First swaged .2240 boolets

[bogleman]

Alrighty, finally received all my goodies to assemble my own jacketed boolets for my adult .22 fun so I can be self reliant and have some mind numbing fun. Needless to say the press received quite a work out forming close to 35 pounds of .2240 boolets. I've been tempted to count but not yet, not until I get a load worked out that will function properly then I can fine tune. Worse case I have a bunch of plinkers and zombie fodder.

I'm not going to go into any of the finer details but I do have a concern to see if folks could answer what I encountered.

I purchased 30+ pounds of pure lead from roto metals formed all my cores at about 46.5 grains (using a ballance beam scale). This took several days but I was methodical from pouring to using the squirt die.

Jackets were a mixed lot of Remington, CCI, Federal, several stamped with an E and some with either no stamp or I could not read. All were run through the forming die and once formed were annealed in the lead pot for 20 minutes. This is the only step that I think there may be some variance but whatever.

I seated all the cores into the jackets, was not sure of how much force to use but I was recovering from a bicycle accident and I had little girl arms and could not use my real he-man strength.

Ok, I finally get my point form die and follow the directions, watch videos and lurk about concerns on sticking a boolet. First boolet went through like a champ - oops too much lube. I did find the sweet spot and I must say they came out looking like a dream.

On to the actual problem, out of the 35 or so pounds of adult .22 fun I had 6 boolets that did not feel right as I was running the press. I stoped and put them aside for later evaluation.

I have a wonderful high school machine shop education when it comes to metal/lathe work so I think I measured properly.

I've included a picture showing outer diameter, weight (ballance beam) and case stamp.
http://http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/Hunting/20141119_182645_zpsajaqsdyp.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/Hunting/20141119_182645_zpsajaqsdyp.jpg.html)

Some of my measurements came out dead nutz and others were undersized.

Why did they not feel right? Did set the die wrong? Too heavy core? Jacket thickness? Junk in the trunk? Little girl arm force seating the cores? Some did have very tiny amounts of lead that squirted out of the tip of the formed boolet but did not require any abnormal force or resistance.

I did run all jackets through my frankinwetstainlesscitricdawn tumbler before forming and after annealing

[BT Sniper]

Bogleman,

WOW! Great job! Impressive results really! It doesn't look like you could of had the point form die for any longer then two weeks! If I read it correctly you just finished making 35 lbs of 22 cal bullets from 22lr brass! Ok first a little math.... there is 7000 grains to a pound and your bullets look to be.... call it 57.5 grains...... that is 121 bullets per pound multiplied by 35 = 4,260 bullets rough estimate!

Ok now out of those 4260 bullets you had only 6 that gave you any indication of something different from the norm? I must say that is pretty darn good results in anyone's book if you ask me.

As to the 6 in question....... Looks like the Federal and CCI jacket you have pictured there are of the lot that is .7 grains heavier then the rest of the typical 22lr brass so that could give you a slight difference in felt pressure while forming the bullets. The 56.5 grain Rem jacket bullet might be a light core? as it seems to be about 1 grain lighter then the rest of your bullets? The other ones seem to be OK on weight yet maybe a little undersized??? Don't know on these? If I had to guess it would seem that a couple jackets might have slipped in that either where not annealed or not annealed as much as the rest but I find it hard to believe that you would get only 6 out of all those brass annealed that would have given you trouble, if there was a problem with your anneal technique you would have noticed a lot more.

BUT...... are we really only talking about 6 bullets out of nearly 4.5 thousand? If that is the case I would throw those 6 bullets away and not give it one more thought at all! You still have 4254 bullets that "felt" good and look good in formation. Heck that is less the .2 of one percent rejection rate, I bet the big name factory bullet makers run close to 2-5% rejection rate, maybe more?

Did you have any other troubles? Any folded tips? Any stuck bullets in all those made? Any other trouble at all?

As to the core seating step, doesn't take much pressure, I'm sure my 8 year old girls are strong enough to complete the step. All you are looking for is the jacket to swell out to the core seat die diameter, in most cases this would be around .2235. You might also notice a slight bleed of the lead core inside the jacket at the edges. I'm sure your process of seating the cores was just fine.

As for the 6 rejects???? who knows? could have been any number of factors but at the rate your going I would consider it an outstanding success, throw those 6 bullets in a Ziploc bag and put it in a drawer to compare to any future problems you might encounter and don't worry or give it a second thought. You got to much reloading and shooting to do now!

Good shooting and swage on!

BT

[fredj338]

Very nice! I would suspect an odd annealing, maybe a case/jacket too soft or too hard.
Just a note on casting cores. They do NOT have to be perfect. You are going to swage them with a lot of force & any small imperfections get ironed out. I sorted all my cores by 2/10gr wts but probably not necessary for plinking bullets. Same for the jackets.

[bogleman]

Thanks for the quick replies. I can say that the 6 were the only real issues/concerns; but not really. Just raised an eyebrow as I was working through the pile and wanted to share my experience for what it's worth. More of a compliment about the dies and ease of use, there are many steps but when broken up into individual "projects" it is fairly easy to crank them out.

Those little bits of fun do add up, I handed the wife the container and she just rolled her eyes hahahaha.

No stuck boolets, no issues whatsoever. I did have some where the edges were folded but that seemed to only happen if the edges were dented/folded before I ran them through the die(at least the ones I took notice). Some hydraulic dents from too much lube but once I got the feel down I did not notice anything that would cause me to reject.

I do have a very soft and smooth finger and thumb from all the lube :)

[BT Sniper]

COOL!

Then it is in fact a pile of over 4200 successful bullets with no real issues other then these 6 you mentioned. Nice job! Goes to show that the time you spent and "methodical" efforts you put into it paid off big time.

Can we get a pick of that pile of bullets? :)

Thanks for the report. Keep us posted on the range results and any other details of your experience.

Good shooting and swage on!

BT

[R.Ph. 380]

I do have a very soft and smooth finger and thumb from all the lube :)

BT, add some fragrance and you can market it for the wives...................................

Nice boolits bogleman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JRPVT]

You did great! Those look fantastic. For plinkers or small game they'll be fine. I'd rather read a story like this than one where you got 6 good ones and a large pile of questionables. Just keep doing what you did, and it'll only get better as you get more feel for it. Swage on! Dave

[bogleman]

Well like any good hunting of fishing story the size tends to grow as the story is told - HA around 25 pounds give or take.
http://http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/Hunting/20141120_165241_zps85zj0xig.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/Hunting/20141120_165241_zps85zj0xig.jpg.html)
Still a lot of little bits of fun without any issues. Will get to the range over the next couple of days.

[Lizard333]

The real indicator is how they shoot. Let us know how they fly.

[bogleman]

Made it to the range today with testing lots of 20 rounds each from 22 grains of IMR 4320 to 25 grains in .5 incriments run through a 1 in 7 twist CMMG 14.5 barrel with a welded 1.5 flash hider. Mainly run for function, iron sights from the bench (no sandbags). No jambs or issues just on the lighter charges the bolt did not lock back (using a heavy buffer tube).
http://http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/Hunting/22grains_zpscf9f81d6.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/Hunting/22grains_zpscf9f81d6.jpg.html)
http://http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/Hunting/225grains_zpsb3560cfd.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/Hunting/225grains_zpsb3560cfd.jpg.html)
http://http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/Hunting/23grains_zps85dff451.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/Hunting/23grains_zps85dff451.jpg.html)
http://http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/Hunting/235grains_zps7c7f4159.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/Hunting/235grains_zps7c7f4159.jpg.html)
http://http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/Hunting/24grains_zpsf61ea053.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/Hunting/24grains_zpsf61ea053.jpg.html)
http://http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/Hunting/245grains_zpscc93cd54.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/Hunting/245grains_zpscc93cd54.jpg.html)
http://http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/Hunting/25grains_zps51104dac.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/Hunting/25grains_zps51104dac.jpg.html)
Overall I am very pleased!

[BT Sniper]

That 22.5 grain load looks pretty good. Heck it all looked decent up to 24.5 grains.

And all that with a 7 twist!

Good shooting and swage on!

BT

[fredj338]

Good job with open sights! Looks like they'll do for informal target work.

[bogleman]

Made it to the range today to see how well things look for a possible entry into the postal match. Took 60 shots at 100 yards with open sights; all I could see was the paper so that was my point of aim. Not perfect but will deffitenately get the point across if needed. I used 22.5 grains of 4320.

http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/100yards-21227140001_zps38dc3543.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/100yards-21227140001_zps38dc3543.jpg.html)

http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/100yards-11227140001_zps72c91a3a.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/100yards-11227140001_zps72c91a3a.jpg.html)

http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/20141227_111848_zpssbbxfxco.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/20141227_111848_zpssbbxfxco.jpg.html)

http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/20141227_110659_zpsqkukq8jy.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/20141227_110659_zpsqkukq8jy.jpg.html)

[fredj338]

One of my better 100yd groups, but from a 20", 1-8 hvy w/ 9x scope. If I remember theses were with matched headstamped bullets culled within 2/10gr increments.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/223-22lrgroup_zps7bc4ff8b.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/fredj338/media/223-22lrgroup_zps7bc4ff8b.jpg.html)

[bogleman]

Well I've been busy since the end of April, finished loading my plinking rounds. Stated tracking my time (somewhat) in 1 hour increments.

I'm guestimating that I have enough material to make 4800 (give or take) new shiny little bits of fun.

Spent roughly 8 hours casting cores, no guesses on weight at this time.
Spent 6 hours cleaning brass (3 loads in the frankin tumbler, 2 hours each)
Spent roughly 6 hours derimming at about 15 cases per minute (give or take)
Spent roughly 8 hours squirting lead cores at about 12 cores per minute.
Spent roughly 6 hours annealing derimmed cases - filler the lead pot, cover and soak on high for 30-45 minutes.
Spent roughly 6 hours cleaning brass (see above)
Working on seating cores at this time, up to 450 cores seated in 1 hour (set the timer for 1 hour and press GO). Up to 1282 cores seated at the time of typing.

My current robotic method is as follows:
left hand grabs a case, right hand grabs a core, hands meet in the middle and core is inserted, left hand inverts case with finger slightly covering opening holding the core on the ram, right hand pulls the press lever ever so gently guiding the little bit of fun into the core seat die with just enough pressure to get the job done, right hand pushes down on the press lever where the left hand catches the seated little bit of fun then tosses into the done pile.

I DO NOT envy folks working on a production line performing repetitive processes

[Gunnut 45/454]

Besides casting boolits for the AR swagin is a must at current bullet prices for anyone who enjoys shooting unless your one with deep pockets! I can swag any bullet wt. for any situation I might use my AR for. Now all I have to buy is primers and powder! Keep them stocked and one is good to go.:D

[bogleman]

Status update, 12 one hour sessions gave me 5916 seated cores. Averaged 493 an hour or just a hair over 8 a minute. Has 20 cores left over. Hopefully I'll bump up my time point forming [smilie=w:

[clodhopper]

wow you must be an animal!

[bogleman]

sigh........finally finished point forming - 13 one hour shifts to get to the bottom. That was a lot of yanking on the old Lyman start to finish. Mabye around 24,000 pulls on the press, had to lube the pins and shaft a couple of times due to a rather annoying squeak
http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/20150818_213711_zpsq02gwwox.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/20150818_213711_zpsq02gwwox.jpg.html)
Beleive it or not I had only 6 little bits of fun that I could not point form. Four felt like I hit a brick wall, forgot to put a core in one and then jammed another into the bottom of the aforementioned jacket only (which was still in the die). The jacket was not stuck, just had to poke a small hole and pull it out with a screw.
http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk367/fistmaul/20150809_185914_zpsg2luatjx.jpg (http://s309.photobucket.com/user/fistmaul/media/20150809_185914_zpsg2luatjx.jpg.html)
Now time to clean and cull the dimpled/folded to the fun pile and then save the rest.

[goblism]

sigh........finally finished point forming - 13 one hour shifts to get to the bottom. That was a lot of yanking on the old Lyman start to finish. Mabye around 24,000 pulls on the press, had to lube the pins and shaft a couple of times due to a rather annoying squeak

Beleive it or not I had only 6 little bits of fun that I could not point form. Four felt like I hit a brick wall, forgot to put a core in one and then jammed another into the bottom of the aforementioned jacket only (which was still in the die). The jacket was not stuck, just had to poke a small hole and pull it out with a screw.

Now time to clean and cull the dimpled/folded to the fun pile and then save the rest.

I am impressed, that is quite the stash of bullets!

[BT Sniper]

Nicely done! How many pounds of bullets do you have now?

Awesome!

Swage on! Or better yet have fun shooting now :)

BT

p.s. looking at the bucket of gold makes me think back to a couple years ago when you couldn't find any 22 cal bullets or ammo, that picture would have sure made a lot of people drool back then, heck even now!