Thicker jackets from brass

[DragonsBane]

Is there a way to make thicker jackets from brass? I'm talking about using a .22 WMR or a .17 hmr to make a .223 bullet. Something like shortening the brass in a die to get a thicker wall on the jacket. I have access to a metric ton of the .17 HMR brass.

[deltaenterprizes]

I made a derimming die use 22mag/17 HMR brass to make 6mm bullets. I guess a die to draw the derimmed brass down to make .223 bullets is possible. I would anneal before and after the drawing steps.A method of trimming accurately would be needed also. I haven't gotten that far yet.
I would be interested in some of that brass if you are willing to part with any.

[ANeat]

I dont think you could thicken the brass any way.
Probably best to trim it and make in into regular rimfire/223/243 jackets
Rat mans fine version of the trim die here would probably be good for that.

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=74051

If you got a lot of it Im sure something can be made with it.

[jcunclejoe]

One way to accomplish the same thing is to double jacket the bullet.
Would require some different tooling to make the smaller (inside) jacket but not impossible by any means.
Have fun
Joe

[DragonsBane]

I think I may have an idea, but it will take some time to work out.

[303Guy]

What is the reason for wanting to have thicker jackets? Could you simply use a tougher alloy core instead? What about tinning the inside of the jacket and casting the core in? I'd be asking cause I would like to try something like that myself.:roll: (I have actually filled the jackets with soft solder and cast in tougher cores but not tinned and cast into the same jackets. Too hard an alloy and it gets difficult to swage!)

[MIBULLETS]

I bet a 22 lr jacket would fit into the 22 WMR jacket. Put the core in and seat it.

You could also use 2 lr jackets. Put the first one in and seat it so that the core is longer than the inner jacket, then seat another one on top, both inside the 22 WMR. This one would be a thicker jacketed partition like bullet.

[sagacious]

I'll second 303Guy's question: Are you sure you need thicker jackets?

If you're shooting a metric ton of .223/.224" bullets, you're probably shooting thin-jacketed bullets anyway (target/varmint/plinking/etc). 22mag and 17HMR cases are plenty thick for making .223/.224" bullets. No need to make them thicker, unless you're using a small caliber bullet for larger game, and in that case a few premium bullets are be well worth the cost.

The draw dies and trim dies for handling fired 17HMR cases can easily be made, and from there it's swaging and point-forming as usual.

Good luck! :drinks:

[DragonsBane]

Yea, I use a .223 for the small whitetail and coues here in AZ. Just a thought.

[Rat-Man]

I would recommend you use a 53 grain Barnes XBT bullet if you are going to shoot deer with a .223.
It is all jacket, can't get much thicker than that!

I have used a .223 several times for deer hunting, and they perform well, have 100% weight retention, and penetrate 12-14 inches.

I admit that they are expensive, but a box of 50 last a lot of deer seasons. Unless you have really generous bag limits where you live!

[ANeat]

There was someone here that was making a "partition" style bullet like MI mentioned; where they filled up one jacket with a harder core and installed it inside another with the base facing forward.

I cant recall if they added more lead on top of that or not.

I would also think the bonded core like 303 mentioned would be worth a try

[scrapcan]

Bullshop was making two part bullets. There should be a thread on their work or send them a pm.

[sagacious]

Yea, I use a .223 for the small whitetail and coues here in AZ. Just a thought.
OK, I guessed that might possibly be the case.

To my mind, perhaps a wise approach might be to get some dies to turn your fired 17HMR rimfire cases into varmint/target bullets. You can then buy a small quantity of heavy copper jackets to make your own (bonded-core or whatever) small-caliber game bullets, since you probably don't shoot a ton of those at deer per year. You'd have the best of both worlds: access to free brass jackets and low-cost bullets, and also confidence in the performance of your copper-jacket game bullets.

Bonded-core bullets made from fired HMR cases are almost guaranteed to be as frangible/explosive as similarly-constructed non-bonded core bullets. That's what Corbin advises, and that's also my experience. But maybe with some tinkering, you can come up with a workable design.

Good luck!

[DragonsBane]

My other rifle is a 300 RUM and it is way to much for those little deer. 110 pounds max weight on a whitetail here and about 80 pounds on a Coues.

I dropped an elk at almost a thousand yards last year with my 300. 210 grain bullets at 3300 fps really carries alot of impact. Dropped right in his tracks.