OK..... I can hear you say again.... "WHAT, YOU DON'T ANNEAL THE 22LR JACKET IN THIS PROCESS!"
Nope! The 22lr when used as a jacket is, as far as I know, is the thinnest jacket out there on a 22 cal bullet, so it doesn't require a lot of pressure to form into a bullet. What the annealing and softening the jacket dose do is allow use to form the 55 grain bullets without the nose of the bullet folding over on it's self. You see, the top of the jacket above the lighter 45 grain seated lead core is unsupported initially in the point forming step and if it is not annealed it will fold. BUT!!!!! when we seat a 58-59 grain lead core it nearly fills the entire jacket supporting it all the way to the tip. The jacket cannot fold in on it's self because the heavier lead core is preventing it. You do wind up with a lead tipped SP with a weight of 69 grains but who cares!! We made them quickly and results where perfect and they shoot very well for me.
For those of you that have seen what a 55 grain bullet made from this jacket will do to a sage rat at 3000fps.......... you should see what a soft lead tipped 69 grain bullet at the same FPS will do to them in this thin jacket. It is even better!
I posted all this info with pics a few years ago. I'll see if I can find it here and post a link.....
So..... Can one make enough bullets to recover the initial investment of the equipment, most definitely! Can one make bullets quickly and cheaply....... maybe..... refer back to previous saying in last post regarding fast vs cheap. Can one ever recover the hours of labor it takes to make your own vs. the money spent to buy commercial..... that depends on how much money you got vs. how much time you have and how expensive commercial bullets get. Can one turn a profit selling swaged bullets........Hum?????? depends on demand I guess. If current political factors continue on same course, one might be able to trade bullets for ...........!!!! We haven't even mentioned the bullets that are "really easy" to make yet expensive commercially. Priced a .500 cal 350 grain XTP bullet lately? $1 a piece! I can make them for the cost of a scrap 45 ACP case and a 255 grain 45 cal cast boolits! Or the 40 cal from 9mm, the 44 from 40s&w, and on and on and on
As it has been said above, swaging can be a challenge, an investment, and can take a lot of time vs buying commercial bullets, but some of us enjoy the challenge and satisfaction. Some of us chose not to invest in another AR-15 or March scope to go with the rest of the gun in the safe (I bet anyone that has ever got sticker shock at the cost of a set of swage dies as a gun in the safe that costs more), and instead invest in a set of swage dies.
Anyway..... let me see if I can find some pics and threads to back all this up
I say good shooting and swage on!
Anything is possible!
BT