Bullets from Brass the list

[BT Sniper]

There seems to be alot of scattered sucess stories posted on this board with alot of intrest in turning available worn out cases into shootable bullets. I was thinking we need to post all the sucessfull (seen, read about or achieved yourself) posibilities in a simple list to spark the imagination. I'll bet there is a bullet for most of the calibers from 17 to 50 that has been made from a brass cartridge.

Just a few I have seen on this sight or elsewere on the net.

Bullet - Case

.223 - 22lr
.243 - 22lr
.308 - FN 5.7
.358 - 30 carbine, .223
.380 - 9MM Luger
.401 - 9MM Luger
.416 - 30-30
.429 - 40 S&W
.457 - 45 ACP
.510 - 7MM mag

I'm sure there is more. Anyone else?

Great sight guys. Alot of great ideas here waiting for someone to stumble upon. Got me hooked.

Good shooting

[wonderwolf]

I've seen .257 from .22LR
I've done 41 mag from 9mm luger
and I'm thinking about .375 H&H bullets from 38SPL with the rims turned off.

[bohica2xo]

Around here the spray & pray crowd leaves a LOT brass on the ground. 9mm, FN5.7, 40S&W are the big ones.

I tend to go smaller with the first step in the process. 9mm brass gets reduced to .350, 40S&W brass becomes .405 for the 41 mag (or .395 for heavy 10mm bullets).

The FN5.7 brass makes decent .308 jackets.

Just about any scrap case can be sized down quite a bit. I have taken 9mm brass down to .305 for light 30 cal bullets, it just takes another step. I have also made .358 rifle bullets from 40S&W cases.

The rimmed stuff like 38spl can be de-rimmed in a shearing die easily enough. Rimless pistol brass loses most of the extractor groove when you reduce the head size - and some more goes away when actually making the bullet.

It should be simple enough to make .416 plinkers from 40S&W or 10mm brass.

223 / 5.56 brass can be manipulated quite a bit, but I don't see much of that on the ground anymore. I have not seen a 30 carbine case for a year or more. 32acp almost never either - the thugs all have a "nine" now.

B.

[TylerR]

The FN5.7 brass makes decent .308 jackets.

Could you explain the process on this some more. As someone who is new to swaging and making my own jackets, I would be very interested to learn more about the process.

[rockrat]

Plan on trying the 38spl brass once I get a new cutter head for my trimmer. Might be easier than using the 9mm luger brass (but it shoots sooo well) and just turn the rims off.

[BT Sniper]

If it is the cutter head for a case trimmer. I dulled mine as well trimming thousands of 44 AMP brass. I was able to resharpen it with a light toach of a dremmel tool and the small cut off wheels at the correct angle and ratation turning away from the cutting edge.

[MIBULLETS]

I have seen 22 magnum (WMR) and 22 WRM turned into 6mm and .257 bullets.

[rockrat]

Thanks about the idea of using the dremel tool. I will try that as no telling when Lyman will ship.

[elk hunter]

38 "brass not nickel "and 223 make good 375 jackets

30 carbine will also make 9.3 (.366 dia) jackets

308, 30-06 ect. will make 458 jackets

7.62x54 makes 470 full length jackets and 45 ACP makes a 1/2 jacket

Jackets can also be made from copper tubing, 3/8" for 375 and 1/2" for 458, 470 and 500.

[scrapcan]

Bohica2xo,

What do you reducing dies look like? Can youeplain your reduction process a bit?

[wonderwolf]

What kind of dies are you using for .375 bullets? I have a lot of junk 38spl and I wouldn't mind making a lot of nice .375 bullets with them.

[elk hunter]

WonderWolf,

If the last question is for me I make my own dies, some bullet moulds and even made my big swaging press. I have a decent shop so I can make just about anything I could want.

[MissionaryFarmer]

Elk Hunter,

Any chance you would be willing to make a thread about the dies and press you have made? I have a small machine/welding shop at home and if I knew what these things looked like I could probably try swaging myself.

Any links to pages on the subject would be very interesting.

[elk hunter]

Missionary Farmer,

If you can find a copy of Dave Corbins book "Discover Swaging" you should have the information you need to make dies. You can also google "Corbin Dies" and look at his web site, I'm not sure what his brother Richards site name is but it would be worth looking at.

I can post a picture or two of jacket drawing dies and swaging dies if that would help or I can e-mail pictures and maybe some simple directions if you would like. If you have a decent lathe and mill and some way to heat treat you too can make dies.

