clay ammo

start by digging you up some clay. here in georgia you need only go down a couple inches to get to some good stuff.

i tried using water to change the consistency myself but found it much easier to just wait for some rain. natural rainfall brings out a really good consistency.

i spread some of the clay out on a tray and sift out the fine rocks with my left hand while the clay drops below onto my right hand, and ill keep squeezing it packed until its a bit bigger than desired size.

youll notice if you keep packing it for a while it gets smaller, i try to make them dense as possible.

i used a crooked knife to carve out the moulds. i trace a circle with paint and press it to the other side of the mould so it matches up.

you could do an oval or any shape size you prefer.
i place the ball into the mould..

...and lean over it with my body weight to get it packed good and solid.


jiggle the mould, if the clay is a good consistency it will come out like this; too wet and it will break apart in the middle, and youll have to smack the moulds together to get the pieces to fall out.
you can pack the halves back together by hand and it will work fine, it just wont be as smooth and uniform looking.

all thats left to do now is clean off the excess and finish with a little more hand packing to make sure everything is tight.
depending on how wet they are to start, and the size/density, combine with the drying conditions will dictate how long it takes to dry.

these are close to golf ball size, 80 grams wet, dried to a solid 65 grams in 1-2 days. sunlight isnt necessary to dry them as i would have thought, even on a rainy day, they are quick to dry either way.

baking the clay at high temperatures ive heard will increase it's resistence to moisture damage, this was probably more necessary in ancient times but might be more effort than its worth for casual plinking ammo.