BT Sniper
10-12-2013, 02:50 AM
Among the many customer dies I am working on here is some bullets made from a customer's 338 set of dies that is high on the list.
These bullets here is one of the main reasons I first got into swaging (the 44 cal bullets from 40S&W being the first to feed a hungry AutoMag). My goal was to make a bullet as good as the Sierra 300 grain Match King for less then the 35 cents each it cost to buy the Sierras. Finally many years later I am very close to one of my goals.
Here is a bullet I am very happy with, matter of fact this is a set of dies I wish I could keep for my own needs (all in good time, I'll have to make me a set at a later date). It is a 250 grain 338 with a 6s ogive and a 9 degree boat tail formed from scrap 223 blanks. It turned out very well, darn near perfect. The advantage, I am learning, to swaging boat tail bullets it that there seems to be considerably less effort needed to eject the formed bullet from the die, less barring surface or less of a pressure ring at the base of the bullet or a combination of both. The only thing I have left to achieve with my personal goals and this bullet is a smaller meplat and a higher BC with a 9s ogive. With the ease of ejection from the die these boat tail bullets have I should be able to take the .092 meplat down to a .075 or possibly a .062 at which point I wound be able to match the Sierra. I already have the 9s ogive reamer.
My goals aside, I bet this bullet pictured below is capable of greatness. At 250 grains it is ideal for many of the 338 calibers. My progress with the boat tail dies and bullets is darn near perfected. Here I was able to swage the near solid base of the 223 down to a perfect 9 degree boat tail, should make for a strong bullet with the nearly solid base of brass and tapered jacket walls, reminds me of the Nolser BTs. Yet the jacket thickness at the tip of the 223 case is a good deal thinner then the commercial jackets I'm sure and will lead to dramatic initial expansion. I have one of these bullets sectioned in half I'll get a pic of soon.
So far I'm on my way, well on the customer's way, to some great 338 bullets. Bullets as good or better then commercial bullets at a cost of scrap brass prices, in the case of these blanks that is less then 4 cents a piece!
250 grain 338 bullet from 223 blank!
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/7304d052-46eb-473d-a338-5bbf33c003a2_zps74aba0a9.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/7304d052-46eb-473d-a338-5bbf33c003a2_zps74aba0a9.jpg.html)\
One step at a time! Trim, anneal, clean, draw down, draw down again, seat core, form bullet. Top of jackets appear as though they are cut uneven, there are square just the rounded base is causing the case to tilt towards camera. Sierra 300 grain match king pictured on right.
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/e88a8e7d-217d-43bf-9e06-a1fb1e941297_zps7e30b460.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/e88a8e7d-217d-43bf-9e06-a1fb1e941297_zps7e30b460.jpg.html)
A look at the base of the bullets and scrap 223 brass.
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/30acc7be-7a02-4596-b2c8-6b4c918dfda0_zpsc3cbbf30.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/30acc7be-7a02-4596-b2c8-6b4c918dfda0_zpsc3cbbf30.jpg.html)
250 grain next to a 300 grain bullet from scrap 223 brass.
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/47c5d008-42f5-4284-81a8-107603c23764_zps976f6c06.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/47c5d008-42f5-4284-81a8-107603c23764_zps976f6c06.jpg.html)
A 300 grain 338 from 223 scrap brass next to the Sierra 300 grain 338. Notice the boat tails! A near perfect match! I'll be working on the tip of the bullet with a smaller meplat and higher 9s ogive
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/6826ad75-e9e8-4ddf-a269-81c717237cff_zps9082f30b.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/6826ad75-e9e8-4ddf-a269-81c717237cff_zps9082f30b.jpg.html)
These bullets here is one of the main reasons I first got into swaging (the 44 cal bullets from 40S&W being the first to feed a hungry AutoMag). My goal was to make a bullet as good as the Sierra 300 grain Match King for less then the 35 cents each it cost to buy the Sierras. Finally many years later I am very close to one of my goals.
Here is a bullet I am very happy with, matter of fact this is a set of dies I wish I could keep for my own needs (all in good time, I'll have to make me a set at a later date). It is a 250 grain 338 with a 6s ogive and a 9 degree boat tail formed from scrap 223 blanks. It turned out very well, darn near perfect. The advantage, I am learning, to swaging boat tail bullets it that there seems to be considerably less effort needed to eject the formed bullet from the die, less barring surface or less of a pressure ring at the base of the bullet or a combination of both. The only thing I have left to achieve with my personal goals and this bullet is a smaller meplat and a higher BC with a 9s ogive. With the ease of ejection from the die these boat tail bullets have I should be able to take the .092 meplat down to a .075 or possibly a .062 at which point I wound be able to match the Sierra. I already have the 9s ogive reamer.
My goals aside, I bet this bullet pictured below is capable of greatness. At 250 grains it is ideal for many of the 338 calibers. My progress with the boat tail dies and bullets is darn near perfected. Here I was able to swage the near solid base of the 223 down to a perfect 9 degree boat tail, should make for a strong bullet with the nearly solid base of brass and tapered jacket walls, reminds me of the Nolser BTs. Yet the jacket thickness at the tip of the 223 case is a good deal thinner then the commercial jackets I'm sure and will lead to dramatic initial expansion. I have one of these bullets sectioned in half I'll get a pic of soon.
So far I'm on my way, well on the customer's way, to some great 338 bullets. Bullets as good or better then commercial bullets at a cost of scrap brass prices, in the case of these blanks that is less then 4 cents a piece!
250 grain 338 bullet from 223 blank!
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/7304d052-46eb-473d-a338-5bbf33c003a2_zps74aba0a9.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/7304d052-46eb-473d-a338-5bbf33c003a2_zps74aba0a9.jpg.html)\
One step at a time! Trim, anneal, clean, draw down, draw down again, seat core, form bullet. Top of jackets appear as though they are cut uneven, there are square just the rounded base is causing the case to tilt towards camera. Sierra 300 grain match king pictured on right.
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/e88a8e7d-217d-43bf-9e06-a1fb1e941297_zps7e30b460.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/e88a8e7d-217d-43bf-9e06-a1fb1e941297_zps7e30b460.jpg.html)
A look at the base of the bullets and scrap 223 brass.
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/30acc7be-7a02-4596-b2c8-6b4c918dfda0_zpsc3cbbf30.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/30acc7be-7a02-4596-b2c8-6b4c918dfda0_zpsc3cbbf30.jpg.html)
250 grain next to a 300 grain bullet from scrap 223 brass.
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/47c5d008-42f5-4284-81a8-107603c23764_zps976f6c06.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/47c5d008-42f5-4284-81a8-107603c23764_zps976f6c06.jpg.html)
A 300 grain 338 from 223 scrap brass next to the Sierra 300 grain 338. Notice the boat tails! A near perfect match! I'll be working on the tip of the bullet with a smaller meplat and higher 9s ogive
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/6826ad75-e9e8-4ddf-a269-81c717237cff_zps9082f30b.jpg (http://s636.photobucket.com/user/BTSniper/media/6826ad75-e9e8-4ddf-a269-81c717237cff_zps9082f30b.jpg.html)