Shotgun Slug Dies

New to posting after reading what others have contributed for a couple of years now . I have learned alot and it has really got my interest . So much that I am starting to aquire my own small collection of swaging items from some of the famous makers mentioned on here .
I see alot of people making their own dies for handguns and rifles , Has as anyone tried making their own finned (Hollow Dome ) H dies for the hydroswage press or any other press for that matter . I would assume they would be rather similar to any other die except for the fin making part of the die and getting the dome formed through steps to form the lead .
Would anyone have any pics and information of a set that they have and care to share for those that are interested, especially me ?
And I wanted to say thank you for all those that have posted all the info that I have learned what little I know so far from ,but I'm getting there ....with a little help .

I don't have the answers to your questions, but welcome to the forum.

Fred

As a machinist, I can tell you adding grooves to a die to produce fins is absolutely possible (obviously) but could prove very difficult without professional equipment. You would need to have a broaching tool of some sort quite accurate for obvious reasons, and the ability to rotate the die very accurately, for balance and positioning of each fin. If the fins didn't have to be square, round for example, you could drill a hole pattern in the position you want the fins, then bore out the core for the remainder of the slugs shape. An option to bipass the fancy broaching equipment. You could possibly do the drill patern slightly larger than the slug finished and then "size them" in a die to flatten them... you'd get different results, may take some experimenting... I've never tried this so it's just speculation at this point, but it should be possible, or instead of resizing, push it through a sharp die to trim the surplus lead, the die would need a fairly good fit to the hollow to ensure even trimming.

Uncle Dino on this site. See him in vendor sponsors and here's his website.
http://www.furycustombullets.com/

baddoglowder, Welcome to the sight. I can not answer your question sorry but you did ask on the right forum.

I see you mention hydroswage so would think you have been here. http://www.corbins.com/slugs.htm
check out the links on the page for some interesting pics.. Attachment 218347

this has some details on using his dies http://www.swage.com/ftp/finslug2.pdf

I was going to mention the same thing. Instead of the elaborate broaching approach that was previously mentioned, it's much easier to make a punch with the grooves for the fins cut into it which still is no walk in the park considering they are helical. Would require a CNC mill with a 4th axis I imagine.

I believe the outer shell of the fin form punch is made separate from the center.. The center punch is threaded in.. D

Would anyone that owns a set of these dies, especially H Dies , be willing to post some detailed pictures? I understand that the dies would be able to make several different style bullets depending on the features incorporated into the die design . I seen everything from plain lead bullet to finned jacket hollow domes made . One design even incorperates a copper piece that acts as wipe to clean lead and help seal the projectile in the barrel when shooting .
I would also think this design would work well for larger caliber rifle , and especially larger caliber pistol bullets . Can't see doing .17 or .223 this way , but maybe . It's got to make a better bullet then casting slugs . If I can find enough info to get a good idea of the design features I would like to give making them a try . Working with a larger hole should be easier - right ?:-o

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Originally Posted by jimrk

I see you mention hydroswage so would think you have been here. http://www.corbins.com/slugs.htm
check out the links on the page for some interesting pics.. Attachment 218347

this has some details on using his dies http://www.swage.com/ftp/finslug2.pdf

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I would suspect that very few people have taken out the mortgage required to buy the swage die set for that little rocket-ship slug. I could imagine the (nearly) round-nosed one working out very well, but I think it might be a better candidate for casting. In general smoothbore slugs don't require the extreme concentricity of mass rifle bullets do, with their centre of mass describing a tight helical path down the bore, and ready to obey Newton's First Law on emergence, by heading off in whatever direction the end of the helix was pointing.

I don't think any 12ga slug really needs to expand. What do people seek to achieve with expanding jacketed rifle bullets? Getting them to become about .7in. in diameter. So shotgun slugs come ready expanded. I'm particularly sceptical about that huge eggcup nose. This drawing shows why. When a conventional bullet tilts, it experiences more air pressure on the side which will straighten it up. A pious hole possibly, especially with rifling. But the eggcup, when it begins to tilt, experiences increased pressure on the side that will keep it going till it is tumbling.

Attachment 219362

Slugs stabilised aerodynamically or by weight distribution have a long history of not quite living up to the advertising or the imagination. My guess as to what happens is that the "tail", driven in by air resistance on the left side, goes far enough to stick out and be driven back on the right. The process continues, building up more and more of a cyclic wobble. The Corbin slug looks like a nice, moderate example. But I doubt if the shape is patentable and it may have been around long enough for a patent to expire. If it really works well, we have to ask why nobody has copied it with a die-cast hollow-base plug in a mould.