I am intrested in swaging, please point me in the right direction.

[Tom R]

I am very interested in swaging. I am most interested in making .224 out of rimfire.
I have been reading posts for the last 3 days trying to gain info before I posted these questions.
I would like to use ww to cast my cores for the .224 bullets. I have a very good supply and would like to take advantage of them. I talked to Corbin and he said that they would not really be good for the dies. Is there any one that makes dies strong enough.
I have a old pacific super deluxe press I also have a rcbs JR press. I don't know if they will work. I plan on building one similar to the cast boolits press. I have a small machine shop. I can and do make most of my equipment. I just don't have any background or experience on how the dies work so I don't think I should make my first set.
I own a 50 bmg, A 458 socom, 308's 9mm's and a ton of 223's I would like to swage for all of these but I feel the place to start would be the 223's. I thought I could but the rf dies that fit the standard reloading press and buy other dies that fit the swage press but I don't know? please help. I have talked to all of my gun shops in town and none of them know anything. Thank you for taking the time to read this and help me. I am a huge fan of this site.

[MakeMineA10mm]

Well, I've done a lot of reading over the last 25 years about swaging, but only actually did it in the last couple months, so this is mostly from memory of reading other's info, and a tiny bit of my own experience, for what it's worth.

First off, my biggest interest was also 224 bullets, but it turns out this isn't as simple as it sounds. You have to have a draw-die that gets rid of the rim and converts the 22 case into a jacket cup. Then, you need a seating die that inserts the core down into the jacket, and finally you need a point-forming die. Now, maybe when I said "simple" I should have said "cheap". When I've read of this before, it was always hailed as cheap, because you could get the jackets for free. Well, that's true, but now you've got a three-die set of swaging dies. That'll set you back at least $300 and probably more. Not so cheap, now, is it?

The wonderful thing I've discovered here is BT Sniper (a.k.a. "Brian") who has learned to convert C-H 101-series pistol-bullet swaging dies with his own specially-hardened parts into a really resilient and ONE-STEP swaging die to make pistol bullets. You can read about it all through this forum of Cast Boolits. At $150, it's at least 1/2 the price of swaging 224" bullets, a lot more fun, and I actually shoot these accurately.

As far as the 22 centerfire bullets go, I'm dubious I'll ever have the skills to make them precisely enough for them to be accurate enough to mess with vs. factory. Then, there's the cost thing I already mentioned. Lastly, you do need to use pure lead for the cores. My understanding is that the smaller the diameter of bullet, the more forces there are involved, so while we may get away with WW-alloy cores in a 44 or 45 pistol bullet, you almost certainly must use pure lead for a 22 rifle bullet. Not to mention, to cast 22-cal bullet cores would be tedious vs. just buying the pure lead in wire form, already about the right diameter, and just needing cut off to the correct length. (Yeah, that's another item to purchase for the 22 set-up - a core-cutter.)

I don't want you to feel discouraged. It can and is frequently done, but I found that swaging pistol bullets is much cheaper and easier and enjoyable for me. By the way, have you searched youtube for videos on swaging? There's a guy on there who does the 22-rifle bullet swaging in a teaching format over a series of videos.

[BT Sniper]

Glad you chimed in. All you could ever need to know about making your own can be found here.

Anything is possible! When we figure that out alot can be done to make any kind of bullet we want. Yes I have had a lot of sucess at making severial different pistol and a couple riffle caliber bullets from scrap brass. In the last two years it was quite a challenge at times. Had many difficulties and less then perfect results. Now I am happy to pass on this info I learned the hard way to get others intrested in this hobby. It is just that a hobby too, and you can spend as much or as little as you like on it. For me I needed a lot of 44 cal bullets for all the empty brass I had. I had a lot of time (layed off) and little money. The bullets from brass was an obvious answer.

You have an impressive arsenal of guns there. I have seen a lot of people interested in swaging, especially the free .223 bullets, only to be turned away by the high cost. Granted I'm sure Corbin's stuff is very good but that amount of money buys a lot of 22 cal bullets. When I realized just how easy it was to make 44 and 40 cal bullets from scrap brass in only one step with just one die I new this would be a great way to get started cheaply into swaging. This makes for an enjoyable first experience with short time between making the bullets and actually shooting them. Next thing you know you have many different dies just to see what else you can make. Heck most of the guys here know I don't even have guns for most the bullets calibers I make. That changed very quickly when I started making the 40 cal bullets from 9mm brass. With the small investment in dies and materials I am now shooting 40 S&W for the cost of 5 grains of powder and 1 primmer. Found me a used 40 S&W EAA witness pistol that is a joy to shoot and cost me under $300.

So as far as addvise goes....... well....... I don't think you can go wrong either way. Look at it as a hobby, be able to have a bit of patience and enjoy shooting bullets you made yourself.

Ofcourse should you ever wish to look into a set of dies I'll be happy to help out all I can. Ever seen the 7mm mag case turned into a 700 grain 50 cal? AWESOME!

Good shooting

BT

[Tom R]

I own 30 ar15's they are not all built, but I will finish them at some point. I am going through a divorce so money is tight. I am not able to sell any of them due to the divorce not being final. I have a small machine shop with a medium size lathe and a small mill. I own a welder and plasma cutter so I am not shy on tools, Just money. I only have one 1911 and I don't have a 40 cal. I do have quite a few 9mm. I have a 357 j frame that is my back up carry gun. It is very nice but I don't shoot it very much. As of right now I am turning my 50's out of solid. I would like to swage some but I have it covered for the time being. I need more brass for the 458 socom so I cant shoot that much for the time being.
I think that the time it would take to make the 224 bullets would not be that bad. I have time right now. I would really like to use ww as I can get them from my old shop for free.
I plan on building the cast boolits press soon.
Brian do you make dies for the 224? Do you make larger dies for the Corbin style press.
Thank you very much.

[alfloyd]

Tom:
Have you thought about trading your WW's for soft lead with some of the people here on Castboolits?

This would get you the soft lead you need to make 224 slugs with.

Just a thought.

Lafaun

[Tom R]

Tom:
Have you thought about trading your WW's for soft lead with some of the people here on Castboolits?

This would get you the soft lead you need to make 224 slugs with.

Just a thought.

Lafaun

I had not I guess that would be one option. I was thinking of building a wire extruder. I figured I would make the die and make a mold so that the ingot fit in it perfectly so I could make my own wire.?

[alfloyd]

"I was thinking of building a wire extruder."

You will only be able to extrude soft lead into wire. WW's are still to hard to use. I know, because I built a wire extruder for my 20 ton shop press and ww's won't work.

Lafaun

[hardcase54]

Look here.

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=76753

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=76764

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=93002

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=74002

That should get you started.

[Tom R]

Look here.

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=76753

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=76764

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=93002

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=74002

That should get you started.

Wow thank you very much. Thank you for taking to link these.