can use 2 cycle synthetic oil to lube your mold. Use a Q-tip to oil pins and once the mold is hot, apply some oil as close to the spure plate screw as possible. The heat should allow the oil to wick around the screw. Use a wet q-tip to lube the screw. I also use an old sock rolled up with about 10 drop of 2 cycle oil to lube the top of the mold once it’s hot. The method I use is fill the mold and then knock the spure plate open. Then with the cast “pellets” still in place, I wipe the top of the mold and bottom of the spure plate. The filled cavities prevents any oil from going where it shouldn’t. Also a hint to make life easier, I run the lead puddle across the top of the spure plate while filling the mold cavities. It helps to put & keep heat in the mold and most importantly in my experience, you end up with 1 piece of waste lead that is easier to handle with gloved hands and add back to the lead pot. I started out casting just like you demonstrate in the video only creating a lead puddle over the mold cavity. If you don’t connect the puddles, you have a small waste piece for each cavity. Connecting them makes it quick and easy to get the lead back in the pot. Plus for safety sake, don’t drop any wet lead into the pot. The extreme heat will cause the lead to pop violently and could easily Burn you severely. 2 cycle motor oil is also useful in lubing your pellets which helps slow the leading of the barrel and probably helps velocity. I also run my slugs through a sizing die & weight sort the “pellets” into groups all weighing .3 grains of each other. I feel this is important for shooting tight groups at 100 & 200 yds. If shooting at short distances of 50 yds, A variation of one grain seems to have a limited negative affect in grouping. Temp and lead composition can give you results varying in weight by four or five grains when casting a 120 grain projectile. Great video. And a big bore air rifle is a serious piece of kit very “prepper” minded person should look into.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Motorgearhead... WOW!!! Tons of great suggestions! Clearly you have a lot of experience with this! YOU my friend are the kind of guy that we really appreciate on this channel for helping people to get a fuller understanding of the subject matter! Please do us a favor and keep watching and putting in your knowledge where it fits. We appreciate you brother! -Shane

[@motorgearhead]

@@amorepreparedlife4557 - always happy to help by sharing. I came from the powder burning world about a year ago. Once I saw primers & powder increasing by factor of 5 times their usual cost and then seeing the supply evaporate from the market I felt it was a time to look at PCP air rifles. It has been a major learning experience and I’m still learning all that I can from those willing to share. I just started casting bullets about 4 months ago so I’m still kind of a newbie. I use wheel weights versus pure lead. If you look into sizing your cast bullets you’ll need a bullet lube. I’ve used my home brew lanolin case lube along with silicon or 2 cycle oil for lube bullets before sizing. Just put bullets in plastic container & spray then swirl around. Then run then through sizing die. I’m primarily a paper puncher so I’m looking for small groups. I’m happy with groups under an inch at 50 yds. And any thing under 1.5” at 100 yds. My average group size out to 200 yds runs about 1.7 MOA (3.75”). One thing to look for is if your groups start becoming erratic, clean your barrel. My Texan can lead the barrel in as few as 50 rounds. This is especially true when pushing soft lead at speeds approaching 1,000 FPS. Think your rifle isn’t pushing slugs that fast so you may not be getting leading as bad as my long barreled Texan. Anyway, glad to have you out there educating folks. Think you got a solid rifle and being able to follow up with a second shot from a repeater is probably desirable. Watched several videos of folks taking small to medium size doe and the animals dropping in 60-70 yds. So thats not bad. One problem mentioned is depending on projectile, might not be much blood trail. Some hunters said getting better results with NSA slugs Vs Nosler 145’s in the bull dog.

