So, I've owned my Makarov IJ-70 for well over a decade. I've shot all kinds of ammo through it. Brown Bear, Silver Bear, Fiocchi, and for most of my experience with it I have loaded my own using 9mm Luger brass that I trim and run through the dies.
Bullet availability has always been a bit of a pain. When I was first loading for it I used Hornady xtp hollow points and a semi wadcutter cast bullet that was offered by Makarov.com. Makarov.com shut down and those bullets went away. The xtp is a fine bullet, but a bit expensive. So, I have been loading hard cast bullets from Meister and Rim Rock. They are fine bullets as well, but again they aren't free. A box of 500 runs me at least $35.
The obvious answer was to get a mold and cast my own, but I resisted getting into the casting world. I was afraid that the lead supply would dry up, that I would need a bunch of tools, or that it would just be too time consuming.
Well, the days of picking up a bucket of wheel weights are over. Environmental concerns have prompted our great state of Illinois to require zinc weights. There are however, quite a few of the lead weights out there that end up in the scrap bucket at work. So, my lunchtime pastime has become sorting through wheel weights to find the lead ones. I am combining the weights with expended bullets that I find on the range. The lead supply still concerns me a bit but hey, we all have to let go of our anxieties.
The Lee mold for Makarov is only about $22. I've had good results with Lee in the past, so why not?
With my current alloy, it is throwing a 104 grain bullet. That's quite a bit over the 95 grain it is supposed to be, but of no real concern to me. I simply stay away from the max charge. Heavier bullets tend to use less powder, not more.
Lubricating the bullets was another concern. A lubricator/sizer is the tool of choice for this, but since I am not made of money, I had to come up with something else.
I first made some lube with beeswax, candle wax, and synthetic motor oil. I ended up with a pretty decent lube that had great tack to it. It felt a great deal like the lube on the Rim Rock bullets I had been buying. I pan lubed a bunch, or tried to. The problem with pan lubing is getting the bullets out of the lube without marking them all up with pliers. They make "Kookie Kutters" that slip over the bullets, but that is yet another item to buy.
Lee makes liquid alox lube that is squirted into a bag that you then tumble your bullets around in. I figured why can't I do that myself?
So, I did. I simply took some of my lube and put it in an olive jar with acetone. Shook it up for a while and some of the wax started to dissolve. I put some bullets in and swirled them around. I then drained off the liquid and fished the bullets out. After laying them on some cardboard and letting them dry, I discovered that a nice thin film of lube remained on the bullets. Essentially I used the acetone as a vehicle to deposit lube all over the surface of the bullet. It's reminiscent of a cci mini mag .22. ammo.
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