swaging lead bullets

[Tom R]

I know the hobby has gone to jacketed bullets but what is the deal with swaged lead bullets? I am wondering how fast you can push them? how hard can you get them? Can I use them in a 9mm? How about my 308? Can I swage lead bullets with dies made for jackets?
I don't see much of this being done as of now. Maybe I have not been paying attention. Now that I have a set of 224 dies I am looking at more **** I have to own.
Thank you

[ReloaderFred]

I've swaged lead bullets for both 9mm and .38 Special, but not from virgin lead. I've taken cast and lubricated bullets, that are lubed with Magma hard lube, and run them into my swaging dies to reform them from one shape to another. In some cases, where I needed a flat point bullet for 357 Sig, I've taken a round nose bullet and run it into the swaging die and made a flat point bullet out of it. I've done the same thing with full metal jacket bullets when I needed flat point bullets for 9x25 Dillon. Just set the die for the length of bullet I need and one stroke does it. I've done the same with plated bullets to get the flat point I needed.

I've also bumped bullets up in a swaging die. I have a .38/.357 swaging die that produces bullets at .361" diameter. This is perfect for .38 S&W rounds, so I make them out of .358" cast bullets for a couple guys who shoot old breaktop S&W revolvers. Just run them up into the die and they instantly become .38 S&W bullets.

I doubt that it would be practical for the .308, but you won't know until you try.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Tom R]

I really had never thought of changing an existing bullet to another shape. Now I know how.

[ReloaderFred]

It's easy if you have the right swaging dies. I can make them RNFP, HP, SWC or SWC-HP. There's no need to put up with bullets of the wrong shape...............

Hope this helps.

Fred

[runfiverun]

you can also just swage hollowpoints into existing boolits.
i reform the nose and hollow point my 429421's and the rcbs swc g/c.
it helps accuracy in some guns and adds a new dimension from soft lead with the g/c mold.
i don't have to mess with hollowpoint pins and can use them either way.
just cast run through the star and swage faster than the jacketed actually.
cause i gotta anneal the brass cast the inserts and swage, sometimes trimming the jackets.

[Southern Son]

Some use swaged boolits for paper patching in BPCR for long range stuff (out to 1k).

[DukeInFlorida]

I have an old swaging press, and it has but one set of tools: An adjustable punch and die for making semi wad cutter 357's.

About all I ever use it for is to reform 147 grain 9mm bullets into 147 grain swc's for my 357/38 special.

I first cast the 9mm bullets, and then run them through the lubricizer to lube them. Then, into the swage tools they go... One quick motion, and the diameter is expanded, and the nose reformed from round nose to SWC.

The press was originally made to produce half jacket type bullets, but the jackets are too expensive.

[Grapeshot]

I used to make RNFP .454 diameter bullets out of .452 250 gr. SWC's. I'd use my Corbin Press and Dies to make the SWC into a WC then change to a Nose Forming Die and MAke my WC's into the RNFP's for Cowboy Action Shooting.

When I worked at Gunpowder Indoor Range, I'd collect all the dud 9mm's and pull the FMJ's out of the 9mm case and reformed them into .357 FMJ-WC's and reload them into .38 SPL cases and sell them as JWC's for $.50 more than the LWC's.

I've also taken the Beveled Base SWC's, Both for the .357 and .45 and swaged them with the approppriate Gas Check and then I'd have a Gas Checked .357 or .45 ACP/.45 Colt bullet.

Be aware that if you are swaging cast bullets with hard lube in the grooves, the lube will stand up against the swaging and you will still have a lubricated bullet. The base will flaten out if you swage a beveled base bullet, that is why I added the Gas Check to them so I could drive them a little faster if I wanted to.

[ANeat]

Ive had good results re-forming various cast bullets.

[BT Sniper]

It's easy if you have the right swaging dies. I can make them RNFP, HP, SWC or SWC-HP. There's no need to put up with bullets of the wrong shape...............

Aneat,

The look of your swaged lead is awesome. Almost enough to make a swager like me want to shoot lead. All most! I would have to buy a lub sizer then, just what I need a nother press

Good shooting,

BT

[MIBULLETS]

For the .308, you could shoot a paper patched bullet.

