Re-swage a jacketed rifle bullet

[bullseye shooter]

A question for the experienced ones, a fellow shooter is trying to reload 7-30 Waters for a relative but is having a hard time finding flat nose bullets for this lever action. What do you think about reswaging? Would cutting the nose off a cast boolit be easier/better? He does not cast now.

What would the most cost effective option?

I am going to post this in the casting section too.

Thanks

[MakeMineA10mm]

Well, cost-effective is where you're throwing a monkey-wrench in the works. All the examples you give will work and work well. The question is what costs the least.

My bet is the least expensive option, both in up-front costs, and over time would be a mould that is made for a 7mm FP boolit. Even if he's not set up for casting, if he buys the cheap cast-iron pot that you set over a flame and hand-cast, plus one mould with handles and pan-lubing set-up, and he'd be set. If he really needed a sizer, a push-thru like Lee's (modified to the appropriate diameter by Buckshot) would work fine.

[nicholst55]

Paul Matthews used to file down the noses on too-pointy J-word bullets to use in his 1886 Winchester, with good results. I doubt you'd be talking about thousands of bullets, and you could even have the relative do the sanding or filing!

[firefly1957]

The big problem would be getting a bullet that will expand at 7-30 Waters velocity on game if you are just target shooting cast bullets will work well. Commercial bullets are expensive reforming them would be expensive unless he already owns the equipment. I have reswaged 44 caliber 200 gr Speer jacketed bullets to 45 and they formed and shot well but will not expand at 45 ACP velocities.
Another possibility is for him to turn his lever gun into a two shot and use pointed bullets. One in the chamber one in the magazine.

[Trapshooter]

I'm not an expert, but from what I've read, swaging down jacketed bullets usually causes accuracy problems by core / jacket separation. Better results are obtained by "bumping up" a too small diameter bullet to a larger diameter, and in this bumping up process, the nose shape can be modified. This takes some tooling, and an appropriate press, so there is a non-trivial investment involved with this solution.

Reduced accuracy is a relative thing, and may not be a problem for your application. Filing down the tips of pointy bullets of appropriate diameter seems to be the recommended "field expedient" in the books I've read. With a file and a pretty simple jig, you can get pretty consistent bullet weights. I've used this technique on cast bullets for lever guns.

Trapshooter

[bullseye shooter]

Thanks for the replies. I did some searching and did find 2 places that sell FN 7mm boolits, at a reasonable price. I will give him your ideas and let him decide.

Thanks

[firefly1957]

I do resize .357 bullets to .351 for a old 1907 winchester and get good accuracy (1"@50 yds.) with them and as posted bumping bullets from .429-.452 also shoot very well.
Note on terms sizing is the proper term for reducing bullet diameter swaging would be increasing diameter and or forming bullets.

[nanuk]

and my understanding is "Drawing" is making "Longer"...

[MIBULLETS]

Usually it is, but you could draw a jacket and thicken the walls without making it longer with the right punches. Draw down, swage up.