First attempt at swaging, and a few bad pictures

[NoZombies]

Well, this afternoon was my first attempt to make my own bullets by swaging, I got the dies in earlier in the week, and had a few minutes at the loading bench, and figured "what the heck" I didn't have the right stuff to do it, but wanted to see what would happen.

I did a lot of things wrong, for instance, I didn't anneal the brass to be used as jackets, I didn't have any type of cores for the jackets, and I didn't get the plunger/ejector quite adjusted properly...

So, I took some range pick up, but clean .40S&W brass, and washed it with soap and water, let it dry real well, and filled it to the mouth with bird shot, then put a piece of 000 buck that I cast onto the top, and ran it into the swaging die as hard as I could, forming a pretty believable projectile.

I also tried it without the buckshot, not expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised that the shot did in fact stay put through several hours of riding around in my pocket, though I imagine a bit of glue on top would make it more reliable...

Next time around: I'll be annealing the brass before swaging, and hopefully I'll have a core mold set up by then, so I can cast up a bunch of nice cores, hopefully I'll also get my hollow point punch adjusted so that it doesn't leave me with a funky nose..

[warf73]

What brand of dies are you using and press? I've got the itch bad just not made the plunge yet.

[warf73]

ow ya lol pretty slick looking bullets what will they fit? .416" or bigger?

[NoZombies]

Made these with some CH4D dies I got in the swappin/selling section here, not gonna mention the press, 'cause it's really not suitable for such things, but think "cheap."

And the bullety looking things are for the .44 mag, they come out right at .430

[deltaenterprizes]

You made some prefragmented bullets like Glaser Safety Slugs. They deliver all the energy into the target. Try shooting a gallon milk jug filled with water for a spectacular display.

[BT Sniper]

Not bad! Your on your way. A simple 40 cal 175 grain $15 lee 2 cavity mold will make some good cores. Get a tumble lube one. The larger lube grove cast bullets tend to cause some wrinkels in the jacket.

BT

[Blammer]

I bet it looks funny loading ammo into a case with powder.... :)

[NoZombies]

It does look pretty funny when I'm putting it into the case, and sliding it into the seating die!

I made up some more using annealed cases, and got a better upset to the base, but got a lot more wrinkled things, probably from using a non solid core...

I look forward to seeing what happens when I hit a jug full O' water... I migh take some with me to try on a Coyote in a few weeks...

[clarks359]

NoZombies, those look great. I got my 1st die set over the weekend, but haven't tried them out yet. I was wondering how you annealed your cases and how many can you do at one time? Thanks Larry

[NoZombies]

Clarks359:

I have an old HT oven I can use for annealing, but I still haven't set up and done that... for the little batch, I used a propane torch to heat the whole case to a dull red color (in the dark, sunlight or room light will be different) and then dunked 'em in water.

The case head should never be annealed when you're using brass as brass, only the shoulder/mouth of the cases, when you're using the brass as jackets however, you want to heat the case head the most, (using a torch) as it's the thickest section, and the heat will transfer to the rest of the case when you get the case head hot enough.

Hope that helps!

[clarks359]

NoZombies:

Thanks for the help and information. I am going to give it a try this weekend. Once again thanks.
Larry