# Clay Ball Ammo



## Teach

I love using clay to make SS ammo for such applications as garbage raiding dogs or other nuisance animals that I don't want to hurt but do want to scare the beejesus out of them so they don't return. Here in Mexico they are a real problem.

My question is;

Is there a way to make clay ball ammo using a mold of some sort similar to an ice cream scoop (smaller of coarse) or something similar where the making of them could have some relative degree of repeatability rather than trying to roll them between your hands hoping to get similar sizing from one to the next?

Thanks


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## bigron

yes as soon as you come up with it we will be happy to copy it so hurry and get it going :neener:


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## treefork

Here it is thanks to " Charles " : http://slingshotforum.com/topic/31446-simple-idea-for-clay-ball-roller/


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## wll

treefork said:


> Here it is thanks to " Charles " : http://slingshotforum.com/topic/31446-simple-idea-for-clay-ball-roller/


That is great, especially the adding of steel powder for added weight !

wll


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## bigron

i seen that on the instructables site the other day definitely worth the try


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## bigron

could you use a lead ammo mold for this,also teach check out your local walmart or whatever you have up there in the great white north in there section that sell candy making molds to see if they have a round mold for making hard suckers it should have enough spots to make 6 or 8 at a time


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## Imperial




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## POI

Checking a cooking store for small plier type meatball maker or melon ball scoop might get some consistancy for size...


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## Teach

Molds don't work well as the clay needs to breath when drying and they would have to be very wet to pour into a mould. If you tried to press a dryer mix into a mold on both sides and then close the mold that would be a PITA trying to keep clay out from between the two halves when closing the mold and you would also have to contend with not getting a good enough bond between the two halves if there was not enough material in the cavity to actually place enough pressure on the material to push them together enough so as to bond the two halves forming the ball.

I think this is a better way to go if a person was to make one out of pipe or even wood using a router to form the grooves. I just found this after viewing Charles's link.


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## Nobodo

​
:woot: anic: :question:


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## Teach

Haha, I'm a snowbird for the moment. When I signed up for the Forum I was in Canada at the time I believe and I'm currently in the state of Jalisco in Mexico for the winter. Back to Canada in the spring to sell everything and move to Mexico full time.


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## Imperial

teach said:


> Haha, I'm a snowbird for the moment. When I signed up for the Forum I was in Canada at the time I believe and I'm currently in the state of Jalisco in Mexico for the winter. Back to Canada in the spring to sell everything and move to Mexico full time.


good luck in mexico.


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## JohnKrakatoa

My friend just makes a roll and then uses a cutter he made from some wood and wires. That gives him same sized chunks that he hust rolls into balls and dries them.


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## leon13

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u4L1AAFv2F8#
If u need some more ????
looks really practical
Cheers


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## JohnKrakatoa

Holy cow that cake ball roller is awesome, ill have to try to DIY it !


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## Nobodo

teach said:


> Haha, I'm a snowbird for the moment. When I signed up for the Forum I was in Canada at the time I believe and I'm currently in the state of Jalisco in Mexico for the winter. Back to Canada in the spring to sell everything and move to Mexico full time.


Retiring in Jalisco? You certainly picked a beautiful part of Mexico, and probably a whole lot safer than the border areas. I grew up in southern New Mexico, and back then a lot of people from the area retired to Chihuahua because the cost of living was very low and the crime wasn't bad. Heck in the 70s and 80s we even went to Juarez to get cheap eyeglasses, prescriptions, beer, etc. -- basically make a trip anytime there was something to save money on. Times certainly have changed; any more it is hard to feel safe at all visiting Ciudad Juarez. Copper Canyon is definitely my favorite part of Chihuahua state but it's really isolated so not a place to retire to.

Enjoy Jalisco!!!


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## dadof3gboys

I saw clay mentioned in a thread and thought why not have something cheap, expendable and earth friendly. The boys and I can use these for just shooting when we're out hiking.

They fly pretty good and with a nice impact on the trees.

$5.50'ish but with Hobby Lobby coupon $3.30. Just a guess, but I figure to get a couple hundred out of 2 pounds.


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## Teach

dadof3gboys said:


> I saw clay mentioned in a thread and thought why not have something cheap, expendable and earth friendly. The boys and I can use these for just shooting when we're out hiking.
> 
> They fly pretty good and with a nice impact on the trees.
> 
> $5.50'ish but with Hobby Lobby coupon $3.30. Just a guess, but I figure to get a couple hundred out of 2 pounds.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> clayballs.JPG


Judging from your photo you are experiencing the same thing as I was when trying to make clay balls by hand and it was hard to end up with anything semi round that did not look like a football. But these cake ball molds would be great if they can be had or made in say a 1/2 size.


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## Nobodo

Teach said:


> dadof3gboys said:
> 
> 
> 
> I saw clay mentioned in a thread and thought why not have something cheap, expendable and earth friendly. The boys and I can use these for just shooting when we're out hiking.
> 
> They fly pretty good and with a nice impact on the trees.
> 
> $5.50'ish but with Hobby Lobby coupon $3.30. Just a guess, but I figure to get a couple hundred out of 2 pounds.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> clayballs.JPG
> 
> 
> 
> Judging from your photo you are experiencing the same thing as I was when trying to make clay balls by hand and it was hard to end up with anything semi round that did not look like a football. But these cake ball molds would be great if they can be had or made in say a 1/2 size.
Click to expand...

