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12 hours ago, inertord said:

Actually in US Military Terminology it’s Target Practice – Tracer, as in the 105MM M940 TP-T Cartridge, etc.

The M781 Nomenclature = 40mm M781, 40mm Practice Cartridge Low Velocity 

Well I stand corrected. When i was in, we called all practice rounds TPT.  It's easier to use than, 40mm M781, 40 mm Practice Cartridge Low Velocity (makes my fingers tired!)

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Shot a few more of the sponge rounds the other day. Very easy on the shoulder, 1/2 load is the way to go. You should hear those things when they hit a tree! 

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If you guys can get your hands on the sponge rounds, they are a great option compared to full load chalk rounds.  I have both now and even though there are no ready components to reload the sponge rounds, they are a ton a fun to shoot and safer. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 7/4/2023 at 7:25 AM, BPinFL said:

Have you tried Reloadable Shells/ Pace Ind? Been using the 37mm variant for years, now moving up to 40mm. Lots of options, I highly recommend them!

Happy Independence Day to the Board! BP

Since I have a M79, the 40 MM is IMHO the way to go. Eastblock Arms has plenty of options for both M781 and sponge rounds. The great thing about sponge rounds is that they are entirely reloadable as long as you recover the sponge tip. I just shot two today and was able to quickly reinsert the sponge tip to the casing and then insert another .38 spl 1/2 load blank. 

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18 hours ago, Rekraps said:

Since I have a M79, the 40 MM is IMHO the way to go. Eastblock Arms has plenty of options for both M781 and sponge rounds. The great thing about sponge rounds is that they are entirely reloadable as long as you recover the sponge tip. I just shot two today and was able to quickly reinsert the sponge tip to the casing and then insert another .38 spl 1/2 load blank. 

And I buy blanks from Boland Productions. Great quality and good prices.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/27/2022 at 10:31 AM, Rekraps said:

Guys, for those of you who have, for personal use only, a number of M781 TPT (Inert) Chalk rounds for the M79 or M203, you know that the rounds themselves are getting scarce, but even more so the impulse charges (.38 Blanks). Scouting the web, the cost, if you can find them can be as high as $3 per blank which is ridiculous. 

So, save your plastic casings, order new production pushers and chalk heads and buy impulse blanks. But where?

I found a company called Boland Production Supply out of Winter Haven FL and they manufacture a variety of blanks and other interesting production items for movies, and the US Government etc. I spoke with Mal Boland personally and he shipped me a sample .38 Short, full load, six point rose crimped to test in the M79. 

Brand new production, shiny and perfect. The blank fit into the plastic M781 shell casing and seated perfectly with no effort at all, and it was just a smidgen, and i mean a smidgen loose. The crimped tip did not extend beyond the initial expansion chamber. In order to make sure the blank would not accidently fall out or come loose, I used a drop of Elmer's Glue around the brass case and within minutes it was seated firmly. 

The unit performed as intended. Removing the expended blank was easy using a jig i made with a 2x4. I drilled a 2.78 inch hole .75 inches deep, with a .5 inch hole centered through the rest of the 2x4. The casing is placed in the jig and the expended blank is tapped out of the plastic shell casing with a flat punch. Ready to use again.

Mat is a pleasure to deal with and actually answers the phone.

Blanks (.38 shorts/full load/crimped) are $21.50 per 50. Good value, great quality. For the record, do not fully assemble any M781 rounds (with blanks in them) and store the rounds. That seems to fall afoul of ATF guidelines. Instead, keep & store the inert chalk rounds (or components) separate from the blanks. 

Yes I paid for my order......

I wanted to thank you for posting this. Im just getting into the 40mm realm and was struggling to find a consistent way to launch these. This was exactly what I needed! Do you have any consistent source for pushers?

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On 8/12/2023 at 6:15 PM, Homemadeammo42 said:

I wanted to thank you for posting this. Im just getting into the 40mm realm and was struggling to find a consistent way to launch these. This was exactly what I needed! Do you have any consistent source for pushers?

Yes, Easternblocarms has the components. I save the plastic shell cases and order the pushers and chalk cap assemblies from them, $157 for 25. A touch of Elmers glue and I have assembled rounds. I made a jig to remove the spent blanks so I can reuse the casings. 

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On 8/14/2023 at 4:17 AM, Rekraps said:

Yes, Easternblocarms has the components. I save the plastic shell cases and order the pushers and chalk cap assemblies from them, $157 for 25. A touch of Elmers glue and I have assembled rounds. I made a jig to remove the spent blanks so I can reuse the casings. 

They have been out of just the pushers for a while now. Thats all I need since I 3d print the windscreen.

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5 hours ago, Homemadeammo42 said:

They have been out of just the pushers for a while now. Thats all I need since I 3d print the windscreen.

Call them, they are pretty good about helping out.....

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  • 2 weeks later...

Shot a few full weight practice chalk rounds using 1/2 load .38 Blanks and the performance is as you would expect. Full load .38 special blanks push the round exactly like the real one, and believe me they move. 1/2 load .38 special blanks and much quieter and the round struggles to go 150 feet, which is just perfect for my backyard. You can watch the round fly!

Now, I'll still shoot full load as it wallops the trees!

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1 hour ago, inertord said:

Your using .38 Special Blanks or .38 S&W Blanks?

I use Boland Productions .38 Special 1/2 and full load "Shorts". A regular .38 special shell would not fit into the recess. Much more affordable.  If you call them Mr. Boland himself will help you.  He did for me. 

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6 hours ago, inertord said:

I missed the part that your blanks are commercial movie type production being called  .38 special and not mil spec M781 charges.

Correct. The work perfect, fit perfect and do the job.

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So now I'm thinking for around the home shooting (i.e. backyard) it's probably safest to use 1/2 load .38 special shorts. It's still fun but the round will not travel too far in case of a mistake. 150 ft or so with good accuracy. 

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  • 1 month later...

Okay, now that I have an ample supply of components, assembling your own rounds cost about $4.25 per. Eastern Block Arms  sells the parts, order the chalk powder from Amazon and use Elmers glue to seal the windscreen and case. 
 

You can reuse the pushers (clean up with wire where and soapy water), cases (wash with soapy water). Reusing the pushers and cases brings reload costs down to $2.00. 
 

Easy Peasy!

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  • 3 weeks later...

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