[Ballard]

I, for one, would like to see your pictures and hear your directions.

[bohica2xo]

Tyler & Manley:

The most important step for making jackets is a good anneal - especially if you will be reducing the head.

FN5.7 ammo is usually polymer coated. It burns off if you anneal with a flame, and should be done outdoors. Once they are fully annealed, a quick pickle will remove the polymer ash & oxides.

Pickle in a 50% vinegar / water solution, with a tablespoon of salt per quart of solution. Warming the solution up makes it work faster - but it works fine at room temp too. Use a collander to rinse them it hot tap water & dry.

Once the cases are clean & dry, taper expand the necks to remove the shoulder. If you crush cases instead of expanding them, your punch is too abrupt. Don't worry about making the mouth larger than the base, it will come back down when you reduce the case.

My reducing die for the FN stuff is a single step push through mounted in a mechanical arbor press. The mandrel is a .1875 dowel pin, and the die is a .3055 bore about .700 long with a gentle lead. The jackets fall in a box under the bench. Trimming to length is easily done in a case trimmer at this point.

Below is a pic of a FN case that has been annealed, pickeled & taper expanded - next to a fired case.

http://www.bradfordherrick.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/FN57a.jpg.w300h273.jpg

[BT Sniper]

Awesome!

Helpfull And Appricated. I'll try it soon. Do you Pickel all your brass Jackets after annealing? It takes me along time in a vibrating tumbler. How long does a good pickel soak for? They sure came out bright and shinny.

[bohica2xo]

You can run the pickel in a tumbler if you really want to speed things up... That case spent about 10 minutes in 90f solution - it was black to start with.

Buy a cheap collander, and a resealable container. The solution is good as longas it still works. It WILL turn blue. Eventually it will have enough copper in solution to plate things... at this point it may leave a copper color on cleaned brass. Not an issue for me, but if you don't like that replace the solution. The big chunks of burnt plastic, etc. will settle to the bottom of your storage container.

Do NOT throw the used solution in the stream behind your house, or pour it in a garden. Dilute it with lots of water if you send it down a drain. Dispose of the copper contaminated liquid or solids in a responsible way.

This sort of cleaning requires running water, and can be messy. I take no responsibility for an enraged wife, and suggest you buy your own collander etc.

B.

[scrapcan]

bohica2X0

have you done some plating with the solution? If so how did you do it?

I would also like to see what your reducing die looks like. What kind of taper are you using for the entrance of the die?

[bohica2xo]

Manley:

The solution will plate clean metals like steel by simply dipping in the solution. Sand a piece of mild steel clean and it will plate almost instantly, once the solution is a blue color.

The die profiles depend on how big of a reduction you plan in one pass, as well as the stroke you have available & the tonnage you can generate...

I use a "3 Ton" rack & pinon arbor press for some jobs. It has the advantage of a long stroke with a fixed force. Reloading presses have lots of force at the very end of the stroke. I also prefer to run the ram down to the dies, and drop the finished work out the bottom.

I built some of my dies to fit in a punch press. For large lots, this is less tiring. I can use a shorter stroke, and reduce more in one pass than is practical by hand.

If you plan to try this with a reloading press, try to keep the working diameter length around 1D, the taper between 4:1 & 6:1, and allow a concentric clearance entry as long as the case you plan to reduce.
The clearance should be as close to the case diameter as you can make it without actually gripping the case. ANY misalignment of the case starting into the taper will result in a crooked base.

The punch can have many different features, but for a reloading press job it should be straight sided, and fall free from a reduced case (if it sticks in the case it will make a mess of things!)

B.

[Lead pot]

Why dont you guys just use copper tubing then they will look like this.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b302/940Leadpot/IMG_0193.jpg

[BT Sniper]

Have seen your pic before and I must say they are very impressive. When loaded I'm sure people would have a tough time telling the difference between your custom and factory. I will try this out for my riffle caliber bullets in the near future and hope to get helpfull tips from those of you that have accomplished this.

As far as useing brass compared to copper tubing it is simply $$$. Even though copper tubing is certainly lower in price now days the tools you used to make that copper fold over so nicely in to a base is way out of my price range at the moment. Took a quick glance at Corbins sight. If you are able to make jacket forming dies it is certanly a possiblity.

