9mm Swaging

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07-24-2011, 10:32 PM
ddpenn

9mm Swaging

I saw a few posts related to swaging 9mm handgun bullets. What are the

1.options available for dies to swage FMJ or hollow point bullets
2. aside from .32 cal cases can you purchase dies to swage your own jackets.
3. What is total I should expect to pay for a dies setup $500 dollar proposition.
4. is it realistic to expect savings

I have tried to do searches but if you search "9mm and swaging" it only brings up posts related to spent 9 cases swaged into .40.

I am really interested to hear if anyone on the forum swages their own 9mm.
07-24-2011, 11:05 PM
Mountain Prepper

I think there are several of us...

I started with .357 from corbin a full three die set.

I don’t shoot .357 and decided to try out the CH4D dies.

I have lots of jackets for the .357 so I was ahead of the game.

Lots of guys are having luck with the Lee Classic Cast press and CH4D or BT Sniper’s updated versions - BT has an ejector rig (worth every penny - or you could make your own).

The CH4D dies are 185.30 and if you have a HD reloading press you could go from there.

Savings... have you ever actually saved much reloading? If you count free rang pick-up stuff, including lead then it would be the dies and your time only...

You can take 9mm brass and size it down to 9mm for jackets.

Again BT is supposed to be working on 9mm brass to 9mm jackets, then an intermediate step and then eventually a .308 jacket... He has not announced this product yet - I think a few have taken lead lead bullet sizing dies and done this...

I am waiting for the die sets from BT for sizing the 9mm brass down to other sizes.

You can also use copper or brass tubing or .357/38/.223 brass to cut into tubes and then form into jackets.

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...rs_hackets.jpg

A batch of 1/2 jackets for .357 I then tuned into a Hollow point lead tip .355. That is 500 jackets I got for 4 bucks from the local gun shop - he said they must have been in the shop for over 10 years, and some old timer brought that and an old 9 ton press into the shop because he did not swage anymore.

This is the core seated in the jacket with a little of the extra lead sticking out of the point - unlike the corbin dies it does not cut off the lead sprue - I snip it off with side cutters.

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...ted_single.jpg

A bucket of seated cores.

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...ore_Seated.jpg

I used lead wire and cut above the weight (including jacket) this is the seated core going into the point forming die.

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...ating_core.jpg

Here is the formed bullet.

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...Point_form.jpg

It’s funny to see a set of CH4D dies and ejector on a corbin press...
07-24-2011, 11:09 PM
Mountain Prepper

Here is a bucket of 500 from another batch - note the jacket is much longer, but it is still a HP with some of a lead tip.

The 1/2 jackets ended up as 110 gr. and this is 121 gr.

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...5_finished.jpg

Here is a 121 grain bullet loaded and in an FNX-9 magazine.

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...355_loaded.jpg
07-25-2011, 12:06 AM
ReloaderFred

I make .357" and .355" diameter bullets from .380 brass. It works well and there seems to be an abundance of .380 shooters at our club, so the brass is free. I use cast bullets for cores, depending on the final weight I want for the bullet. I've also used .32 Auto brass for making both sizes, too.

Hope this helps.

Fred
07-25-2011, 01:18 AM
Mountain Prepper

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReloaderFred

I make .357" and .355" diameter bullets from .380 brass. It works well and there seems to be an abundance of .380 shooters at our club, so the brass is free. I use cast bullets for cores, depending on the final weight I want for the bullet. I've also used .32 Auto brass for making both sizes, too.

Hope this helps.

Fred

Hey Fred, what do you use to size down your brass to make jackets, and what measurement (dia.) do you size them down to?
07-25-2011, 11:18 AM
ddpenn

Thanks so much for the information mountain prepper. Have you tried making 9's upto 147 or is around 125 the limit of the setup.
07-25-2011, 11:55 AM
ReloaderFred

Mountain Prepper,

I simply use the C-H .357 two die set for making my .357" diameter bullets. After I anneal the brass, I just drop in the cast bullet and use the core seat die to set it. Then I swage the bullet in the swaging die.

I don't use an intermediate step for sizing the .380 auto brass, since it doesn't need it.

For the 9mm bullets, I've got a set of Hollywood swaging dies that were sold to me as .357" dies, but only put out a bullet that's .354" in diameter, so I've been using those for 9x19 bullets. They seem to work fine, with the only drawback being it only makes a SWC bullet.

ddpenn,

Making 147 grain bullets with .380 brass is simple, since the brass weighs enough that it only takes a 105 grain cast bullet to make it a 160 grain bullet. By using a core that weighs less, you'll get a bullet near your target weight.

Hope this helps.

Fred
07-25-2011, 02:44 PM
Mountain Prepper

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddpenn

Thanks so much for the information mountain prepper. Have you tried making 9's upto 147 or is around 125 the limit of the setup.

I am not sure - I never go over 125 for my own use as I am only shooting 9mm and the 147 weight bullets are just too heavy to get the velocity I want for hollow points, if anything I am prone to go to 80 to 110 grain bullets to get them high and plus “P” as any reloader I change with the wind and the mood as for what I want to try... ;-)

One of the strong benefits to swaging is your ability to make what you want... if I want a frangible 110 grain HP or a 143 grain lead tip I can just make what I need at the moment.