[@zachofalltrades6116]

What are you using to clean your barrel

[@motorgearhead]

@@zachofalltrades6116 - the big bores can lead heavily. I use a tight fitting patch with hoppes bench rest solvent for my Texans since there aren’t o rings inside the barrel. The valve is at the end of breech so I’ve not had problem with solvent contacting or getting inside the valve. You could even cover the valve hat opening by plugging with a clean patch if that’s a concern. My rifle is usually clean in 2 patches. I follow with a dry patch. The first patch will usually have slivers of lead from the rifling. The rifle fouled more quickly when it was new. I can now get approaching 200 rounds through it before clean is required. In my rifle you go from 1.5” group at 100 yds to 4-5 inch groups when the barrel fouls. It may also take 15-30 shots after cleaning for the barrel to season back to where I was before it required cleaning. I’ve also used “Ed’s Red” home made cleaning solvent. Google for recipe. In normal air guns I’ve used auto trans fluid to clean the barrel. It’s oil based and won’t damage rubber from what I’ve read and from what I’ve seen using to clean typical air rifles. You will want to dry patch after using since this is an oil.

[@zachofalltrades6116]

@@motorgearhead what kit did you buy? That’s my problem finding ones to clean my different calipers,

[@paulpearson6669]

Wow, that really worked well.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Thanks for the comment Paul, Hope you are having a great holiday weekend! -Shane

[@iyeetsecurity922]

I made a silicone mold out of Air Venturi 50 cal hollow points. I drop in a bb and fill it with quality (I use gorilla) hot glue. Give it a few minutes to cool, then pop em out and cut the excess off the bottom. They're for my Umarex TR50 and perform quite well.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Iyeet, COOL idea! -Shane

[@allout-we7tj]

i am looking to make mine for a 6.35 ?! where can i find 1 to make them

[@AHandleOnThings]

Sweet! I was wondering what pellet mold to use!

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Yes sir, This one is readily available, cheap, and very effective

[@nsboost]

I bought a Corbin swage press and die. Makes premium ammo. But I need to buy lead smelting stuff to make blanks for pressing in the event I can’t get extruded lead wire in the future.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

If you have nothing but a mold and a ladle, a good hot fire or an electric stove can do in a pinch... I always think about Metl Gibson melting little toy soldiers into projectiles in "The Patriot" movie... that was legitimate considering the low melting point of lead. Have a super weekend! -Shane

[@caleb_7777]

Good evening. I was curious as to whether or not you, or anyone else doing this, have experienced any jamming of the bullets in the barrel. I am asking because of looking at the Seneca Air Venturi 358 diameter bullet/pellet reviews and reading of the number of times that people have experienced this with their Bulldogs. I also attempted to order several tins from Pyramyd Air today, and when I mentioned the Senecas I was warned of the jamming problem by the salesperson. Thanks for any input.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Caleb, It IS possible to get a projectile that doesn't clear the barrel very well. (especially at lower pressures) What WE found was that HARDER lead was causing squibs. That is part of the reason why we went to making our own projectiles in fact. PURE lead flies like a dream (with OR without lube) in our Benji's -Shane

[@DaveSmith-cp5kj]

Do not quench in water like how he does, instead drop the lead onto a towel and let it air cool. When you quench, after the lead cools it will get progressively harder over the next several hours. When you air cool it will remain fairly soft even if not pure lead. This hardness will go away after several months, but no one is going to have bullets just sitting around for that long. Additionally, you should buy a bullet sizer to size the pellet to fit your bore diameter. This further reduces resistance. I also powder coat and size bullets for firearms and for PCP airguns. The powder coating plastic acts as a dry lube, however you must size if you powder coat.

[@zachofalltrades6116]

What bullet sizer should I buy to make sure I’m buying the right one I want to cast for .357 and .457

[@motorgearhead]

I’ve used molds made by Noe & Lee. I just ordered a mold from arsenal today. 5-6 week back ordered. I’m shooting a 34” barreled Texan in .308. My rifle really likes the Lee 120 grn bullets.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

VERY nice... we have been looking into the AirForce product line (and drooling a lot) They really have some excellent offerings and a strong reputation for making excellent products. We may have to show one of those off here one day soon! And I couldn't agree more about the stuff you have in your other comment. And in out opinion... people with a prepper mindset who dont have one of the big bore set ups are seriously missing out on a very serious tool. Thanks again for the comments brother. -Shane

[@schulze420]

Can you pretty much use any .357 casting mold?

