Are These Bullet Swaging Dies

[Hueyville]

Been going through boxes of odds and ends have never been 100% sure what they all were. All of the pieces pictured were in three boxes all orange cardboard branded Ideal/Lyman of which the three were separated into a box together marked as .277 dies and parts. Also in same lot box was a two cavity mold marked .277 that pours somewhat pointed round nose bullets closer to 0.257" rather than 0.277".

The first die has a funnel shaped entrance and slowly tapers to mid point where it finishes at 0.277" at top top where water is pushed through exits. The punch is possibly for forming a copper jacket that the cores from the mold would drop in and has a diameter of 0.280 with a shoulder 0.455" from top and rod is 0.274" from shoulder to end. The pointed plugs screw in a die that starts funnel shaped at bottom and quickly becomes a 0.277" with reverse spire point that looks like it would swage a 0.277" flat based spire point and the plugs give user option to have a slightly flattened point or more rounded point based on which plug and how deep it's adjusted. Only other possible use I could see for the plugs is flaring a case mouth but who flares case mouths on rifle cases?

Definately not any kind of reloading dies I have seen though the shell holder has a primer seating punch. Did Ideal and/or Lyman ever make bullet swaging dies, could these be blanks someone machined themselves but interior has same black finish as outside of die bodies. If for loading the only thing could conceive is the one that appears to be the final swage die could possibly be a bullet seating die but the hollow die can't be any kind of loading die. Has to be a jacket or core squirting die.

Somebody sell me a clue and if these have any value for swaging as my most expensive bullet at moment are 85 to 120 grain 0.277" bullets for use in 6.8 spc II. Only reasonable priced 0.277" bullets I can find consistently are Speer 90 grain TNT's which are very good shooting bullets but if decide to run a couple of the suppressed, binary SBR's practicing double taps, bursts and mag dumps it's easy to send 200 to 300 rounds downrange just in a quick rapid fire drill. If able to mash a 85 to 95 grain spire point and make it happen with something from a box I consider "free booty" would be huge. My usual "luck" is they have no use at all except for some procedure that is not done in current swaging or loading processes.

[marcusp323]

The die on the left looks to be an expander for the case mouth. I have lots of "310" type dies & all the full sets have an expander for using cast bullets. On the right is most likely the cast bullet sizer for whatever caliber it's marked. I had one for a 224 bullet once, but it's long gone down the road now. That shell holder & priming setup should fit a Tru-Line JR press. Think the Comet & All-American used a different priming setup, but I may be mistaken. Never heard of any Lyman swaging dies myself, but that doesn't mean they don't exist either

[Hueyville]

Put in press and die on right did stunning job sizing 0.277" boolits though not as elegant as a Lubrisizer. If didn't prefer wax based lube over coatings it would be handy. More I examine the other die it is more likely an expander die and may find a use for it loading cast in 6.8 spc II. Just needed a clue what to look for, thanx.

[clodhopper]

Most bullet sizing dies have an ejector pin on the end opposite where the bullet would go in. When you push a bullet into a die with enough force to change it's shape, it takes some push to overcome friction and vacuum to get the bullet back out of the die.

Some are threaded to be ram mounted, some are threaded to be frame mounted.