One Half Bullet Jacket

[Terryfromok]

Howdy,

I recently bought a box of reloading parts from an estate sale. The box has some Speer .45 Cal. half jackets in it. Since it is a half jacket, what special boolet forming tools are required to use them?

Thanks for your help.

Terry

[JRLesan]

Nothing special beyond normal swaging dies. The half jackets you have were commonly used for a Keith style SWC with lead exposed for a length beyond the jacket; the heavier the bullet the more exposed lead. However, the 'short' jackets can be used for any style/shape bullet you happen to have dies for.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Herter's and CH both sold swaging dies that worked in standard presses, the half jackets were simpler to make than fully jacketed swaged bullets and required less pressure.

[Sasquatch-1]

If you are using a bullet with a step at the base of the nose the jacket has to seat below this.