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Thread: Swaqing LEAD 45/70 Powder Coated Bullets

  1. #1
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    Swaqing LEAD 45/70 Powder Coated Bullets

    I just finished making a die set for swaging powder coated 45/70 bullets. There is no jacket on these except for the powder coat.
    I got some 405 grain bullets from Conditor22 and swaged them. Enjoy:
    Last edited by Traffer; 07-22-2019 at 07:56 AM.

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy M.A.D's Avatar
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    Well thats just all kinds of awesome...

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy


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    Traffer, that is looking pretty sweet. Out of curiosity did you need to use lube in addition to the powder coat for the swaging process, or was the powder coat slick enough you did not need any lanolin/ect to form and eject the bullet from the die?

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    Quote Originally Posted by guywitha3006 View Post
    Traffer, that is looking pretty sweet. Out of curiosity did you need to use lube in addition to the powder coat for the swaging process, or was the powder coat slick enough you did not need any lanolin/ect to form and eject the bullet from the die?
    So far I need to use lanolin. I am going to polish just a little bit more then maybe I won't need any.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master



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    Nice, jealous I am!

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    I have some wrong info in the video.
    I used the term hyper sonic...WRONG . The three possible states of the speed of the bullet are Supersonic= faster than the sound Sub-sonic = less than the speed of sound. and trans sonic which is the transition between the sound barrier.
    The bullets are not all 405 grain. These are from two different molds 458-385 F1 OHAUS and 457-405-F2 LEE. They both have the same powder coat "cardinal silver".
    And the grayish powder in the die after swaging may have just been some contamination from the lube that I used. The bullets were run through a .460" sizing die before swaging. They swaged down to .4589". So I have .0011" room to polish it more.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master

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    Beautiful die and punches.
    Still using grade 8 bolts for material?
    To lazy to chase arrows.
    Clodhopper

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    Quote Originally Posted by clodhopper View Post
    Beautiful die and punches.
    Still using grade 8 bolts for material?
    This one was actually made from a piece of B7 threaded rod. Roughly equivalent to Grade 5 bolt. I made one from a Bowmalloy aircraft grade 8 (more like grade 12) bolt but it ended up being too large (almost .463"). I have a length of this B7 rod a couple dozen Bowmalloy bolts and about 10 chunks of standard threaded rod to choose from. I use the standard threaded rod for adapters when I need to thread the inside. The hard stuff tears up taps.
    Time will tell if this B7 rod will end up lasting or if it stretches after a certain amount of use.

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy Huvius's Avatar
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    Are you going to patch these or use them with the powder coat only?

    I’ve thought of trying coated slicks but just can’t convince myself to do it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Huvius View Post
    Are you going to patch these or use them with the powder coat only?

    I’ve thought of trying coated slicks but just can’t convince myself to do it.
    I could skip the powder coat and just swage the lead bullet. However, They would be .459" diameter. Wouldn't you need a bit smaller diameter to allow for the paper?

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    What taper angle is your hollow point insert? I would like to make something similar for my 9mm. BTW, well done sir.

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    Quote Originally Posted by plus1hdcp View Post
    What taper angle is your hollow point insert? I would like to make something similar for my 9mm. BTW, well done sir.
    I never even tried to measure the angle on the hollow punch. It is just made free hand on the lathe. I went and changed this punch because it was displacing too much lead and I didn't have enough room in the die for the bullets with the displacement of the lead. The new one is 4mm at the mouth and 7.6mm long.

  13. #13
    Boolit Buddy
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    Thanks Traffer as you have pointed me in a good direction.

  14. #14
    Boolit Bub
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    Neat project and thread. The ingenuity and talent of people amazes me.

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    I had another hair brained idea...
    I COULD swage a patched bullet. It should be easy to run the bullet with the patch through the die.
    I don't know how to patch though. If anyone wants me to try it for them (and wants the final dimension at .4585"-.459") let me know, maybe we can work out having you send a couple for me to try. Kind of a hassle but may end up being worth it I guess.

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    I changed the extraction pin/hollow point punch. These are the latest bullets to come out of the press:
    Tallest to shortest 415 grain 12 BHN, 317 grain 13 BHN, and 300 grain 16 BHN.
    The smaller ones came from a "core mold" that I rigged up. The 300 grain was made first, I wanted them a bit bigger so I drilled it out to 317 grain. Now I have a way to make my own bullets at 317 grain.
    The smaller ones were powder coated with a mix of "Cardinal Silver" and Smokes "Translucent Copper". I put in some TL Copper so they wouldn't look so much like raw lead.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I am thinking now that I can load the 317 grainers with 34 grains of Varget OR, 13 grains of HS6 I wonder if the HS6 would not ignite well because of the large amount of space in there. Any ideas?

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    Phase 2 in the 45/70 swaging development...

  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy
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    Excellent video and demonstration Traffer, thanks for sharing.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
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GC Gas Check