[Tom R]

I am always amassed at the responses I get on my questions. You guys are truly outstanding.
I like the idea of a paper patched 308. Any more info? I shoot a ton of 9mm and would like to make jacked 9mm but I don't know what to use for jackets. I can cast 9mm bullets fine and I do so but I like the idea of swaging. I also only have lee molds in 9mm right now and I am not the biggest fan of the lube process. I know it works, but it just does not feel right. I understand swaging is not a cure to this but I was rambling.

[MIBULLETS]

For information on paper patching, check www.corbins.com and www.rceco.com . They should give you a good idea about what is involved.

[BT Sniper]

I have not figured a jacket for 9mm. I know the 380 auto as well as the sized down 223 brass, even a custom jacket from cut tops of the brass will work but I got to say that after figuring out how easy it was to make 40 cal jacketed bullets from 9mm brass I don't figure I'll have much need for a 9mm. Really enjoying the 40/10mm right now.

Keep at it.

BT

[ReloaderFred]

You can make 9mm bullets from .32 Auto brass, but it's hard to come by in any quantities. For mine, I used a .32 cal. cast SWC that weighs 100 grains swaged into the .32 Auto case, but it makes a heavy 9mm bullet, and is really better suited to .38/.357, since it comes out at 140 grains. It would probably be a good substitute for the 147 grain bullet, but I prefer my 9m bullets in either 115 grains or 124 grains.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Zbench]

I posted this in another thread, but you can make solid (or nearly so) lead bullets and push them in the range you are after. Corbin has a thing they call the "base guard" which is just a copper disk that fits on the base of a lead core.

Unlike a gas check, it has a burnished edge which scrapes down the bore to keep the lead fouling off the bore. I coat mine with some alox just to be sure, but they are super accurate and shoot great. The ones shown are hollow points, but you can just as easy make solid lead with the same tooling and a different nose punch when forming the core.

Some pics below.

Pete

PS. I call them "cores" but they really aren't...actually the body of the bullet.

[Swede44mag]

I posted this in another thread, but you can make solid (or nearly so) lead bullets and push them in the range you are after. Corbin has a thing they call the "base guard" which is just a copper disk that fits on the base of a lead core.

Unlike a gas check, it has a burnished edge which scrapes down the bore to keep the lead fouling off the bore. I coat mine with some alox just to be sure, but they are super accurate and shoot great. The ones shown are hollow points, but you can just as easy make solid lead with the same tooling and a different nose punch when forming the core.

Some pics below.

Pete

PS. I call them "cores" but they really aren't...actually the body of the bullet.

I bought the setup from Corbin years ago to make Base Guard bullets including one of his swage presses. When I shot them in my Dan Wesson the leaded the barrel a lot. I understand the principle behind the base guard but it didn’t work very well for me. After years of reading different forums I have come to the conclusion that maybe they are a thousands or so to small. ??????? I do like the idea of a soft lead bullet for max expansion on deer.

[ReloaderFred]

You could always add a cannelure and lube them. That should help with the leading somewhat.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Hammer]

I found a used set of .357 Corbin dies on this Board a few months back and decided to do some experimenting. I needed a .356 for a .38 Super Revolver Load. I swaged the .357 Base Guards in the Corbin dies and then carried the pile to my trusty Lyman lubrisizer with a .356 sizer die and round tip nose punch and proceeded to take them down a thou. No lube - just resized. Worked like a champ! Should be repeatable for 9MM as well and I am woking on those as we speak. As soon as my garage gets back above freezing I will return to the scene of the crime.....

I think there is a lot of flexibility in these dies. You just have to spend time working through the solution sets....

Ed

[Zbench]

Swede,

Since the base guard is conical, the idea is that the disk gets smashed until the edges contact the walls of the point form die. I got a little bit of leading as well, but I thinned down some of the liquid jacket stuff that he sells and that eliminated it. I assume that Alox would also work. You might not have been squashing them enough as well. They should form a close fit with the base of the bullet.

Pete