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Posted: 9/2/2016 11:13:29 AM EDT
| Does anyone here practice this? I've been reading over on cast Boolits and I'm thinking of picking up a set of the forming dies for 9mm-> .40/10mm... just in case. The .22LR to 5.56mm also looks helpful. |
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A member on here posted a nice write up of his techniques using stuff you may already have. I've been working on 40 Smith to 45 caliber bullets myself...
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/462365_How_hard_is_it_to_make_your_own_jacketed_bullets__with_how_to_on_page_2.html |
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Quoted:
A member on here posted a nice write up of his techniques using stuff you may already have. I've been working on 40 Smith to 45 caliber bullets myself... http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/462365_How_hard_is_it_to_make_your_own_jacketed_bullets__with_how_to_on_page_2.html Thanks for the link! While I also shoot .45 ACP, it's slow enough I figure powder coating is the way to go there. I prefer high velocity cartridges however. The .223 case to .308 bullet options also intrigue me for long term 30-30/.308/300 WM reloading. |
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Quoted:
Thanks for the link! While I also shoot .45 ACP, it's slow enough I figure powder coating is the way to go there. I prefer high velocity cartridges however. The .223 case to .308 bullet options also intrigue me for long term 30-30/.308/300 WM reloading. Quoted:
Quoted:
A member on here posted a nice write up of his techniques using stuff you may already have. I've been working on 40 Smith to 45 caliber bullets myself... http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/462365_How_hard_is_it_to_make_your_own_jacketed_bullets__with_how_to_on_page_2.html Thanks for the link! While I also shoot .45 ACP, it's slow enough I figure powder coating is the way to go there. I prefer high velocity cartridges however. The .223 case to .308 bullet options also intrigue me for long term 30-30/.308/300 WM reloading. There's no free ride with the 30cal's. You either have to buy jackets or buy cases to make jackets out of. 9mm cases ='s free or &.02 apiece 22lr cases ='s free 40s&w caSES ='S FREE OR $.02 A piece 9mm cases make 9mm bullets 38spl bullets 357bullets 35rem bullets/anything 35cal 40s&w cases make 44cal & 45cal bullets 22lr ='s 223's Glad to see you powder coat. IMHO you're partially right on the 45pc/pc thing. Don't write the swaged 45acp's off. I make 1 heck of a 225gr hp for the 45acp out of 40s&w cases that do 985fps out of a 5" bbl'd 1911. They have a hp from hell and flat out chew the hell out of anything they hit. I also coat 200gr hp's for the 45acp, excellent bullets!!! Where you should be putting your efforts is into casting/coating 30cal bullets. Casters/coaters are getting into the 2400fps range with accuracy. Anyone can do 1800fps, it's a place to start. Doesn't sound like much but free lead ='s free bullets and you can match your bullet weight to the caliber. IE , 170gr to the 30/30 and 200+gr to the 308. Get a 220gr bullet doing 2300fps in a 308 and your doing something. Same thing with a 30/30 heavy bullets max speed for the caliber. The 300mag jacketed only. At the end of the dat it will run $600+ for the 30cal dies + the press & core mold. Then the jackets are $.07 to $.12 apiece + shipping. While you can stilll save $$$ swaging your own 30cal bullets. It isn't the same as with the free 22lr/223's or the free 9mm/35cal's or the free 40s&w's/44cal & 45cal bullets. I do have a set of swaging dies to be able to swage jacketed bullets for the 30cal's. I just find that there are so many excellent molds out there for the 30cal's I'm better off using lead & coated bullets in them. My lead is free so I end up with around $.08 apiece in 308/30-06 loads (loads ='s loaded ammo/primer/powder/bullet, ready to shoot). Swaging is just another facet of reloading, it's nothing to make swaged lead bullets also. Simple things like the swaged hb hp swc's used my the fbi in there 158gr hbhpswc loads are easy enough to make. It's just as easy to make a hbhpswc for the 44spl snub nosed revolvers or extremely heavy jacketed hp's/bullets that cost huge amounts of $$$ for free. It's nothing to make 180gr sledge hammers for the 357's or 320gr thumpers for the 44mag's. By all means get into swaging, it's another tool in the toolbox. |
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Quoted:
Divide the savings per bullet by the cost of the dies. If that looks good divide the cost after deducting the material cost. How much do you shoot? That's not how a lot of us look at things, we picked up a Magma Bullet Master and Lube Master several years ago, will we cast enough to pay for it likely not but we'll never have to worry about having pistol bullets ever again for us or my shooting partners, have plans on adding a set of 30 cal molds to the stock pile sometime |
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Bullet swagging is not that hard, but the items needed to so such is the trick isntead.
Press wise, you putting tons of pressure on it, and in some cases, even a RCBS Chucker will not hold up to that kinds of pressure. The second is lead, being it has to be close to pure lead in the first place, and if you don't plan on getting raped for spools of wire lead, need to produce this as well. So including being able to produce your own wire lead, your somewhere in the $1k range before you have even started to produce the first bullet, and the end results of the how well the bullets are going to shot, is back on how well you take the time to unifiy them all in the first place. Truth is, if you take a look at some of the offered tools to produce the bullets, them themselves are lacking to begin. It not that they have been produced like crap, but that fact that may lack the needed fine tune adjustments to hold there settings when removed and reinstalled on the press when you are producing bullets over a year isntead. Point blank, powder coating has solved a great deal of the problems with casted bullets, and at most, only costs around $100 to get you-turn key to produce them. So say short of 224 or 308 that you are trying to push over 2.5K and trying to get it to print in the sub MOA, powder coated casted bullets are what you are looking for isntead. As for the 223 bullets made out of 22lr cases, with the thin jackets on the bullets, then too have limitations as well. |
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Quoted:
That's not how a lot of us look at things, we picked up a Magma Bullet Master and Lube Master several years ago, will we cast enough to pay for it likely not but we'll never have to worry about having pistol bullets ever again for us or my shooting partners, have plans on adding a set of 30 cal molds to the stock pile sometime Quoted:
Quoted:
Divide the savings per bullet by the cost of the dies. If that looks good divide the cost after deducting the material cost. How much do you shoot? That's not how a lot of us look at things, we picked up a Magma Bullet Master and Lube Master several years ago, will we cast enough to pay for it likely not but we'll never have to worry about having pistol bullets ever again for us or my shooting partners, have plans on adding a set of 30 cal molds to the stock pile sometime I load all sorts of stuff. In BR grade guns I use BR grade bullets. My Panda action (left port right bolt) varmint rifle gets BR grade bullets. I own equipment to make .22 bullets using .22 RF cases for jackets and did it for a while. At some point it is worth just paying for bullets and spending more time at the range or hunting. I could make smokeless powsder if I wanted. i even have a lba available. It is not worth the materials or risk. Nitrating cellulose (cotton is a good source) is simply not worth the effort. |
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