Help with Herters 308-C swaging die

[Danth]

94266

I have a Herters 308-C swaging die that is unlike all the other Herters swaginging dies I have. The bottom punch is solid, all my other Herters dies have a vented bottom punch. The upper punches are vented, right into the area where the knockout rod contacts the punch. These punches have the nose profile of the bullet. I had thought maybe this was a core forming die, but why would the punches have a nose cavity and why is the vent into the knockout rod area? Any thoughts? Thanks, Dan

[garandsrus]

Could the punches have been installed backwards by the previous owner?

[Danth]

No, they only fit one way.

[runfiverun]

they are just made to give different nose profiles.
I have some C&H dies the same way.
you just swap out the nose profile die to go from a rn to a swc type bullet.

[Danth]

yup, I understand that, but why not change the base punch as is the case with all my other Herter's dies? The nose punches on this die set are the upper punch, and the vent goes thru the entire punch and vents right where the ejection rod comes in contact with the punch.

[runfiverun]

cause they are for the 30 carbine and half jackets at that.
you would use a core of the same weight each time and the hole is just there to release air.

[Danth]

That makes sense! Think the "C" in the "308-C" marking stands for carbine?

[runfiverun]

yeah that's what I'd go with.
regular dies for rifle type bullets are usually pretty spendy and take a pretty robust punch.
you might be able to cobble something together using some cartridge brass such as the 32 acp.
but you may need a draw down die to get the right diameter there.