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

As long as it matches the caliber of your airgun you can. If the result is a little bit snug and squibs on you, you may need to swage the pellets after they are made or possibly even go to a 9mm mold. It all depends on the tolerance of your barrel. Mine just work without any extra nonsense tho so yours probably will too. LEt us know how it goes for you Have a super weekend and a great 4th -Shane

[@BitcoinNewsTodayLive]

Very cool, thanks. Any chance of a video for us 22 air rifle shooters? Product details in the description would be great.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

I will absolutely see what we can come up with for the .22 air guns for you! I put more product descriptions in the description. I f there is anything else I forgot to list, let me know and we will get it included. Thanks for the help! -Shane

[@alexanderb7197]

@@amorepreparedlife4557 .30 or .25 would be appreciated as well haha

[@leonwilcox282]

Midway USA has the cheapest price for these Lee Molds. I paid $26 I believe for my Lee Molds in 457.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

We love Midway usa. Great stuff and usually in stock and reasonable Have a super day! -Shane

[@domingoliao2724]

Do they have molds for .22 & .25 calibers?

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Domingo, There are indeed molds out there for 22 and 25 but they are a bit harder to find and tend to cost a bit more due to their scarcity. -Shane

[@tift53]

Great video. I got the exact mold that you showed a Lee melting pot and followed the video to the letter. The first few were good and accurate. Then I began getting some bullets stuck in the barrel but was able to remove them easily. Now the problem. I have 1 stuck in the barrel now about 4 inches in the breech. I have tried airing it up to full capacity, ram rodding it with the plastic rod and a wooden dowel from both ends plastic rod broke and no success. I then doused the barrel with silicone spray in both ends with no results. It won’t budge. I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else with the bulldog. I have the barrel removed and my next option is to heat the barrel to soften the lead. Is this a good idea??

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

nope, heating the barrel is not a good idea. a wood rod close to the size of the barrel bore and then pop that wood rod with a hammer and you should be able to force it back. once you get the pellet out, check for barrel fouling. If your lead is too soft it may be leaving a nasty build-up in the rifling grooves. That would be where I would look for the problem since it sounds like it happened to you incrementally. Optionally, a local gunsmith could quickly de-squib the barrel for you and look at it for you as well. I doubt they would charge more than 40 bucks for the job. Let us know how you come out. Stay safe, -Shane

[@tift53]

Already tried the wooden dowel. Barrel still constipated!

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

@@tift53 I would buzz over to a gunsmith and have them relieve the problem to avoid damaging the barrel. Should be a quick process -Shane

[@tift53]

Got a 5/16 x 3 ft metal rod and was able to bang it out with a hammer. Wooden dowel kept splintering. No problems with the barrel and good to go. Bullet had a few burrs on the outside is why I’m thinking it got stuck. Thanks for the suggestions.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

@@tift53 Excellent to hear you got it sorted out with no damage brother! Thanks for letting us know! -Shane

[@Stevenyoung100]

I wanna!!!! I wanna!!!!!

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Steven, It has been moved to the top shelf at my place. They are a bit pricey, but worth every penny I believe. Have a super day! -Shane

[@marcegrecco53]

I make my own .25 and 30 and .357 and .40 and .45 calibers.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Marc, Yes sir! its an easy and extremely valuable ability to have! It's also kind of fun as it is another one of those things that you can get acceptable parts pretty easily and if you like to work hard at stuff you can improve your parts quality as you learn more! Thanks for the comment! -Shane

[@splinadero]

Why not catch the practice pellets and re mold them? you can even save the money for the led, plus led is not that good for the soil I supose. Great videos.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Righto! good idea!. -Shane

[@AHandleOnThings]

I made some of my own! Couldn't be easier, and now I can always re-use lead over and over even if ammo becomes "un-obtanium" !

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

excellent point! With the Bulldog and the ability to cast your own pellets you will NEVER find yourself out of ammo! No matter what happens in the world.

[@matthewross6653]

I need help where to buy a .25 cal slug mold

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

www.ebay.com/itm/384397931956?hash=item597fe6f5b4:g:SGAAAOSwp1VhQzMf I found this one on eBay. .25 caliber are rare though Good luck! -Shane

[@skylergonzalez7719]

Can u melt any type of metal to make the pellet?

