How can I flatten a pointy boolit ?

[superior]

I would like to flatten the noses on my Lee CTL-312-160's for better killing power.
Can someone sugest a good method other than buying a lubrisizer? I use a Lyman accu-press for all my reloading and I only use a .314 lee sizer die to crimp on the gc's without touching the boolit. I wouldnt mind buying just a die that will do the job if that's possible (probably not). Of course I am seeking precision and uniformity in any flattening job. ( Just dreaming). Thanks in advance for all responses. :?:

[docone31]

If it were me, and I wanted to do that without getting another mold, I would use the Forstners Hollow point fixture.
That way, you could control the weight and effectively make the tip less of a spitzer.
I have that mold.
It will not group at all in my rifles.

[Dan Cash]

Veral Smith used to have such a nose flatening die for .22 rim fire. You inserted the loaded round and used a chisel or file or something to cut the nose off. I have made flat nose bullets from Creedmoor bullets in .45-70 by boring a 1/2 inch hole in a suitable block of wood; determining the desired overall length for the soon to be flat nose bullet; set the fence on my table saw or band saw to the desired distance; insert the loaded round in the block of wood and WITH THE CARTRIDGE HEAD AGAINST THE FENCE, run the block and cartridge through the saw. The cut is neat and results quite uniform. Accurace seems as good as if one were using a bullet from a flat nose mould.

If you do not have a saw, you could fabricate a holding jig from wood and a piece of strap iron and use a wood chisel to cut the bullet. The strap iron would give you a durable guiding surface for the chisel.

Good luck
Dan

[superior]

It looks like I'm gonna have to do some creative fabrication. Do I need to buy a spendy Forstner case trimmer to use the hollow point fixture?

[357maximum]

Just make sure you use a rather mallable and tough alloy (IE 50/50 ww/pure and then waterdrop) on deer sized game you will still have venison regardless of the nose shape.

If you make sure you hit a rib first you will have a flat point anyways:bigsmyl2:

I would not hesitate to shoot a deer with any shape 30 cal 150+grain boolit at 1600fps plus IMPACT VELOCITY with wd'ed 50/50.

[waksupi]

You can use your lubrisizer. After you have freshly cast, and the boolits are at thier softest, put them in the lubrisizer, and give them a bit extra pressure. You should be able to flatten the nose, and bump it up a bit. I did this for my Swede when using my Lyman mold for hunting.

[Bret4207]

If I read your first post right you're sizing with the Lee system. If so, I don't know that the sizer will do it. Not anyway that comes to mind right off anyway. Yes, the Forster HPer requires the Forster trimmer. But If you have to buy something, the Forster is a very good trimmer and you will need a trimmer of some sort eventually.

The best bet I can think of is as Dan Cash said- fabricate a block of wood to hold the loaded round firmly and cut the tip. I do this with 22 LR rounds using a section of old 22 barrel I made up using a 22 LR chambering reamer. You could drill out a block of wood, hard wood like ash or birch or oak, and use a file to cut the tip down to a flat of desired size. It's worth a try and won't cost much other than time.

Should you run onto a lubrisizer at some point then do as Ric said and "bump" a flat onto the nose with your top punch.

[bobk]

357Maximum,
Ever shoot a deer with 50/50 ACWW?
Bob K

[Will]

I just file them off and use my scale to insure I get the same amount off each.

[Calamity Jake]

"I would like to flatten the noses on my Lee CTL-312-160's for better killing power.
Can someone sugest a good method.











BIG HAMMER!!!!!!!!! :bigsmyl2:

[clintsfolly]

just hit bone!!! clint

[jonk]

Someone joked on the hammer method. I can't say it would produce uniform results, but banging the tip before sizing would certainly flatten it.

I'd just go on the boolit exchange board here and offer to trade some of what you have for some flat points.

[MT Gianni]

I bought a trim die for a 6.5 remington and ran loades 311413 rds up in it with an 06 and 308. I then trimmed the bullet to have a .266 flat on it. Accuracy sucked to say it mildly. If you want a flat point I feel it is best to buy one.

[mrbill2]

I made a collet for my lathe that fits in my three jaw chuck. The way it's made the bullet will bottom out in the collet and the collet rests against the jaws. Cut the bullets off to within 2 or 3 thousands and square. Also works on the bullet base

[Cap'n Morgan]

Have Buckshot "hollow point" the mold, and use a flat core pin.

[badgeredd]

I would like to flatten the noses on my Lee CTL-312-160's for better killing power.
Can someone sugest a good method other than buying a lubrisizer? I use a Lyman accu-press for all my reloading and I only use a .314 lee sizer die to crimp on the gc's without touching the boolit. I wouldnt mind buying just a die that will do the job if that's possible (probably not). Of course I am seeking precision and uniformity in any flattening job. ( Just dreaming). Thanks in advance for all responses. :?:

Get a hardwood block, drill a 5/16" diameter hole about 3/8" deep. Buy a 7/8-14 bolt about 2" long. Screw said bolt into your reloading press, set your boolit into the hole already drilled, and raise block with boolit with the ram, up to the bolt end. Simple and repeatable. If you make your block fit inside the press frame you can use the frame for the stop and set the bolt to a desired depth. I'd flatten the end of the bolt to get it as consistent of a surface as possible too. Of course an even better block would be a piece of mild steel instead of the hardwood.

