Jumped Into 5.7-308

[marcusp323]

After doing up some 44 & getting the swaging bug (again), I decided to try some 308 cal stuff. Already had some 5.7-30 jacket making dies I got off ebay a while back, so why not? Ordered a set of 308 dies for my WH press & decided to get my feet wet this week. Made some with full length jackets first. They came out decent, but decided to try trimming the brass down & see what I could come up with. Slow process, to say the least. Annealed brass really doesn't like being trimmed, but oh well. Glad I'm retired. Rigged up an ER-32 setup in the mill & am using a 1/2 inch 2 flute end mill to trim. Only lost 2 cases out of the first hundred, so not too disappointed. Collet stop is just something that's been on my bench from some reloading gear I bought. Now I know what it's for............Anyway, swaged up some tonight & I'm happy with the outcome. Not cannelured yet, too anxious to shoot pics. Have to see how they perform later this week. The FL ones are 175-178 gr, & the trimmed are 166-168 gr.
Lots of work, I'll admit, but it's awfully cool to see what you can do with the right tools
Mark

Some pics:

[hardcase54]

Nice.

[bullet maker 57]

Looks good!

[clodhopper]

Thumpers!
I was expecting pointy bullets, but those 178s look great for stopping game. The 160s sure will put the stop on game, but I wonder if they will feed from a magazine OK.

[marcusp323]

Haven't tried the 10S point up die yet. The above will just get used in a 30-30, so no need for pointy ones.
Maybe when I want more for the 7.62x39 I'll try it out.
The 178s feed fine in my Marlins, lighter ones get tested soon.
Mark

[midnight]

I like that ER32 collet set up. I have a whole set of ER32s I use on the wood lathe for making duck calls. I have been using 5C collets with a collet closer on the mill. I ream nylon emergency collets to hold jackets for trimming. Will need some sort of an adjustable collet stop for the ER32s or maybe just shim the whole thing up or down.

Bob

[BlackoutBuilder]

Quack

[EMC45]

They both look great! I like the look of the open tip soft point.

[marcusp323]

Tried a few others in my open point die. The middle ones shot really well from my Marlin Texan. Think I'll save the pointy ones for the 7.62x39 bolt gun.
Mark

[TheFirst]

How much does it cost for the dies to do this? I've wanted to get into swageing for years and i just never have the money. Its so dang expensive. 223 or .30 cal is what I've always wanted to do. I know the 223 sets are crazy expensive though.

[Outer Rondacker]

Looks great. Wish I had a set of dies since I have some 5.7 brass sitting around.

[BlackoutBuilder]

How much does it cost for the dies to do this? I've wanted to get into swageing for years and i just never have the money. Its so dang expensive. 223 or .30 cal is what I've always wanted to do. I know the 223 sets are crazy expensive though.

It's not about saving money, although if you shoot all the time, like, a lot, it's worth it. This is more about gaining a skill, being independent, ban proof, and being able to tailor a round to a gun. I've got almost 1,000 into a .22lr to .223/5.56 set of dies, press, mold, and ejector system from BT Sniper and I couldnt be happier with it. I'm picking up a set of premium dies and other stuff to do .30 cal, and it's all told around 3 grand. It's worth it. I'm broke too, it just takes us more time to get to the same place than people with more money thats all. You only live once and it's a short life, so do what you want to do now and then. It's really not that bad in the end. Once you have the dies paid for, you'll forget about the costs involved.