question about used brass for jackets

[biggredd]

If i wanted to draw down 380 or 9mm brass on a press after annealing them, could a .223 case sizing die be cut off and used for this? seeing how it starts out bigger then the 9mm and at the neck end is .358 If so what would be needed to cut the die without losing it's temper. I have almost no tools so this may have to be done at friends place or at work. has anybody tried this? looking to make jackets for .38 spl or .357. I know a punch would have to be made. just looking before spending money on swaging dies. Thank for any info I am a complete newbie to reloading and casting.

[MIBULLETS]

It might work fine. I see two possible issues.

First, if you are trying to make 35/38 cal bullets you actually want the brass or jacket to be a few thousanths under fininshed bullet diameter so the .358 might not be small enough or need another die to get it a little smaller.

Second, if you cut the die right before the shoulder to get the smallest restriction and leave the rest of the bottom of the die, there is a fairly long area the jacket has to travel through. This means you need to be able to push on the jacket that distance. You may or may not be able to do this in one push from a reloading press. It might work if the pressure required to start the brass into the die is low since you don't have a lot of force at the start of the stroke. Now if you were going to use something else to push it through it may not be an issue at all. You might be able to cut some off the bottom too, so the case will start into it and have less stroke length. Or if you can, taper the entrance to the die so there is a smooth transition. The dies are hard so I don't know how easy that would be.

Don't let this discourage you, only pointing out things to check and think about. Like I said it might work just fine.

As for cutting it, I would read John's thread about cutting his 280 die to reduce 5.7x28 cases for 30 cal jackets. I believe he used a big cutt off saw with cooling water.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=61720&page=3

[biggredd]

I have a Lee sizer die for .357 could i push them through this for a final sizing ?
The cut off idea had already thought about but , was looking to see if there was a better way.I haven't considered the amount of travel needed to push it through so this will require looking in to and with money being tight this may be a project that has to wait till more research is done.

[MIBULLETS]

I think the lee die might work but it would be better if it was .355 . You never know the brass might come out of the .223 die small enough to work.

[biggredd]

would .355 be the size I would need for this to work right? what is the difference in using the size .357 of lead cast bullet and a.357 jacketed bullet? Being new to all this I am full of ?????'s

[MIBULLETS]

I'm suprised others havn't chimed in here.

Usually you start with a jacket less than final bullet diameter, then expand the jacket up to final diameter when seating the lead core and point forming operations, If you jacket is too big to start with you can have problems with stickiness into the dies because of the spring back of the brass inside the die.

You might want to do some reading on Corbin's website. www.Corbins.com
You can also download some of his literature at www.Swage.com Get the HB-8 and read it all. Good information to get you familar with the operations involved in swaging a bullet.

[biggredd]

Thanks for the info