That RollaPro that leon13 linked looks like it makes the perfect sized ammo, and a lot of it at once.

The downside is at £85 plus shipping from UK it would take a while to pay off.


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## dadof3gboys

Teach said:


> Judging from your photo you are experiencing the same thing as I was when trying to make clay balls by hand and it was hard to end up with anything semi round that did not look like a football. But these cake ball molds would be great if they can be had or made in say a 1/2 size.
> 
> I


Yeah, the sizes and shapes weren't consistent. The white ball is one of the Daisey's glass ammo for comparison. However, I grabbed several that varied from one another and had some success at shooting them. The first two feel short of a tree about 30ft out, but correcting my pull I had straight hard shots with them that hit close to my intended bulls-eye. I don't feel at this point perfectly round is needed for. I think these will do the trick for my intentions.

I think if I can get the size/weight consistent that may be more beneficial to overall performance. Again, I'm so new to this figuring out how to adjust for different ammo and getting a consistent aim and pull will make the biggest improvement for me.


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## Teach

dadof3gboys said:


> Yeah, the sizes and shapes weren't consistent. The white ball is one of the Daisey's glass ammo for comparison. However, I grabbed several that varied from one another and had some success at shooting them. The first two feel short of a tree about 30ft out, but correcting my pull I had straight hard shots with them that hit close to my intended bulls-eye. I don't feel at this point perfectly round is needed for. I think these will do the trick for my intentions.


I'm finding that slingshot shooting has many variables that all have to come together in order to make that perfect shot where the ammo hits the intended target. The more of those variables we can remove from the equation the greater our chances become in hitting the target. If our ammo we are using is as close to perfect as possible then we have essentially removed one variable, then all we need to concern ourselves with is our own shooting technique. I'm sure most would agree when I say "the perfection of our ammo is our greatest ally". and if it is totally consistent as long as we the shooters do our part the ammo will hit it's mark.

Said another way......you can do everything perfectly as the shooter but if your ammo is imperfect it can stray off it's intended path by not flying true and miss the target that it otherwise would have hit had it flown a true path. That can leave you the shooter wondering if YOU missed or the ammo CAUSED you to miss and you might make adjustments in your shooting trying to find a different point of aim that with perfect ammo would not be needed.

By using ammo that is perfect, you will save yourself a lot of time and energy improving your skill as a shooter. I feel that that's why the vast majority of us use steel ball bearings (all the same size) or marbles (all the same size) for the greatest consistency possible from our ammo.


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## wll

Teach said:


> dadof3gboys said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, the sizes and shapes weren't consistent. The white ball is one of the Daisey's glass ammo for comparison. However, I grabbed several that varied from one another and had some success at shooting them. The first two feel short of a tree about 30ft out, but correcting my pull I had straight hard shots with them that hit close to my intended bulls-eye. I don't feel at this point perfectly round is needed for. I think these will do the trick for my intentions.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm finding that slingshot shooting has many variables that all have to come together in order to make that perfect shot where the ammo hits the intended target. The more of those variables we can remove from the equation the greater our chances become in hitting the target. If our ammo we are using is as close to perfect as possible then we have essentially removed one variable, then all we need to concern ourselves with is our own shooting technique. I'm sure most would agree when I say "the perfection of our ammo is our greatest ally". and if it is totally consistent as long as we the shooters do our part the ammo will hit it's mark.
> 
> Said another way......you can do everything perfectly as the shooter but if your ammo is imperfect it can stray off it's intended path by not flying true and miss the target that it otherwise would have hit had it flown a true path. That can leave you the shooter wondering if YOU missed or the ammo CAUSED you to miss and you might make adjustments in your shooting trying to find a different point of aim that with perfect ammo would not be needed.
> 
> By using ammo that is perfect, you will save yourself a lot of time and energy improving your skill as a shooter. I feel that that's why the vast majority of us use steel ball bearings (all the same size) or marbles (all the same size) for the greatest consistency possible from our ammo.
Click to expand...

Truer words were never spoken !

wll


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## Bill Hays

Here's what you do...

Roll your clay into a snake, making it into a nice long fairly uniform cylinder, then finish rolling it with a flat board on top like thin plywood or a cutting board, this will make the cylinder much more uniform than you could do by hand... lay a ruler beside the cylinder and use that to cut pieces off that are all the same length.

Using wet hands, hand roll the little cut cylinders into rough balls... place on a flat surface with some space between each ball... take the piece of flat board gently place that on top of the balls. Move the top like "wax on" "wax off" and up and down.

Once you get the knack of it you'll get balls that are pretty close to perfect for what you're looking for.

PS..

I may have sculpted a little in the past...


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## SlingNerd

I know this is an older post but I'm compelled to add my two cents yet again.

Buy a "Melon Baller" on Amazon for cheap and crank 'em out. They're made to form spheres from fruit and I'd bet they'll work a treat.


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## twang

anyone tried "baking beads".


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