See part one here
Since writing that original post I scored a box of the Speer practice ammo for $2 at the gun show.
I also happened across a video (see below) which shows a guy using foam ear plugs as projectiles, being propelled by the primer only.
The idea was prompted by Ryan J. Reilly, the "Senior Justice Reporter" for some leftist rag called the Huffington Post.
Mr. Reilly took a picture of what he thought was rubber bullets (assuming they were the ones used against protestors...) and posted the picture with a question on his twitter account.
He used the Fergurson hash tag...which I am sure he meant Ferguson, but misspelled it....go figure a reporter who can't spell (or doesn't edit his material for accuracy)....
This guy took a lot of flak for his naiveté and he should have.
He is no doubt is a basement dwelling, milk-toast idiot who still has his mom cut his meat for him. Seriously, who doesn't know what a foam ear plug is??
He was later charged with "trespassing and interfering with a police officer" for his actions during the riots....I don't know the exact details, but I can imagine he was trying to frame the police in a bad light and stepped over the line.
Either way we should thank him, because he provided the impetus for TwangnBang (who has a great youtube channel BTW) to try these out.
As it turns out the foam ear plugs are the perfect size for .45 Colt cartridges. I imagine these will also work in a .44 Magnum case as well.
The effective accurate range is about 35 feet.
So I decided to try this for myself. I had some derelict .44 mag cases (anyone who reloads .44 mag can relate). I gathered up 6 foam earplugs, my wife finds these in the washing machine occasionally...unlike the idiotic reporter, my wife knows what they are.
I resized the cases and primed them with CCI # 350 Large Magnum Pistol primers (no powder). I will be using my S&W 629 Classic Hunter
I then set up a target (one I got free at the gun show, so here is a free plug for Tactical Ammo & Arms...) I pinned it to a Amazon box and loaded up the Smith & Wesson
I was shooting from about 10 feet away. It was hard to tell if I hit the target, except for the one spot where the paper is smudged, to be fair this target is card stock weight paper, not the thin flimsy stuff targets are traditionally made of...
There wasn't much left of the ear plugs, no chance of reusing them. Perhaps the Magnum primers are too much for these things?
I also noticed the primers backed out and jammed up the revolver. This is due to the low pressure. I am not sure how CCI figured it out on there practice ammo, but I have seen this before when test firing a revolver (primers only) that I have repaired. The primers naturally back out of there holes during firing, but the recoil of the charge usually re-seats them or if the pressure is too high, the primers will flatten out.
I may end up trying normal (non-Magnum) primers and perhaps my .45 Colt Vaquero to see if I can get the same results Twang & Bang did....
