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Thread: Swaging a cast slug? Anyone ever hear of that?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    South West Ohio
    Posts
    1,575

    Swaging a cast slug? Anyone ever hear of that?

    I started casting and shooting shotgun slugs but they're limited as to the designs. What about staring with a somewhat oversized hollow base Foster slug mold and then running it through a swaging die to put the rifling fins and the finished details on? That way you're not squeezing all that lead out of the huge hollow base, etc, etc. It seems like you're starting with it semi-finished and then swaging in the parts you can't cast, like the fins, etc.

    Ok, I know there's something obviously wrong with this whole idea otherwise something like this would be available.
    [

  2. #2
    Banned
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    2,725
    It's a good idea. I do something similar with 22lr that needs a rebated and hollow base that cannot be cast.
    This is how I do it:

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    South West Ohio
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    1,575
    Exactly! Just scale it up...The hollow base is enormous on the slugs so squishing it around in a swaging mold takes a lot. However, if it was already 90 percent there, I would think that would be a heck of a lot easier/quicker. Like I said, take roughly cast Foster slug and swage in all the features that can't be cast into it...I'm sure I' stupid and it can't be done or is there is some economic reason it doesn't make sense. I always miss the obvious.
    [

  4. #4
    Boolit Bub
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Posts
    60
    corbin has dies to make shot gun slugs and also can get dies to make slug with fins.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master Sasquatch-1's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Martinsburg, WV
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    3,211
    I reform cast bullets with swaging dies quite a bit. The one thing you will notice is that swaging will want to close any holes that are in the cast. I am doing this on a much smaller basis with .357 and .430 cast slugs that come out of the mold kind of nasty looking. It gets rid of the wrinkles and the lube grove if not lubed first. I really don't know how this would affect a large hollow base like you are talking about.
    A vote for anyone other then the conservative candidates is a vote for the liberal candidates.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    1,437
    I purchased an old lyman tool that cuts the fins into a foster slug. I'm thinking about modifying it so it swagged instead of cutting.
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  7. #7
    Boolit Mold
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Iowa
    Posts
    16
    I have my own swage press (Corbin, Sea Girt) and a lathe so I make my own bump dies from 7/8" x 14 threaded rod. I have bumped up some 45 Colt bullets at .452- 250 Gr. to 460 to fit a 45-70 and use in light loads. These are easy on the shoulder, fun to shoot and accurate. Be sure they are lubed first so they will hold their shape better. Have also done sizing round balls (.490 diameter down to .460) down to fit one of my 45-70 s. The threaded rod is strong enough to reshape lead bullets quite well for my use. I'm sort of a hobbyist in the lathe use and make my own nose forming punches, either round or semi-wad cutter style.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check