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Interesting question. I would guess that if you have a metal with a melting point that is lower than the aluminum mold that flows well enough for molding, and the temperature is also low enough for you to be able to liquify it, you hypothetically could do that. Stay safe, -Shane

[@skylergonzalez7719]

Thank you!

[@skylergonzalez7719]

Where do u buy your lead?

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Skyler, I buy soft lead off of eBay. It is so hard to get anywhere else it just makes sense to find an acceptable price and take the plunge. You will feel the sting of price for a short time but you will feel the sting of not having any for a lot longer Good luck my friend -shane

[@taunteratwill1787]

With what are you shooting these pellets?

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

The Benjamin Bulldog Big Bore

[@taunteratwill1787]

@@amorepreparedlife4557 Cheers. 😊

[@leonwilcox282]

GMI Engineering makes a Slug Swaging Die for 22 25 30 357 cal Air rifles.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Right on! I will have to look into those too!

[@nsboost]

You didn’t find the 358s a little big? Even 357 slugs are tight as all hell in my bulldog

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

They fly like bumblebees from heaven from ours... BUT... use PURE SOFT lead when casting or you will squib like the devil. -Shane

[@nsboost]

@@amorepreparedlife4557 so no wheel weights? Hmm. Gunna be hard to stick to prep if I gotta get picky with the lead. Wheel weights are the easiest way to gather it I like shooting 110g NSA slugs. Found a 125g Lee mold I’m thinking about picking up and a couple of resizers to experiment.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

@@nsboost Yes sir, in our trials at least, soft lead works at full caliber without sizers and without lube. Add sizers and lube and you should be able to use wheel weights. The alloy in the wheel weights is the rub as you know. Let us know if you come up with different results! Have a great day man, -Shane

[@yusofrally7142]

Saye nak beli mold ini macam mana nak berhubung dengan anda

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Thank you

[@WaschyNumber1]

It's a shame the ther is no 22 budget Sub12ftlb pellet swaging mold.

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

I know that's right! I have considered experimenting with making some different caliber pellet molds on my machines. (Metal lathe and Bridgeport CNC) I may give it a try this winter when things slow down around here. I'm sure I wont get match grade since I'm not an engineer, but I'm guessing I will be able to base some attempts off of some common existing designs and I should come up with something useable at least If I do get a chance to make a few I will post a video on it and maybe sell a few. Keep an eye out for it! -Shane

[@WaschyNumber1]

@@amorepreparedlife4557 I will good luck

[@brettduffy7931]

I was looking at that rifle I am limited to airguns and muzzleloaders but that gun doesn't look like a real enough firearm in a home defense situation plus it looks big and bulky

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Brett, If you are looking to scare an intruder in a home defense situation into vacating your property (Not a bad goal) This is indeed a big bulky rifle and it certainly could be mistaken for something from the toy store I suppose. But... It fires a very real .357 cal round that will achieve the exact same result with air behind it as it would with powder behind it. I can tell you that with a 5 round magazine that loads as fast as any bolt action firearm it is (in my opinion) a far better option than most black powder rifles. black powder revolvers may be an option for you if you are looking for something light and small but keep in mind the noise factor difference between the two as well. Let us know what you decide on! -Shane

[@99prochargedbird85]

It doesn't look real enough lol. You think someone is going to attack you or not attack you according to what your weapon looks like? They can give a shit less, if they are going to attack you they are going to attack you no matter what. Is the attacker going to say that gun looks fake, so I am going to attack you now, come on man lol. What happened in Kenosha? What gun was he using? Did it stop them from attacking?

[@michomicho7668]

i tested normal ,,old lead from pipes and it worked superb for 9 mm para but for career dragon slayer 50 cal pcp //it was much too hard// i went and mesured hardness of original /1 doll per pellet //ok big pellet//and it was a 98,88 perc pure lead sosoft you can take a few grains off with thumb nail no problem // than it was ok //and saving is extreem i ,,shoot a gun s worth ammo in 2 days

[@amorepreparedlife4557]

Right on! -Shane