I mostly shoot .30 cal stuff some .224, Ive been away from the hobby for a while due to life and didnt notice that projectiles are now $.80 to $1.50 each for .30 cal. Seems insane to me. Now that Ive caught up with life, I shoot a good bit and Id actually save money by swaging bullets at this point. I dont have any equipment at all that is up to the task. I was just researching at Corbin's site and saw their low end press is $750ish and their mid is $1350ish. I wont say money is no object but their $2500ish caliber kit cost is no big deal. I can definitely spend more if necessary, but Id probably cap it at %50 more for press and 1 caliber. I absolutely cannot afford that super awesome hydraulic press they have. If anyone knows of some used stuff for sale Id be interested. I know there is a ton of knowledge here, if youre feeling generous I have lots of questions, here we go.
1. Is the low end press capable of 220gr .308 without lots of operator strain? Is the mid press better for that?
2. Their marketing on it is pretty good. Is there a better one for the money?
3. Can I get a die that will give me a .308 hybrid ogive boat tail with adjustable weight from 175ish to 220ish?
4. Can I get a .224 die that I dont have to sort range .22lr for? I dont care if I have to buy tubing etc to make jackets. Not to insult others, its super cool you can make jackets from .22lr brass but I have a time/production economy. And picking up, cleaning, multiple swaging steps of .22lr does not make sense for me.
5. Will the bullets from these dies expand reliably and make really solid hunting bullets? If not I dont think it makes sense for me.
6. Can I expect sierra/nosler accuracy? Or am I compromising on that.
7. Is there a better source for all of this equipment? I know BT is a member here, but he has no website so kinda hard to research his stuff. Is it as good? Better? Do I have to wait forever to get stuff from other suppliers? (To be honest, Im not super patient)
8. This should have been #1 is there a giant learning curve to swaging? There are lots of things you can do in casting to make great bullets from the first pour. If you dont know those things your first 50 pours are gonna be crap. If I were not aware of this forum Id still be making lots of crap bullets. Is it the same with swaging or can I expect a little set up and then make awesome bullets? (I dont mind a bit of a learning curve, Id just like to be aware of it and know how to mitigate my time wasting.)
I really appreciate any answers you may have, especially if you have some expertise on the subject. If youre anywhere near Paris, Texas and wouldnt mind a guy watching you swage some bullets Id appreciate the initiation!
Thanks in advance fellas
Dan