[Griffo]

I've not seen PTFE balls mentioned as practice ammo so here goes.

When choosing indoor ammo I think the most important consideration is finding something closely matching your outdoor ammo. This means technique developed indoors (like a good pouch release) should be transferable outdoors.

PTFE balls are available in a range of diameters - all the sizes of steel we shoot - meaning you can match your indoors and outdoors ammo exactly. PTFE is a particularly dense plastic (2.2 g/cm3). This means for a given size it has greater weight, not too light, unlike some other plastic practice ammo.

Downsides? Cost. About $2 each. Now, matching bands to PTFE ammo. An example:

A 9.5mm (3/8) PTFE ball weighs 0.99g
A 1/4" steel ball weighs 1.05g

Therefore band suggestions for shooting 1/4" steel apply the same.

To calculate the weight of a PTFE ball you can use these tools:
Volume of a sphere Calculator
https://keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1223372883
Volume and Density to Mass Calculator
https://www.sensorsone.com/volume-and-density-to-mass-calculator/

 

[wll]

Gobstoppers are small jawbreakers and guys have used them for all kinds of practice... pick them up at your candy store.

I know the I have used the 3/4" jawbreakers that I bought at Winco for hunting, and on occasion sprayed them with clear paint so they would not get sticky in damp weather.

By the way, these 3/4" jawbreakers weigh between 83-95 grains and at close range hit like a ton of breaks, you just need a good size pouch !! Used them in my F-16's using a Tex pouch ... works great.. looped 1842's, looped 1745's are great for this ammo ---- Single Green Dub Dub sends them out like a rocket !! ... Starling and Pigeons better watch out !!!

wll

 

[Griffo]

Right I'm off to my local sweet shop (that's candy-store) to measure all the spherical sweeties! Anyone know what the density of an aniseed ball is?

More seriously, yep, shooting candies outdoors is a great idea because they will biodegrade fast. And they're cheap and taste good!

But shooting ammo indoors is more about making a precise match with my outdoors ammo, minus some mass.

 

[Sean Khan]

Downsides? Cost. About $2 each.

That would be Rupees 320..... more than three times the cost of a 9mm round (the good stuff... the reloaded c%*p is even cheaper).... so yeah.. not happening.... :twocents:

For indoor shooting, I recommend using:

It's just rolled up paper cylinders. They pack quite a wallop.. sure as heck more than the paper pellets that made us cry in school.... good for indoors.

And then there is this:

Ball made out candy foil. Can also use aluminum foil. For indoor target practice. Flies true but won't break a window (hopefully). This one has a powder that's supposed to go bang on impact (it did not).

For serious ammo, we have plaster of paris balls:

They weigh more than a marble and are cheap as dirt.

Yes, I get you need to match your indoor ammo with your regular ammo... just saying there might be cheaper solutions than plastic balls worth over Rs.300 a pop. Nobody can save money like an Asian... :whisper:

 

[Grandpa Grumpy]

Why not just shoot the same ammo that you shoot outdoors. Anything that is heavy enough to fly true is heavy enough to break windows, TV screens and put dents/holes in drywall and cabinetry.

Make a bigger backstop in case of a flyer.

 

[Cjw]

Why not just shoot the same ammo that you shoot outdoors. Anything that is heavy enough to fly true is heavy enough to break windows, TV screens and put dents/holes in drywall and cabinetry.

Make a bigger backstop in case of a flyer.

Yea I don't see how you can be constantly accurate if your shooting different ammo size and weight. Just adds another variable to deal with. It's like changing to different cuts and sizes of bands . Good luck being consistent at accuracy.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Griffo]

Why not just shoot the same ammo that you shoot outdoors. Anything that is heavy enough to fly true is heavy enough to break windows, TV screens and put dents/holes in drywall and cabinetry.

Make a bigger backstop in case of a flyer.

I've done some crude experimentation and found serious damage begins with projectiles weighing around 1.5 grams. So to mitigate risk (to the health of my own balls) I'm using 9.5mm plastic ammo weighing 0.99 grams. Yes this ammo can still do damage, absolutely.

I'm using 9.5mm indoors because I shoot 9.5mm steel outdoors. It's as consistent as I can get without using the same ammo indoors as outdoors.

I could shoot gummy bears indoors, probably much safer.

 

[Pebble Shooter]

Shooting indoors means red alert for anything that moves near or unexpectedly through the makeshift range, (wife, kids, pets) and for all objects that make a rather worrying "smashed" sound: one bad release, and it's a worst case scenario. :hmm:

One solution I yet need to try is to suspend an old thick bath towel with a small circle cut into the towel at your typical shooting height, and to stand a yard or two behind this towel, with a clear view of only your target placed at the backstop through the hole cut into the towel. If you do have a bad release, the ammo will bounce off the towel in front of you safely, but you will be able to hit the target visible through the hole if you're shooting correctly.

Ideally, the section where the hole in the towel is cut out should be reinforced by a layer of extra material, particularly the edges of the hole (anyone with sewing skills in your home?). Technically, this should significantly reduce the danger of stray ammo smashing stuff next to the backstop.

A picture says more than a thousand words: