newbie needs swaging advice/help!!

[mtnbowhunter]

HI GANG
ALL INFO BASED ON 308 CAL SOFT CAST BULLETS!

i am interested in buying soft cast HP unlubed?unswaged bullets for subsonic use.
i would then use a bake on bullet coating and swage the OD down to what i need.
i have an rcbs rockchucker press

what is the most economical way - dies,etc. that i would need to do this in my press?

ADVICE/EXPERIENCES PLEASE!!!

[mckenziedrums]

You're not really talking about swaging here so much as sizing... So really what you want to do could be done with any sizing die. No real need for dead soft lead either.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

mtnbowhunter,
welcome to the website.

What you are asking is kind of "out of the norm", unless you are incorrectly using the term swage. Typically you don't use a HP lead bullet to swage, you use a cylindrical lead core (generally in the shape of a soup can) and it gets formed to the die during swaging. The type of die, dictates HP or FN or Spire Pt.

Also soft lead swaging is usually limited to low pressure calibers, such as 38 spl. Assuming your 308 dia bullet is for a rifle (a higher pressure caliber), you'll need a harder/tougher lead alloy, even if you PC it.

Maybe give us some more info in regards to your end goal, and we could be more helpful?

[runfiverun]

what you need is a point form die and a core [made from lead, antimonial lead would be preferred]
I would then heat treat and cold water quench the formed bullet [say 2% antimony baked at 350-f for 1 hr and dumped into cold water]
this should give you a final bhn of around 15.
the powder coated and cooked for the 20 minutes and allowed to air cool this will slightly draw your final bhn back down to about 12.

now you can get your core a couple of different way's.
one is to cast them from a boolit mold then size them down to 306 or so then punch them back up in the swage die.
this will remove the lube groove and give you the final shape you want.

another is to use a core mold and a core swage die [to get the weights more consistent] then point form them, powder coat, and do a final push through sizing.

[mckenziedrums]

I'm not so sure he needs a point die... It sounds like he wants to take an oversized cast bullet with a hollow point profile and then coat and size it.