I think that the CH4D dies would make even heaver than 147, there is quite a bit of adjustment.

Heavy would be good with the .357 sig to get the heavy and fast that cartridge was made for...
07-25-2011, 02:46 PM
Mountain Prepper

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReloaderFred

Mountain Prepper,

I simply use the C-H .357 two die set for making my .357" diameter bullets. After I anneal the brass, I just drop in the cast bullet and use the core seat die to set it. Then I swage the bullet in the swaging die.

I don't use an intermediate step for sizing the .380 auto brass, since it doesn't need it.

For the 9mm bullets, I've got a set of Hollywood swaging dies that were sold to me as .357" dies, but only put out a bullet that's .354" in diameter, so I've been using those for 9x19 bullets. They seem to work fine, with the only drawback being it only makes a SWC bullet.

ddpenn,

Making 147 grain bullets with .380 brass is simple, since the brass weighs enough that it only takes a 105 grain cast bullet to make it a 160 grain bullet. By using a core that weighs less, you'll get a bullet near your target weight.

Hope this helps.

Fred

We don’t get much .380 at the range, so I was thinking about using all of the S&B and Amerc 9mm brass I have for jackets - I only have about 500 pre-made 9mm jackets left and I will have to start making my own - and I am working on that... both 9mm and .308.

What better use for Amerc than a jacket?
07-25-2011, 03:05 PM
ReloaderFred

Watch the A-Merc brass, as it's heavier than most of the other brands. You'll have to swage them separately since you'll have to set up the swaging die just for them to get them to come out right. At least that's what I found with their lousy .380 brass.

Also make sure your S&B brass isn't copper washed steel. You can't tell the difference by just looking. I'm finding that about half the S&B brass I get is actually steel, so I just run a strong magnet over it while sorting.

You'll also find that with swaging bullets from cartridge brass, that the finished product will come out longer than a conventional jacketed bullet of the same weight. With long revolver cartridges this isn't a problem, but with short pistol cartridges it is. With the longer straight wall revolver cartridges, I use loading data for the next heavier factory bullet to compensate for the longer swaged bullet, which reduces the volume of the loaded cartridge.

For example, I'm making 225 grain JHP .44 Magnum bullets from military .40 S&W brass (headstamp: FC 08) that is left at our range by the Coast Guard. I use a soft (bhn 6) unsized 158 grain .38 bullet for the core. For loading data, I start with the starting loads for the .44 Magnum 240 grain jacketed bullets and work up to what I want. This gives me the safety margin that I want when working up the loads and gives a good starting point, too.

The decreased volume situation could be problematic in the shorter 9x19 case. If you can locate some .32 auto brass, that makes ideal 9mm bullets, but they're not as common as some of the other calibers. I've managed to accumulate about 1/3 of a coffee can for my next run of those bullets.

Hope this helps.

Fred
07-25-2011, 05:49 PM
Mountain Prepper

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReloaderFred

Watch the A-Merc brass, as it's heavier than most of the other brands. You'll have to swage them separately since you'll have to set up the swaging die just for them to get them to come out right. At least that's what I found with their lousy .380 brass.

Also make sure your S&B brass isn't copper washed steel. You can't tell the difference by just looking. I'm finding that about half the S&B brass I get is actually steel, so I just run a strong magnet over it while sorting.

You'll also find that with swaging bullets from cartridge brass, that the finished product will come out longer than a conventional jacketed bullet of the same weight. With long revolver cartridges this isn't a problem, but with short pistol cartridges it is. With the longer straight wall revolver cartridges, I use loading data for the next heavier factory bullet to compensate for the longer swaged bullet, which reduces the volume of the loaded cartridge.

For example, I'm making 225 grain JHP .44 Magnum bullets from military .40 S&W brass (headstamp: FC 08) that is left at our range by the Coast Guard. I use a soft (bhn 6) unsized 158 grain .38 bullet for the core. For loading data, I start with the starting loads for the .44 Magnum 240 grain jacketed bullets and work up to what I want. This gives me the safety margin that I want when working up the loads and gives a good starting point, too.

The decreased volume situation could be problematic in the shorter 9x19 case. If you can locate some .32 auto brass, that makes ideal 9mm bullets, but they're not as common as some of the other calibers. I've managed to accumulate about 1/3 of a coffee can for my next run of those bullets.

Hope this helps.

Fred

Good info - did not know about S&B, will check that stuff...

I did know about the Amerc junk, was saving it to spend it out as jackets (it does not load worth anything).

Loading tips are good, I am in the process of getting .40 cases ready for a .45, I have CH4D dies for that as well as corbin so the case to jacket thing is on the list...

I did see some posts where the guys were cutting off the rims of the cases to make jackets - lots of things to try out.

Sadly .32 is even more rare than .308 at our range - almost all .40, 9mm, and from time to time 38 and .357.

A light bullet loaded correctly could be a fast popper...
07-26-2011, 01:43 AM
mactool

I will be trying to make 9mm bullets fra 223 brass. cut in in 2 use the top part with the shoulder for a 9mm 124-130 grain truncated bullet, and the rest for a 357 bullet. since the 223 is a bit over size i will attempt to reduce them by usind a 8x57js FL die, which should reduce the diameter to .345"