Now take a trip to the local range and pick up all the free jackets you want. For me I like the idea of being different and for years a brass case has been topped with a copper jacketed bullet. Take that same case and top it with a brass jacket just looks incredibly cool to me.

Still I will be looking into the cost of some copper tubing and possible ideas for custom bullets. Those 2 riffle bullets are exactly what I want to make some day. Any ideas how I can do it cheaply? These must be from Corbin"s dies yes? Certainly a quality product. What caliber bullets are they? How well do they shoot and from what gun?

Thanks for the pics. Good shooting.

[Lead pot]

BT Sniper.
The top bullet is a .458 diameter bullet I used for the .45-70 Marlin.
The two RN are .451 for the Colt Gold Cup I use for match shooting.
The other two are 205 gr .308's I used for bench rest.
BT I have used .45 ACP cases for the .45 and they shoot pretty decent.
There easy to run through the die to squeeze down a little and they make a good soft nosed bullet, but are a little on the hard side and I dont think I would shoot them out of my gold cup.
I don't think I would get into swaging now days the way getting dies made takes so long some times up to a year to get a set made.
There are a lot of swage dies on the market if you spend a little time looking and at a low cost compared to new and there every bit as good.
They will last a life time for the average shooter.
I'm about to the point were I 'm thinking to sell all my equipment I been collecting for the past 45+ years I just don't do much swaging any more.
My interests in shooting have changed to a different format.

[BT Sniper]

Lead Pot,

Thanks for the info on your bullets. How did the .308 shoot for you? I don't need to win any matches but would like to rid a few rock chucks. If you do chose to get out of the hobby I may be interested in the dies and tubing jacket maker for the .308s they are just what I am looking for in a bullet.

Good shooting,

Brian

[TylerR]

LeadPot,

I have a few questions for you. What dies are you using to make those .308 jackets? Where do you buy your copper tubing, and what diameter tube do you use? What do you figure your cost per .308 boolit is?

Also, you mention there being alot of used dies on the market. Where should I be searching? I am looking to pick up a jacket making setup myself for .308's, and am considering buying new from Richard Corbin, but its awfully expensive.

Thanks!

[b2riesel]

Digging up an old thread...but was searching for a list ...showing what boolits I can make with range scrap that made it into my bag.

I've been saving a ton of 9mm for some .40 S&W once BT Sniper gets some more dies in... My question to Brian is....can I use the same die on the 500+ 380 cases I've picked up as well?

For some reason I have about 100 32SPL as well...what can you size them up to?

Once I wear out enough 40 S&W I'll ask Brian to sell me the dies for the 40 -> 45 ACP and I have some 10MM as well...but for now I'm concentrating on getting my ducks in a row for that 9mm...and hopefully 380 to 40S&W project...since I shoot about 300 rounds of 40 S&W per week.

[BT Sniper]

Welcome to the sight. Those 380 case may be handy for a 357 bullet. I'm sure it would make a great 40 as well but the 9mm is just so easy why worry about using any others. It would be easy to trade those 380s for more 9mm at atleast a rate of 2-1 9mms for 380s. Heck I would even be interested in a trade like that.

40s should be avialble soon I hope. Still going with the 3-8 week figure I heard from CH.

Good shooting,

BT

[Grapeshot]

There seems to be alot of scattered sucess stories posted on this board with alot of intrest in turning available worn out cases into shootable bullets. I was thinking we need to post all the sucessfull (seen, read about or achieved yourself) posibilities in a simple list to spark the imagination. I'll bet there is a bullet for most of the calibers from 17 to 50 that has been made from a brass cartridge.

Just a few I have seen on this sight or elsewere on the net.

Bullet - Case

.223 - 22lr
.243 - 22lr
.308 - FN 5.7
.358 - 30 carbine, .223
.380 - 9MM Luger
.401 - 9MM Luger
.416 - 30-30
.429 - 40 S&W
.457 - 45 ACP
.510 - 7MM mag

I'm sure there is more. Anyone else?

Great sight guys. Alot of great ideas here waiting for someone to stumble upon. Got me hooked.

Good shooting

I've made .45 Colt (.454 and .452) using 9mm as well as .40S&W brass. I've also made .357 bullets out of .32 ACP and >32 S&W cases.

[Smokin7mm]

Just a few more to the list of ones that I use.

bullet dia Case
.224 22lr
.224 heavy 17hmr & 22mag
.243 17hmr & 22mag
.264 17hmr & 22mag
.284 17hmr & 22mag

Bret