Edd

Edd

[superior]

Thanks for the good ideas. I like the lathe best. (dreaming again). I think the easiest solution would be the alloy composition. The most difficult idea would be to make sure it hits bone lol.
I have until deer season to decide what to do so I have some time to try different ideas.

[bruce drake]

Order the LEE 150gr .308 Flatpoint Mold.

At 18-21 dollars for the second mold, the time to tweak the 160gr Spitzer isn't worth it. If you are loading for a semi-automatic rifle you just need to work the depth that the bullet is seated at to ensure positive functioning for the second shot (if you need more than one to hit the deer....)

Bruce

[357maximum]

357Maximum,
Ever shoot a deer with 50/50 ACWW?
Bob K

I have shot a few with acww and it always worked just fine, but I get better accuracy with the wd'ed 50/50 and it works a tad bit better on deer. IMHO

I like to waterdrop when making boolits. It just fits my casting style much mo betta so I use ww split with pure so that I end up with a more mallable alloy. I like the 50/50 better and so do my guns so I stick with it. A waterdropped straight ww boolit has personality traits I do not like in a hunting boolit.

[Three44s]

Cast soft nosed boolits

Three 44s

[yodar]

I would like to flatten the noses on my Lee CTL-312-160's for better killing power.
Can someone sugest a good method other than buying a lubrisizer? I use a Lyman accu-press for all my reloading and I only use a .314 lee sizer die to crimp on the gc's without touching the boolit. I wouldnt mind buying just a die that will do the job if that's possible (probably not). Of course I am seeking precision and uniformity in any flattening job. ( Just dreaming). Thanks in advance for all responses. :?:

I have your bullet's baby brudder, the 312-155-2R and I LIKE that pointy end 'cause I shoot paper and gongs with it. But when I size it, running it thru the luber sizer, my top punch is as pointy as I can find, in fact, I moulded the insides around the tip of the Lee bullet with hot-melt plastic to make sure it doesnt flatten it.

After a hundred rounds of sizing, the point is flattened, despite my efforts.
(NEXT time I might use EPOXY)

SO your problem is solved by doing what I did, without modifying the top punch.

Meanwhile my problem is I gotta get out the hot-melt glue gun and reline my top punch.

yodar

[bobk]

357Maximum,
I have this idea to paperpatch 50/50 WW/Pb boolits so that I can drive them at higher velocity out of the '06. I need to experiment. I want to try the 311466 first, and see whether I can patch just the driving bands, or if I really have to patch over the GC. I'm reinventing the wheel here, in that what I am trying to duplicate are jacketed bullets. I'm not sure that you can patch over the GC without tearing the paper, anyway. The Hornady GCs I have are way larger than a .30 bore, anyway.

All my .30 molds are GC.

Bob K

[rbstern]

I worked up this method a few years ago:

http://www.zjstech.net/gunstuff/gunsandbullets/articles/castflattened.asp

[bobk]

rbstern,
I like that. I have thought about making a punch for use with a bare sizing die, just press it until it stops on the die body. Trouble is, it's not adjustable. I'm going to steal your idea, to use on my 311291s. It's an old mold, so a little bumpup on the nose dia wouldn't hurt a thing.

Bob K

[superior]

Rbstern that is awesome. Can I order a flat seater die insert from Lee?

[rbstern]

Rbstern that is awesome. Can I order a flat seater die insert from Lee?

I don't know. I'm sure you could grind or sand one flat.. Or, even easier, just look for an older steel, RCBS die set, or even just the seater die with a SWC insert.

[Boerrancher]

I have shot a few with acww and it always worked just fine, but I get better accuracy with the wd'ed 50/50 and it works a tad bit better on deer. IMHO

I like to waterdrop when making boolits. It just fits my casting style much mo betta so I use ww split with pure so that I end up with a more mallable alloy. I like the 50/50 better and so do my guns so I stick with it. A waterdropped straight ww boolit has personality traits I do not like in a hunting boolit.

I am in 100% agreement, only I don't water drop, since I only punch paper to work up an accurate load, and 90% of my shooting is at Fur.

To answer the original question that started this thread, I would not worry about flattening the nose. I shoot a Lee C309-180-R out of my 30-30 and that profile has worked good for killing critters. I also shoot the 150 gr FN out of my 30-30, but only because it shoots most excellent out of my rifle. With my 50/50 alloy the 150 gr FN is a bit more destructive than I would like it to be.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe