.500 bullet from 45 ACP

[BT Sniper]

Been experimenting in the shop a lot latly. I was able to make my own reamer and set out to make a .475 die. Like my last attempts this one too got big on me so grab a .500 reamer and away I went. I expect I'll have a .475 pic by teh end of the week.

This is what I came up with.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060556.jpg

My 40 cal bullet is on left and my latest progress on 22 cal is on right. For the 500s I used 44 cal cast boolits for the cores. WIth a 240 grain core I get a 330 grain 500 bullet and with teh 310 core I get a 390 grain bullet. I bet the 265 grain 44 cal core would be perfect. As it is the cores I used made great bullets. I expect it would make a BIG hole it whatever it hits.

I turned the rim off one of the 500 bullets and looks pretty good. Removed about 20 grains from weight of bullet.

I know of a couple 500 shooters out here I will be sending some of these bullets for testing.

Good Shooting and Swage On

BT

p.s. meplat on this bullet is .250 same for upcoming .475

[DukeInFlorida]

.500 test shooters???

Me! Me!

Brian, is this a one step die?

Would love to be able to make jacketed .500 bullets for my 500 magnum revolver and long gun.

[BT Sniper]

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060557.jpg

another close up pic!

[BT Sniper]

Yep I figured I would send you a few with your new ram.

Nope can't be done in one step Sorry :(

Is easy to form the traditional two step way though.

1. seat core
2. form bullet

Still!!!!! An AWESOME looking bullet!

[littlejack]

Those are very nice lookin bullets Brian. You sir, are a fine craftsman.
Jack

[DukeInFlorida]

WOW

Jaw hit the floor just now.


http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060557.jpg

another close up pic!

[BT Sniper]

Thanks guys. I'm starting to get the hang of it. It is still frustrating at times. Need a lot of patience.

Ahh Heck.... those where just my first "practice" or "test" bullets that came out of the die. Wait till I fine tune things a bit.

You know I got to thinking looking at that big HP. Has anyone filled a large HP with hot glue? Probably need to trim the excess but that would be simple with a exato blade. Seems the dried glue would be flexable (flextip) after drying, probably look cool and make the expansion near 100% reliable. Now if I could just find red hot glue we could copy a well know bullet maker :)

Anyway I'll keep you posted on the 500 progress.

BT

[DukeInFlorida]

Forget filling the void with anything.

HP's work best when the air cavity gets compressed, and causes the deformation. Fill it with something, and you might as well have a solid point.

The only exception to that would be the Hornady FTX style bullets, but there they are looking for aerodynamics and soft cushion for tubular magazine situations.

[scarry scarney]

Great looking bullet! Please tell us more. I've got three different 50 cals that could use this! 50 Beowulf, 50 AE, and. 50 GI. The 50 GI uses a 250 - 300 grain, and is the smallest choice of bullets, and you just opened the market!

BTW, what did you use for the canelure groove?

[DukeInFlorida]

BT is sending me some 50 caliber swaged bullets, as samples. He says, "The good, the bad, and the ugly"

I'll load them into shootable rounds, and take some pictures in 500 S&W Magnum. I have a few pcs of 50 AE (Action Express, the Desert Eagle caliber), and will try to stuff a few into that also.

My experience with straight walled brass and these swaged bullets is that they really benefit from the cannelure.

To answer scarry scarney's question, CH4D makes a neat cannelure tool. BT Sniper is a CH4D distributor, and can get you a deal on that tool. Link: http://ch4d.com/catalog/?p=90
http://ch4d.com/catalog/images/12000.jpg

[BT Sniper]

I actually used a corbin cannalure machine for my bullets.

The bullets I sent Duke where just my R&D bullets. Bulllets I made while setting up the die and checking for proper diameters. They are mostly seconds but will give him an idea of what is possible.

I'll probaly make a few more of these 50s but not to many untill the die is properly heat treated.

As far as making the bullet goes...... it was pretty straight foward. The 45ACP case worked perfect for a jacket. Seems like a 44 or 45 cal cast bullet of 255 grains perfectly fills the jacket without need for triming it giving us a 340 grain bullet. The 310 grain cast boolit core makes a BIG 390 grian bullet.

I think this will be an exellent solution to affordable bullets for any of the 500 cal shooters. Have to figure out a new ogive for the 50AE though.

I'll keep everyone posted.

BT

[Grandpas50AE]

BT, I have Corbin dies for the 50AE, and up until now have been using copper water tubing to make the jackets (I have a set of Corbin dies for that too). I would venture here that the only die I would have to change to get those bullets would be the core seating die, and could then use the point forming die I already have - is that a reasonable assumption?

[stealthshooter]

Forget filling the void with anything.

HP's work best when the air cavity gets compressed, and causes the deformation. Fill it with something, and you might as well have a solid point.

The only exception to that would be the Hornady FTX style bullets, but there they are looking for aerodynamics and soft cushion for tubular magazine situations.

That's actually not true. Filling the cavity is beneficial to expansion and it also keeps the cavity from filling with material such as T-shirt or jacket material that would actually keep it from expanding. Hornady has started doing this with their pistol ammo for such reasons. I use Hornady 200 grain FTX for my 45acp with the tips clipped off flush with the copper so they will feed properly. I did a water shot and they expanded to a text book mushroom.

45acp
200GR FTX
1200fps
water shot

http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab278/shayn8103/IMG_20110902_153008.jpg

[DukeInFlorida]

Technically, I didn't suggest that FTX style bullets wouldn't expand like you have shown. That wasn't my point.

I'm not expecting to have anyone who makes HP swaged bullets to ever have to fire a shot with a swaged bullet in self defense.

However, conventional writings on this subject seem to indicate that the small amount of air contained inside the HP tip gets compressed upon impact, and then get released during penetration, thereby increasing the tissue damage from the shock wave. That was the point of my comment. Fill the HP with anything, and you remove that compression/release enhancement during the shock wave. I'm not talking about expansion of the bullet. I'm talking about the shock wave that really does the damage. Sure, an expanded bullet makes a bigger shock wave. An expanded bullet with compressed air in the HP makes a bigger shockwave, and causes more tissue damage than just an expanded bullet.

So, for those who are shooting at a piece of paper target, it's a moot point. Unless you're shooting at paper from great distances, and then a pointy projectile makes more sense.

For those shooting at game animals, you decide which is more beneficial. Controlling how deep a projectile goes is sometimes the difference between a successful hunt and an unsuccessful one.

From my perspective, the only purpose for a nose filler piece is IF it's pointy insert, like the Hornady TFX. That enhances the flight characteristics and helps with the tubular magazine feed issue.

[Reload3006]

+1 with Duke. there is something that your neglecting in your assumption about expansion. The TFX and others with filled cavity the jacket is serrated thus it has been intentionally weakened ensuring expansion. but Expansion can be a double edged sword as Duke pointed out. if you don't have good core bond to jacket once expansion occurs you have core separation issues. a lot of times that is more the reason for a cannelure than a place to crimp your bullet. If your shooting steel rams or paper who cares if your core separates but if you need reliable expansion and penetration you want a projectile whose terminal performance is what is expected. Thus you have bonded cores the "A" frame bullet etc. I make ballistic tips too but i serrate my jackets to cause that expansion that i would not have to do with an open tip or soft point.

[stealthshooter]

If I'm not mistaken BT also uses a seration die on his hollow points to produce a very similar bullet to the hornady xtp. What you fail to realize is that bullet only made it through 2 Gatorade bottles filled with water and the very first exit hole was massive meaning it expanded and caused a preassure wave in the first 6 inches.

[DukeInFlorida]

Right, which if you go back and read my most previous post, I say that the point design can control how deeply a bullet enters a game animal. Too much expansion too fast will stop soon, minimizing the depth of the shock wave.

No expansion will just pass through an animal with a slight shock wave.

So, do what you need to do, to control how the bullet behaves for your use.

For my typical use, serrated HP's with NO filler added.

My only exception to that will be when I start making .308 bullets with my upcoming BT Sniper tool set, for my 30-30. And in that, I will be using the ski binding polymer pointy tip inserts, so that they look and behave like Hornady FTX bullets.


If I'm not mistaken BT also uses a seration die on his hollow points to produce a very similar bullet to the hornady xtp. What you fail to realize is that bullet only made it through 2 Gatorade bottles filled with water and the very first exit hole was massive meaning it expanded and caused a preassure wave in the first 6 inches.

[DukeInFlorida]

Ok, I got a chance tonight to load up the .500 S&W Magnum bullet samples that I got from BT Sniper.

First, let me say that side by side, these look every bit as good as the Hornady XTP bullets. BT Sniper even filled a couple of them with the poly balls to give the fill look. I won't personally plan on doing that to the bullets I swage, but it shows that it can be done if you want to. The diameter of the bullets is spot on, at .5005"

BT Sniper made these bullets from 45 ACP (WCC head stamped military, with crimped primers) cases. They look amazing! He also sent me some of the messed up parts, wrinkles.. etc. However, there were only a very few of those. All of the parts I loaded were near perfect!

Shown are:
44 magnum with swaged bullet, left, .22 LR for reference, Hornady XTP bullets, BT Sniper HP's with white plastic inserts, BT Sniper HP's without the plastic inserts.

http://sebagosales.com/boolits/500-magnum-5.jpg
http://sebagosales.com/boolits/500-magnum-4.jpg


I loaded these with a FULL CASE (don't crush the donuts) of Trail Boss. I didn't have to worry about bullet weight. There is more than one bullet weight in the image. See BT Sniper's opening post for those details.

I'll try to get to shoot them and recover one in the next week or so.

Brian, start work on a die set for me. I won't need them until I get to Florida, so no hurry. But, you have me convinced that these are very do-able.

I'm saving all the small primer 45's I bump into, just for this project!

[BT Sniper]

Those look great. I spent a short amount of time making the rest of the bullets I had ready to swage. I got a new little trick that makes teh nose of the bullet look even better. Rolls the jacket in on it's self. Really completes the look of the bullet. I would bet it makes it look even more like the nose of the XTPs you have there.

Those look like mosters. Getting an apperation of the 500S&W size is tough to do with only the 500s in the pics. You should put a 22LR round next to one and take a pic for us.

I'll have a pic of the bullets I made today on this thread soon. I'll also start on a 500 set of dies for you. I'll send it in with teh rest of teh dies I will have for heat treat around Feburary. I have no doubt it will be a complete success using nothing but our standard reloading presses.

Good shooting!

BT

[BT Sniper]

Here is the latest bullets I made.

Notice how I was able to roll the tip in on it's self.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060608.jpg

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060607.jpg

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060606.jpg

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060603.jpg

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060602.jpg

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060609.jpg

[DukeInFlorida]

Brian, the roll over on the end looks nice. That's exactly how the Hornady ones are made.

That would be sweet.

I will retook the pictures, and posted them in place of the ones that were there, with something relative in place ( .44 magnum and .22 LR) to show relative size.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Brian,
I figured I wouldn't be ordering any more swage dies...

I'm not sure if you knew or not, but I do have a 500 S&W Mag revolver.
I am 99% sure I will order a set of 50 cal dies.
Please PM me a price quote.
Jon

[BT Sniper]

Nope, didn't know :) I just knew I could make a 500 bullet from 45 ACP so away I went. You guys know me. I don't have guns for half teh caliber bullets I make.

I'll certainly be making some extra of these 500 dies. I'll keep you all posted to my progress and get you price quotes. It sould be teh same price I have listed now in my sticky. Custom 2 die set.

I got one more idea to try out with the 500 core seat die. I'll make a cone shape punch to displace the lead a bit making it easier to form the finished bullet like this technique I use with the 45s

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060586.jpg

BT

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Seems like a 44 or 45 cal cast bullet of 255 grains perfectly fills the jacket without need for triming it giving us a 340 grain bullet. The 310 grain cast boolit core makes a BIG 390 grian bullet.

For 500 S&W Mag, the bigger the bullet the better.
Of the commercial offerings, the typical size of "hunting" loads are 500 gr.
I'm thinkin' maybe the Lee 457-340 FN mold for a 340 gr. core for a 430 gr. bullet and have some exposed Lead, as you know, I've always liked some exposed lead :)

I wonder what then limits of using the 45acp case and maximizing
the amount of lead and still being able to give a Star type hollow point.
I would be OK with a smaller sized HP if that is necessary to maximize weight.

Do you think my 44 cal notching die will work with the 50 ?
mine was one of the first you made, as I recall it was
specifically for 44 cal. I never did try it with 40 cal yet,
but you had figured it'd work for 40.
Jon

[BT Sniper]

Here is a thought....... all those 8mm berdine primed brass has a diameter of .473 at the base right!!!!!!!!!! Heck any of teh .473 based brass would work for a jacket with this bullet I bet.

As for the 45ACP limits???? well I'll have to see. I made some at 390 and barly had any lead exposed with a HP. I'm sure we could probably go 450-475 maybe 500 grains without the lead reaching the barring surrface of the bullet. Let me see what I can come up with.

BT

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Here is a thought....... all those 8mm berdine primed brass has a diameter of .473 at the base right!!!!!!!!!! Heck any of teh .473 based brass would work for a jacket with this bullet I bet.

well, currently I don't have too many spent 8mm Mauser (berdan style) cases.
I do have several hundred to shoot off though :)

also using rifle brass will mean alot of cutting (I prefer not to)
plus the rifle brass wall will be fairly thick and not tapered nicely
like a 45 acp is, for nice pedal peeling.
Jon

[BT Sniper]

True!

Like I said I'll see how BIG the 45ACP can go.

BT

[DukeInFlorida]

The Hornady XTP's are 350 grains.
I'd be happy with that!

For cast boolits, I have molds for all the way up to 700 grains.... That's 10 boolits = a pound of lead!

[BT Sniper]

The 45 acp typicaly weights 80 grains. You can use either 44 or probably 45 cal cast boolits for cores. So a bit of simple math and you are all set. The 240, 255 and 265 grain cores make good XTP type .500 bullets from the 45 acp case. The one I have been posting pics of have been made with the 240 grain 44 cal for a core. As I recall I made some at 350 grains today by adding a bit of lead to the bullet before forming but anything is possible with this bullet it seems.

BT

[BT Sniper]

Now accepting orders for these .500 cal dies. Please see my BTSniper sticky for details.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?p=1490276#post1490276

Thanks,

BT

[DukeInFlorida]

Brian, et al.......

I went to the range today, and test fired the samples I received.

Shot from 25 yards (75 feet!) away, off my range bag, through a paper target, plastic corrugated backer, and into ballistic sand. Fired them from my S&W .500 magnum with 6 3/8" ported barrel. I didn't do any scientific aiming, just my normal aiming. I'll post a picture of the target later on. I was happy with the grouping. Throw out the normal flyers, and it looks fine.

I tested the swaged ones against some baseline Hornady XTP 350 grain factory bullets, with the exact same TrailBoss powder load. The XTP's shot the same grouping pattern as the swaged versions.

I recovered two samples of the swaged bullets, and one sample of the Hornady XTP from the ballistic sand. The sand was damp (not wet), and there was ZERO expansion in either the swaged versions or the Hornady. I was glad that I had the foresight to also load some baseline Hornady's, or else I might have been disappointed with the lack of expansion. Seems it;s a function of the nature of this sand which the club just put on the berms. It's still somewhat fluffy. I had to dig 10" deep to recover the bullets. That is very deep penetration.

I will also post a picture of the recovered bullets later on when I set up the camera.

It was a nice day at the range, probably one of the last I will get to spend there as my packing for the move intensifies. It was nice to spend part of the day doing the testing on these rounds.

Brian, I definitely want one of the .500 magnum die sets!

[rockrat]

Durn you, BT for making these:)

[BT Sniper]

Glad to hear they shot well. Imagine how much better they will shoot when they are not my first batch of R&D bullets out of the die but actually production run bullets!

I imagine I will make atleast 5-10 of these .500 die sets to send off to heat treat in my next batch. I'll be happy to offer a set of these dies to anyone interested.

As for expansion.... well we can work on that. The trailboss loads are somewhat "reduced" as far as the 500 S&W is concerned right? I would bet these bullets will have plenty of potential for expansion. Even without expansion it is still a 1/2" hole you are punching in something, but imagine the hole it will leave when it expands at faster speeds! AWESOME!

Good shooting, Thanks for the report.

BT

[DukeInFlorida]

Yes, the TrailBoss powder is a lower pressure powder, but I used it because it gave me a fast test without having to work out a fine detailed load sheet. As long as I didn't overfill the sace, I could use same powder load for all of the bullets in the sample firings.

Here's the pictures (again, these were shot from 75 feet with a springy rest, my range bag):

http://sebagosales.com/boolits/500-magnum-6.jpg
http://sebagosales.com/boolits/500-magnum-7.jpg
http://sebagosales.com/boolits/500-magnum-8.jpg
http://sebagosales.com/boolits/500-magnum-9.jpg

[BT Sniper]

Cool!

I have some trailboss as well. I have read about the reloading techniques using this powder. I thought I would give it a try in my 300WM to test bullet to 30-30 speeds. Havn't got around to it yet.

Can't wait to see more results from these bullets from more shooters.

BT

[BT Sniper]

Some fun stuff that can be done with these bullets since they still have a rim on them. We can trim the nose a bit to give a new or different finsihed look to the bullet or possibly allow it to feed in the 50AE AR-15 platforms.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060619.jpg

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060618.jpg

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060617.jpg

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060614.jpg

[trench]

Unless you are talking about 2000+ fps, the shock wave does no damage to the organs. At lower speeds, the only damage done is by direct crushing-tearing of the tissues that are contacted by the bullet.

[BT Sniper]

Sounds good. So what can the 500 S&W do with a 325 grain bullet is the question I guess.

BT

[oneokie]

Unless you are talking about 2000+ fps, the shock wave does no damage to the organs. At lower speeds, the only damage done is by direct crushing-tearing of the tissues that are contacted by the bullet.

Can you post some links to the data you are using to justify that statement?

[BT Sniper]

Jon B,

I'll have to check into the notch die you have. Does it look like this? or the redding 40 S&W bodied die I offered earlier? If so either one will work to notch from 17-50 cal jackets. I recall I may have made you one that was specific to the core seat die and in that case ?????? Send me a Pm and we shall see what we can come up with.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1060581-1.jpg

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I recall I may have made you one that was specific to the core seat die and in that case ?????? Send me a Pm and we shall see what we can come up with.


Yep...inside the C&H 429 core seat die.
PM sent
Jon

[cgtreml]

How many steps to roll the tip over. Those are very nice looking. I have been putting them in the PF die backwards with the tip on the flat punch with some luck. Not very consistent.

[BT Sniper]

After bulllet is formed with lead core that is about 10 grains light there is still a bit of space left at top of jacket that did not fill with lead. I bump the top of this bullet into a concaved punch that fits my universal die to round/roll over the tip then reform in the swage die. Guess that would be 2 additional steps.

BT

[BT Sniper]

I finally got plans sent off to custom reamer shop so I can start machining these .500 dies.

The shop has the plans as of yesterday. I imagine it will take them about 3-4 weeks to get it to me. Then it will take me a month to machine the dies and get them set of to heat treat.

Here is a look at what the bullet profile should look like when made from a 45 ACP case.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/500bulletbmp.jpg

Thanks to all interested for your patience. These bullet should look even better then my proto types posted earlier in this thread.

BT

[Lonely Raven]

Oh wow, I have no idea how I missed this. I shoot a LOT of .50AE in my Desert Eagle.

[Paints-n-cows]

I am impressed with these bullets and was wondering if to control the expansion, you could also do the light bullet, gas check, and soft bullet in the front?

I center punched a doe two years ago at 50 yards and it made a clean pass through with evidently no expansion. There was minimal blood trail that went away after about 100 yards. The coyotes were right around me while I was tracking so I suspect they got a free meal that night.

I have also had clean kills on them out to 187 yards with great expansion/penetration that dropped them in their tracks.

Anyway, if you did the "partition" bullet, wouldn't it help you out on not only expansion but penetration as well?

If you put your cannelure either right on the edge of the gas check or just in front of it, wouldn't that help it since it help keep the aft lead slug in place?

Would you be able to make a more aerodynamic bullet...something along the lines of the Barnes?

[DukeInFlorida]

Dude, these are NOT cast boolits.. NO GAS CHECKS.
These are jacketed bullets, using a 45 ACP brass case as the jacket.......


I am impressed with these bullets and was wondering if to control the expansion, you could also do the light bullet, gas check, and soft bullet in the front?

I center punched a doe two years ago at 50 yards and it made a clean pass through with evidently no expansion. There was minimal blood trail that went away after about 100 yards. The coyotes were right around me while I was tracking so I suspect they got a free meal that night.

I have also had clean kills on them out to 187 yards with great expansion/penetration that dropped them in their tracks.

Anyway, if you did the "partition" bullet, wouldn't it help you out on not only expansion but penetration as well?

If you put your cannelure either right on the edge of the gas check or just in front of it, wouldn't that help it since it help keep the aft lead slug in place?

Would you be able to make a more aerodynamic bullet...something along the lines of the Barnes?

[Paints-n-cows]

No kidding. I would have never guessed...thats what the shiney things are.

What I was asking was that if you used a .45 ACP case, could you insert a lead portion in the bottom, then a gas check, and then another lead on top so that you would have a partition type bullet.

Would the gas check serve as a stop for the expansion so that the base lead would remain in the case and keep a solid projectile that continues forward should the first section/petals become seperated?

I guess asking questions isn't permitted if a "guru" doesn't think it worthy


Dude, these are NOT cast boolits.. NO GAS CHECKS.
These are jacketed bullets, using a 45 ACP brass case as the jacket.......

[Lizard333]

I think Blaster62 is experimenting with this vary concept. He is trying to to duplicate the nosler partition. Not a bad idea. Something to think about.

[MIBULLETS]

Paints-n-cows,

This is an excellent question by the way.

I think the gas check idea is worth a try. It should at the least slow the expansion. If the jacket opens far enough it might slip off, but should help for a while. I'm not convinced that a cannelure will slow expansion much since you really don't make the jacket any thinker, you just push it in a very little bit, but it might help some.

[geargnasher]

How about filling the HP cavity with Bullseye and seating a LP primer over it? It ought to expand then! :kidding:

Gear

[Paints-n-cows]

What if you seated the first lead projectile via the punch process to swell the case and then brought the "slug" to molten lead stage with heat. Would you be able to apply flux and actually adhere the gas check to the lower lead portion? I realize that during subsequent operations, it may be prone to detaching from the brass of the swaged projectile (perhaps the lead would act as a solder and joing the two pieces of brass/gas check?) but would it still remain attached to the lower lead portion?

I realize that this is a time consuming process but for anyone that shoots a .500 S&W like me, you don't exactly go out and burn through a hundred rounds at a sitting.

[DukeInFlorida]

Sorry that I missed the nature of your question. We have lots of new people with low post counts show up. And, sometimes, they ask questions that are... well.... not on subject.

Most of us are using pure lead for the cores. Or, at least range lead, which is softer than wheel weights.

With the serrated hollow point, these babies will open up just like Hornady XTP's.....

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/HornadyXTP.htm

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/HornadyXTP_files/image004.jpg

[Jailer]

I am impressed with these bullets and was wondering if to control the expansion, you could also do the light bullet, gas check, and soft bullet in the front?

I center punched a doe two years ago at 50 yards and it made a clean pass through with evidently no expansion. There was minimal blood trail that went away after about 100 yards. The coyotes were right around me while I was tracking so I suspect they got a free meal that night.

I have also had clean kills on them out to 187 yards with great expansion/penetration that dropped them in their tracks.

Anyway, if you did the "partition" bullet, wouldn't it help you out on not only expansion but penetration as well?

If you put your cannelure either right on the edge of the gas check or just in front of it, wouldn't that help it since it help keep the aft lead slug in place?

Would you be able to make a more aerodynamic bullet...something along the lines of the Barnes?

I think a more consistent and reliable way to achieve controlled expansion with weight retention in a swaged bullet using a spent brass case is core bonding.

A swaged brass case bullet is different in construction that a commercial jacketed bullet. The wall thickness of pistol brass increases as it gets closer to the rim of the brass. A commercial copper jacket generally has a uniform cross sectional thickness. Not always but in most cases.

A swaged pistol brass bullet will expand to a point where the energy is not enough to overcome the increase in wall thickness and it won't expand more when shooting into a soft target. Shooting steel is another story, they will flatten completely. If you bond the cores you'll have the weight retention you are looking for.

I have made some bonded core bullets but I haven't tested the expansion and weight retention to verify my idea but they should work as expected.

[rockrat]

How about taking a trimmed annealed40 S&W case, fill it with lead, insert in the 45 acp case rim side up, then put your remaining lead core in the case and swage to 50 cal. Might make a better partition type bullet

[BT Sniper]

How about taking a trimmed annealed40 S&W case, fill it with lead, insert in the 45 acp case rim side up, then put your remaining lead core in the case and swage to 50 cal. Might make a better partition type bullet

I haven't read to much in depth of this thread but this coment sounds interesting.

I would attempt the above coment as follows.

Seat the 40S&W lead filled case in the 45ACP using the core seat die as normal. Then seat the next lead core on top of that. If you where real good you would cannalure grove the exterior of the bullet at teh exact spot the 40S&W extractor groove is indie the case locking everything together.

Bonding it all would be cool but you woul dhave to figure out how to keep the 40S&W case from floating up in the case with all the melted lead and also figure out how not to trap any air in the process that would explode when heated.

I suppose if I where to try this I would

1. use a 40S&W with no primer, seat a core flush with the top of case (probably trimed shorter)
2. seat that in the 45ACP case using the 500 core seat die
3. lock it in place with a cannalure grove
4. melt any number of cast bullets on top of the seated core to bond everything together
5. form bullet.

Should make a heck of a bullet. If I get a spare moment somday I'll give it a try and section it to see what it looks like.

Good shooting and Swage On!

BT

p.s. Probably a lot more work then need be, I can't imagine a standard bullet made with teh 45 ACP case not being a great bullet!

[Plate plinker]

Those are some cool bullets. Way to go.

[Paints-n-cows]

The upside down gas check idea was to eliminate any problems of trapping air between the lead and brass. Perhaps the upside down .40 would be a better idea and depriming it first may eliminate the trapped air problem. Could you just keep pressure on the round as it cooled?

Would it be possible to make a more B/C efficient point? Turning the rim off of the .45 ACP should provide an almost "boattail" rear on it.

I was just trying to come up with a better performing bullet that had some personality in it....something along the lines of a partition that would give penetration but still have the soft expansion line so that I wouldn't have a failure on the thin whitetails.

[Stephen Cohen]

Brian your work is brilliant, I pray every night you move to Australia but so fare the lord has kept you in gods country. Keep up the good work and well done.

[DukeInFlorida]

He would nevah move to OZ............ He wouldn't want to give up all of his guns, mate. lol.

So, we get to keep him!

[BT Sniper]

Thanks,

I'll happily "ship" to OZ. In the mean time I'll continue to enjoy the cool and damp Pacific NorthWest of the good ol USofA :)

Good shooting and Swage On!

BT

[scarry scarney]

BT
By trimming the length of the annealed 45 brass, and using a lower weight piece of lead. Theoretically, I would have a shorter in length and lighter weight bullet? I'm thinking about bullets for a 50GI. The light bullet is 185grns and the heaviest is 300grns

Thanks
Scarry

[BT Sniper]

YEP! No problem! Figure about 75 grains for a trimed 45ACP, then add a .358 148 or 158 grain core or just keep going up in weight till you achieve the deisred bullet. Heck, we could use an 8mm airsoft BB for filler if need be, anything is possible.

BT

[scarry scarney]

BT

You are going to chase me into the poor house!

[Wolftracker]

I use gas checks and spent primers sometimes in my 308 and 224 cal bullets. You can do several combinations of things like bonding the 1st core, seating it with a gas check and then put a second core on top or do it without bonding. I seat cores slowly and this seems to avoid air trapping problems. Accuracy has not been adversly affected, near as I can tell. I haven't taken a game animal with one yet though. I don't know if you'd get much benefit from this technique with handgun bullets at much slower velocities. I use a 6.5 MM gas check in my 308's, by the way.

[BT Sniper]

The custom reamer cuts a perfect die! I am ready to continue filling orders for this great set of .500 dies. I'll be happy to take additional orders at this time. You all will be very pleased with the results.

I'll need to make a few more bullet to show you guys what is possible with the different size meplats with options for .250, .281 and .312.

Here is a pic of three bullets all at a weight of 335 grains made from 45 ACP brass jackets. .458 .475 and .500. I'll be able to clean them up a bit as these where just simple reswaged samples of some bullets I allready had and may not be as pretty as if I had formed them straight out of their corisponding core seat die.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/P1070584.jpg

[DukeInFlorida]

I am polishing 45 ACP brass today!!! It's unfortunate that the vendor's shipment never made it, but it;s looking like it didn't put you too far behind on this project.

[DukeInFlorida]

BUMP

Can't wait.

This subject came up in chat this morning, and I wanted to get others excited about this.

One of the cast boolit group buys is dragging on past a year. This option is better, and happening sooner.

[BT Sniper]

I'll be sending these dies in to heat treat with the rest of the dies just as soon as I can.

BT

[scarry scarney]

Looking forward to smashing more lead!

[Awsar]

not a swager "yet" but just have to say you guys make some awsome looking stuff just so cool . keep it up and thanks for pics

[5shotbfr]

i'd love to try a few of the .475 bullets , at 335 grains i could launch them at near warp speed out of my bfr .

[Andrew Mason]

is there any way i could use rifle brass like 30-06 or 308 to make these so i could end up with a thicker jacket?

[BT Sniper]

With a strong enough press ..... and a good anneal...... yes, I'm sure any of the standard .473 cartridge brass would work for making .500 bullets.

But looking at the few I have made with the 45 ACP brass...... WOW it allready looks like a heck of a bullet!

BT

[DukeInFlorida]

I have test fired some of the .500 samples made with the .45 acp brass. They are rugged enough, and the brass is plentiful enough that it;s the perfect donor for this size.

[BT Sniper]

I'm fine tuning this process of making perfect 500 bullets from 45 acp brass.

I Think I have it! YES it is perfect, easy, cheap, and simple! And OH BOY! What a bullet it is too! Makes me want a 500!

The perfect cast boolit core is a 250 grain 45 cal! That is perfect! I just cast 40 lbs worth of cores from a Lee 250 grain 45 cal 6 cavity mold. I used pure lead, yes PURE LEAD! It sure made it a LOT easier formign the bullet. I recomend everyone use pure lead when ever possible when swaging. Trade that wheel weight alloy with the cast boolit shooters here for pure lead.

My resulting cast boolits where 265 grains..... PERFECT for the 45 acp case when used for 500 cal bullets.

Resulting .500 cal bullet is 355 grains average depending on varing weights of 45 ACP brass.

What an awesome looking bullet! With the pure lead core it would certainly make a BIG hole in something...... JUST AWESOME! Wish I had a 500 now.

All of you waiting for these 500 cal dies I highly recomend you start casting some pure lead cores using a 45 cal 250 grain mold, I used the lee 6 cavity mold. THe results where easy and perfect. Also anneal those scrap 45 ACP too. You all will be shooitng your 500s for nothing more then the cost of a primer and powder!

Thank you for your support and patience. These dies will be worth your wait! I'm impressed for sure so you should well be.

BT

[DukeInFlorida]

does this mean that we should see them soon?
I'm on a strict "no strenuous" order from the doctors until my surgery completely heals. That includes no swaging, no reloading, and worse yet..... no shooting.

But, I hope to be off of that strict order soon enough, and I'd love to be building 500 mag projectiles. Brian, come and visit, and you can shoot my 500 magnum (with swaged bullets) all you want.

[scarry scarney]

Duke-I'm following your ordeal closely, and have been including you in my thoughts. I just finished an 18 month battle, and I'm the recovery stage. I'm lucky, the Dr said no house work, no gardening, not even cutting the lawn with a riding mower. No woodworking, no metal working. My wife asked (hoping he would say No) about reloading, shooting and swaging, and the Dr said it would be ok! I wish you well on speedy recovery, and I am looking so forward to smashing those 45 cases into 50's!

[475AR]

I'm fine tuning this process of making perfect 500 bullets from 45 acp brass.

I Think I have it! YES it is perfect, easy, cheap, and simple! And OH BOY! What a bullet it is too! Makes me want a 500!

The perfect cast boolit core is a 250 grain 45 cal! That is perfect! I just cast 40 lbs worth of cores from a Lee 250 grain 45 cal 6 cavity mold. I used pure lead, yes PURE LEAD! It sure made it a LOT easier formign the bullet. I recomend everyone use pure lead when ever possible when swaging. Trade that wheel weight alloy with the cast boolit shooters here for pure lead.

My resulting cast boolits where 265 grains..... PERFECT for the 45 acp case when used for 500 cal bullets.

Resulting .500 cal bullet is 355 grains average depending on varing weights of 45 ACP brass.

What an awesome looking bullet! With the pure lead core it would certainly make a BIG hole in something...... JUST AWESOME! Wish I had a 500 now.

All of you waiting for these 500 cal dies I highly recomend you start casting some pure lead cores using a 45 cal 250 grain mold, I used the lee 6 cavity mold. THe results where easy and perfect. Also anneal those scrap 45 ACP too. You all will be shooitng your 500s for nothing more then the cost of a primer and powder!

Thank you for your support and patience. These dies will be worth your wait! I'm impressed for sure so you should well be.

BT

Already got a bunch of cores ready and a bunch of range brass:mrgreen:

[DukeInFlorida]

I understand that I will be seeing these dies soon, and wanted to bump this thread up front for reference.

[475AR]

How is it going with the development of the .500 bullets? Any idea on ship times?

[RANGER RICK]

I really like the looks of the bullets .
Just might have to jump on the train.

RR

[BT Sniper]

Sending them off to be nitride processed and will deliver soon!

Thanks for your patience and support.

Brian

[DukeInFlorida]

Received my dies. Follow up soon!

[RANGER RICK]

Duke
Do you have a 50 AE your going to test a few in ??
I know they will work out of my 500 Smith and my 500 Cyrus but not sure on the 50 AE ??
I am looking to get a set of these dies
Thanks

RR

[DukeInFlorida]

I do NOT have a 50 AE to try them in.

Do you have a 50 AE???

I'd send you some samples if you did.
We would, of course, want a follow up report, with pictures.

Let me know.

[RANGER RICK]

Duke

I do have a 50 AE and I would love to try a few and give a follow up when tested .
Thanks
I will PM you with my address.

RR

[DukeInFlorida]

They will go out today.

My ability to ship them so fast has everything to do with how simple it is to make the bullets, using Brian's tools!

[BT Sniper]

With the 50 AE the only concern is the short length of nose required for the bullet. As I recall I designed these bullets to work in the AE as well but something to keep in mind is that we can still mount these bullets in a case trimmer and trim the nose back a little. Not that this should be required for anyone to shoot these bullets, it is just a fun fact.

Keep it safe and good shooting.

BT

[RANGER RICK]

Thanks for the heads up BT .
Looking forward to loading a few up , should be fun for sure.

RR

[DukeInFlorida]

Brian,

What was your trick for folding in the nose on these bullets????

[BT Sniper]

Instead of a 255 grain 45 cal core I used a 240 grain 44 cal core. That gave us the 15 grain void in the top of the jacket of the formed bullet. Then with a special insert for the universal die I rolled the tip over then formed it again in the point form die to finish the tip. Had to adjust the die for the now shorter bullet but that is how it was done. More work then needed IMOP vs. using the 255 grain core for perfect formed bullets with less steps but of course I would be happy to provide you the necessary tools. Would need a different HP nose punch then the "Nosler" style I provided you.

Looking at the Hornady bullet makes me think they used a LOT thicker jacket then the 45 ACP we are using, I would have to cut one in half to tell. They didn't have to fold anything over, that jacket is just that thick from the looks of it.

BT

[DukeInFlorida]

So, maybe with a concave bullet seating die of some sort, I might be able to roll the nose in. I'll have to check my bullet seating dies to try and find one that would be concave enough. Or, maybe a proper "top punch" on my Lyman 4500. Use a strong flat washer on top of the sizing die to keep the bullet from going in. Hmmmm... ideas ideas ideas...

[RANGER RICK]

Duke

Found some goodies waiting in the post office for me this morning .Those are some fine looking bullets for sure .
looking forward to loading these up in my 50 AE.
Will give a follow up with pictures soon.
Thank you very much

RR

[DukeInFlorida]

You're welcome. I've made up about 200 more since then.
Once I get a die set, it's extremely EASY to run a large volume through the system. And, every die that's involved it very easy to set up.
The toughest job is setting in the cannelure. Might have to develop a better way to install the cannelure.

I have a pulled muscle in my back (probably from swaging when I haven't done anything physical in months.), and will have to wait a bit for the muscle to calm down before doing much more.

I still owe everyone pictures of the steps in the swaging of the .500's from 45 acp. I wish I had Brian's camera skills.

[GunWhoreDer]

Duke

Found some goodies waiting in the post office for me this morning .Those are some fine looking bullets for sure .
looking forward to loading these up in my 50 AE.
Will give a follow up with pictures soon.
Thank you very much

RR

I for one have a few .50AE Pistols and would love to see your report.
Would making them for the .50AE be better if using .45GAP Brass?
Would .45GAP Brass work for both .50AE and .500S&W Projectiles?
Thanks, GunWhoreDer

[GunWhoreDer]

You're welcome. I've made up about 200 more since then.
Once I get a die set, it's extremely EASY to run a large volume through the system. And, every die that's involved it very easy to set up.
The toughest job is setting in the cannelure. Might have to develop a better way to install the cannelure.

I have a pulled muscle in my back (probably from swaging when I haven't done anything physical in months.), and will have to wait a bit for the muscle to calm down before doing much more.

I still owe everyone pictures of the steps in the swaging of the .500's from 45 acp. I wish I had Brian's camera skills.

Welcome to Florida Duke, Hope you back is feeling good. I would love to see those pictures of the steps in the swaging of the .500's from 45 acp you offered to post. Thanks, GunWhoreDer

[LoopSoosStroop]

Sacrilege...!

What a waste of 45 brass... :sad:

[BT Sniper]

45 brass is a little easier to come by over here. Besides we only use the "scrap" brass for jackets. Better then sending it to China!

BT

[DukeInFlorida]

Here's my write up, complete with pictures:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?204657-My-review-of-BT-Sniper-s-45-to-500-S-amp-W-Magnum-Die-set




Welcome to Florida Duke, Hope you back is feeling good. I would love to see those pictures of the steps in the swaging of the .500's from 45 acp you offered to post. Thanks, GunWhoreDer

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Not to hijack your thread Duke, but...


The toughest job is setting in the cannelure.

A buddy of mine and I are working on fabricating our own cannelure tool that is more ergonomically correct than the CH4D tool. He is an older gentleman and a retired tool maker. Needless to say he has the machines and the know-how. These may come up for sale after we perfect the design. We will be able to put a cannelure on .17 cal up to 50 cal (.510). The prototype is about halfway finished.

Back to the thread.... I see a purchase in the near future to feed the Smith Jacketed bullets.....

This place is gonna make me go broke!!!!!

[DukeInFlorida]

The CH4D version of the cannelure tool leaves much to be desired. I hate the thing, but it is the only way I have (currently) to install cannelures.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I bought this used CH4D cannelure tool with homemade base from a member here...back 3 years ago. Now I haven't tried using it without the base, but I think is works pretty slick. I use it only on 44 cal brass jacketed (40 case) home swaged bullets.

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_1254.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/100_1254.jpg.html)

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_1253.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/100_1253.jpg.html)

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_1252.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/100_1252.jpg.html)

[RANGER RICK]

Ok here are a few pictures of the 50 AE loaded up with the bullets Duke sent me to try out made from 45 acp brass.
They work great and feed perfectly out of my Desert Eagle 50 . Looks to be a winner for me . I will have to put some funds together to get a set of these dies from Brian .
Thanks again Duke for sending me the testers .

RR



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/RANGERRICKQUIGLEY/FIRE%20ARMS/photo255_zps53614842.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RANGERRICKQUIGLEY/media/FIRE%20ARMS/photo255_zps53614842.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/RANGERRICKQUIGLEY/FIRE%20ARMS/photo199_zps386f7612.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RANGERRICKQUIGLEY/media/FIRE%20ARMS/photo199_zps386f7612.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/RANGERRICKQUIGLEY/FIRE%20ARMS/photo-2999_zps28310b16.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RANGERRICKQUIGLEY/media/FIRE%20ARMS/photo-2999_zps28310b16.jpg.html)

[Fetzner808]

Man these swaged boolits look so slick. I'd love this die set to swage for my .50 Beo. Can't wait to see how they perform in the .50 AE.

[BT Sniper]

Those do look great!

I was just in a local sporting goods store. Glanced at the still empty bullet, powder and ammo shelves and I saw a box of 50 Hornady 500 cal bullets for $45! DANG! Nearly a buck a piece just for the projectiles! Not loaded ammo!

Good shooting!

BT

[scarry scarney]

Doesn't take long for it to pay for a set of BT's dies.

[BT Sniper]

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/3a4b6b17-4890-4ced-a4ec-cc604153c1e5_zps61d47e01.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/3a4b6b17-4890-4ced-a4ec-cc604153c1e5_zps61d47e01.jpg.html)

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/64535a3a-d1b6-4374-8534-dec59814c896_zps2eedbdd2.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/64535a3a-d1b6-4374-8534-dec59814c896_zps2eedbdd2.jpg.html)


Got a customer's 500 cal die set ready to go. Check out all the extras I provided and samples of each step of the way.

Customer supplied me with a couple copper jackets so I supplied him the necessary tools to turn them into perfect 500 cal Hornady XTP copies!

Good shooting and swage on!

Brian

[bbailey7821]

Can anyone advise if a RockChucker is sufficient to pull this off? I'm about to take the plunge and need to find out if I need to start shopping for a press, too...

[BT Sniper]

PM sent

[Lizard333]

Can anyone advise if a RockChucker is sufficient to pull this off? I'm about to take the plunge and need to find out if I need to start shopping for a press, too...

Your making a LARGE bullet. A dedicated swaging press is the way to go. Just my two cents.

[bbailey7821]

Ok, Gents. I'm in. My wife is gonna be soooo mad...again:groner:

Cheers!

[Cruddymutt]

New to these forums. Has anyone used these in an AR chambered in 50 Beowulf? I don't see any reason why they wouldn't work but you never know.
What press are folks using for swaging? The only press I have is a very old RCBS "A" press. Big ol heavy brute! Would I benefit from converting the "A" to a swage only press and buy a new press for reloading purposes?
Thanks!

[Lizard333]

New to these forums. Has anyone used these in an AR chambered in 50 Beowulf? I don't see any reason why they wouldn't work but you never know.
What press are folks using for swaging? The only press I have is a very old RCBS "A" press. Big ol heavy brute! Would I benefit from converting the "A" to a swage only press and buy a new press for reloading purposes?
Thanks!

Keep that "A" press for reloading. Get a dedicated swaging press. RCE has a walnut hill press for a little over 400$.

Others will tell you that your rcbs is suited for swaging, but 224 is as far as I would push it. Swaging projectiles larger than that requires more leverage. Keep your reloading press for reloading, and get a swaging press for swaging.

[DukeInFlorida]

We don't all have the budget that Lizard333 has.

I am happily making the following with my RCBS RockChucker:

.22LR > .224
9mm > .40
.40 > 45
45acp > 500 magnums

I find that the 500 magnums don't require as much pressure as the 9mm > .40 swaged bullets do. It could be the ratio of diameter expansion is better. Or, it could be some other factor that I don't really care about.

The only issue I got was early on, with the 22LR > .224 bullets. I broke the factory pin that connects the linkage to the bottom of the ram. I replaced that with a 3/8" Grade 8 bolt (long enough so that the un-threaded shoulder portion fits the holes). No issues since!

I have been punching out 500 magnums in the past week, and as a test, didn't even anneal the jackets (45 acp brass). They ran fine, and come out to proper diameter.

I've been bringing the swaged bullet samples to the gun club I just joined, and have been having great fun asking some of the old timers if they can tell me what they are looking at (when I show them a swaged 45 acp case > 500 magnum). Some of them look with squinted eyes, and ask what kind of gun it shoots in. Even when I give them a Hornady XTP as a "hint" they still don't get it, until I show them the assembled round.

So, yes, there are many of us, successfully swaging bullets for the 500 magnum in a single station press, including Lee Classic Cast and RCBS Rockchuckers.

Do yourself a favor though.............

After buying a press, order a threaded ram, either from chuckbuster (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?10754-chuckbuster) or BT Sniper. Price is fair either way, chuckbuster (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?10754-chuckbuster) will get it to you faster. Fitting the bottom punches into the T-slot is a recipe for bent punches, and collapsed T-slots. The threaded versions are all but failproof.


Can anyone advise if a RockChucker is sufficient to pull this off? I'm about to take the plunge and need to find out if I need to start shopping for a press, too...

[BT Sniper]

The web (solid brass base) of the 45 acp case is thinner then the web of the 9mm case making it slightly easier to swage into a bullet.

Threaded base punches and a threaded ram are a very good idea when it comes to swaging bullets.

BT

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

RCBS "A" series presses will work fine for swaging. In fact that is what the original presses were made for.

[Lizard333]

RCBS "A" series presses will work fine for swaging. In fact that is what the original presses were made for.

This is true. To swage 224's out of 22 rim fire. Big difference between 22's and 50's.

[Utah Shooter]

Ladies and Gentlemen, the stars have aligned. Duke, I could not agree with you more!

As for the rest of the conversation......

94539

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Lizard, have you any experience using an A series press? It is way more stout than a Lee Classic cast.

I have no need to swage 50 cal rifle bullets.

[Lizard333]

Nope, not an "A". I own two supremes and they are great reloading presses. They are stout and strong. I've never disputed that they are not good reloading presses. They might even be fine for swaging 224's out of 22LR.

Let's take my bias towards buying the right tool for the job out of the equation. I know of no one here that uses a reloading press for swaging on a regular basis, WITHOUT MODIFICATIONS. Fact is, if these presses, no matter the brand, were fine to swage bullets, they wouldn't have been modified.

There are a number of members here that started with reloading presses found they were not up to par, made mods, got better results, and still ended getting a dedicated swaging press. I try to save the "new" guy some heartache and frustration with standard presses. Buy once, cry once. This hobby isn't cheap. Why skimp on the single most important tool?

I'm thankful those that helped me get started, pointed me in the right direction. I try to pay it forward and help others. I've swaged with both presses, and there is no comparison.

[Nickle]

I've used an A press, and I can tell you they're a lot more rugged than a Rock Chucker.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Lizard, I agree with your logic. IF you are going to know you will like bullet swaging, then go ahead and buy a swage press. BUT, not everyone is sure if it is going to be for them. On the outside, swaging can be decieving. What the beginners sometimes fail to understand is the amount of time involved in making their own jacketed bullets...especially from rimfire jackets.

So my point is that for starting out to see if you like it, a RC, Lee CC, or A series press will do absolutely fine. If a beginner finds they don't like swaging, then they just have to sell their dies to the next beginner that wants to give it a shot..and probably get exactly what they paid for them.

When I got into boolit casting, if I was 100% sure I would have liked it, I would have bought custom group buy molds, an RCBS ProMelt, and a Star lubrisizer. I started off tumble lubing with Lee snot and lee molds to see if it was for me.

Same goes for reloading equipment. I started out with a cheapy Lee single stage. Now I am what you could call a press addict. But at least I admit it!

[tiger762]

I heard that. I went with an RCECO Walnut Hill and complete kit to make 224 from 22LR. Two things about a real swage press: Bronze bushings and much shorter stroke length. This press has two modes. 2" stroke for swaging and 4" stroke for reloading. In swaging mode (where I keep mine), there's mechanical advantage out the butt. So rather than slipping a length of pipe over a reloading press handle, and popping a blood vessel, I can sit and leisurely watch some 'tube. Another thing about swaging is that you'll throw the handle through a lot longer range of motion. I have an RCBS Ammomaster with 50BMG kit, a Lee Classic Cast and six single-stage Lee's set up for common reloading tasks. They all have their purpose. Just like trying to swage with a Lee C-press would be wack, using the swage press to reload, while possible, would be overkill.

This truly is not for the financially faint of heart :-P


Buy once, cry once. This hobby isn't cheap. Why skimp on the single most important tool?

[Fetzner808]

BT has any one sent these down the pipe of a .50 Beowulf yet? I'd be happy to be the tester :)

[DukeInFlorida]

This thread needs to be a sticky!

[bbailey7821]

Hey Fetzner,
I've got a set on order and thats my plan.

[DukeInFlorida]

I had given a few to a fellow in Maine before I moved, and he loaded them into a 50 Beowolf. The bullet size and weight is perfect for that chambering. Got good reports back. Keep in mind that these are Hollow Points, very closely resembling Hornady XTP. As long as you are OK with that bullet type, they will work fine.


BT has any one sent these down the pipe of a .50 Beowulf yet? I'd be happy to be the tester :)

[bbailey7821]

hey Duke,
Did he happen to give you any loading data on that?

[DukeInFlorida]

No, but I developed my own data based on the Hornady book. The swaged bullets I make are the same size, weight, and style as the Hornady XTP bullets. That data works perfectly for my gun.

Proceed with caution, your mileage may vary. Start at starting loads, and work up if you feel the need to. I load thousands of rounds with Trailboss, and almost as many with LilGun. I won't give you load data, since there's too much opportunity to make transcription mistakes.

[bbailey7821]

understood, Duke. That's how I will proceed. Thanks for the heads up!

[bbailey7821]

P.S. I doubt highly that you are south of me

[DukeInFlorida]

Yup... you got me beat..... I'd have to wager that we are south of 99% of the participants of this forum.

[bbailey7821]

Roger that, Duke!

[Destroyer_85_golf]

anyone know where to get a set of the dies to swage .500 bullets?

[Hickory]

anyone know where to get a set of the dies to swage .500 bullets?
Try this link.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?183513-Available-products-and-current-prices

[woodbutcher]

:drinks: Just found this thread.Great write ups and pictures.
Boolits look outstanding.Thank to all for this thread.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Wolftracker]

I too have Corbin dies for the 45ACP. I've made 45's out of .40 Smith brass but haven't had a lot of luck with accuracy. I think BT's dies must have different internal dimensions, at least with the core seater that accounts for spring back in the brass, but am not sure. Otherwise, they look good, and I haven't tried everything yet, like reducing them to .451. Just need the time!

[BT Sniper]

Perfected rolling over the tip of the jacket on a lighter 335 grain bullet vs. the traditional 350 grain .500 cal bullet made from 45 ACP brass.

Use a 240 grain 44 cal cast boolit (335 grain .500 bullet when formed) instead of a 255 grain 45 cal cast boolit (350 grain formed bullet).

Check it out.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/003_zpsa111128e.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/003_zpsa111128e.jpg.html)

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/002_zpseeb0ed1f.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/002_zpseeb0ed1f.jpg.html)

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/001_zpsa0c9fefe.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/001_zpsa0c9fefe.jpg.html)

[rolltide]

Those are great looking bullets Brian. How much does the last bullet on the right in the first pic weigh?

Looking at the progression of the bullets as you have them pictured, a thought occurred to me. A person could use your die set and notch die with an inverted gas check inside the jacket to make a "magsafe" type bullet filled with lead shot. This would make a great personal defense round for the 500 S&W that could be used without fear of over-penetration in home defense. I will have to experiment around and do some testing on multiple layers of sheetrock with a round like that. You could also use the notch die and 2 gas checks in the actual 500 S&W case to make a shot load round for snakes and other pests. Since the notch die set is universal, you could do the same with other large bore pistol calibers, or any straight walled case for that matter. There is just no end to the great custom rounds you can make with this great set-up Brian. Thanks for bringing these great tools to market.


Having just received my die set and other tools from you, I have to say again that the immaculate craftsmanship and pride that goes into your work is obvious in the appearance of your product, not to mention the precision of the products these tools produce. It almost makes we want to store them in a display case when I am not using them. :)

Roll Tide

[BT Sniper]

Some .500 cal pics that I found.....

https://i.imgur.com/PBrsgsGl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YCJCFEgl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/NV4VRU5l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9oo3tMRl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/HmBdQYfl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wULJrb2l.jpg