[Alaska_Man]

Has anyone here experience with swaging an existing bullet to a smaller diameter? I emailed Hawk Bullets to see if they would make a 195 gr .284 pointed bullet and what the price might be, but they never answered.

I decided, therefore, it might as economical to buy a Corbin swaging tool and make them myself. I have not as yet priced what I might need, as I am just getting started.

Corbin has advertised precision jackets that could be used to make what I want, but it occurred to me that it might save a step to simply use a 195 or 200 grain .308 bullet to swage it to a .284 Semi-Spitzer.

Ideally, it would be a bonded core bullet, but the 195 gr Barnes bullets I have used are not bonded, and work great.

Any thoughts?

 

[JimboLLN]

I'll stick my neck out and make a reply. I know its not hard to make larger cast lead bullets into smaller ones, but I think it would be imposible to make a larger jacjeted bullet into a smaller one and use the exhisting jacket.

 

[MikeG]

I read an article on this many years ago. I think it was in one of the Dean Grennell books on reloading but not sure which one. Anyway, he needed to swage bullets for something unusual and/or uncommon at the time. Maybe .41 cal to .40, or perhaps the reverse. Something along those lines.

Anyway, the one observation that stuck with me all these years was, after getting the bullets down to the appropriate diameter, he had to do one final "bump up" or the cores were loose in the jackets.

Other than that, I don't recall any other details. Maybe it will jog someone else's memory. Hope that helps, and good luck with your project.

 

[Alaska_Man]

I am planning to call Corbin tomorrow and see what they think might be the best option. I want to ask about their bonding process, also. Come to think of it, since they have core bonding covered, I may as well start saving to buy one of their S-presses for next year's hunting.

That should really bump my skill and dedication up another level yet above even wildcatting. Just thinking about about it brings back my earliest days learning to handload when I was 15! This field really can go as far as one wants.

I am starting to see sugarplums dancing in my head...

 

[roverboy]

I missed a good deal on a Corbin swage die set in .30 caliber. The're great quality and durable. I know its possible to swage a jacketed bullet down but, may take some leverage.

 

[Cheezywan]

I'd guess that you might make your bullet shoot to a target doing what you propose Alaska Man.

Going to change that bullet alot when you do it though.

I'd not expect it to perform as it did before you swaged it to another diameter.

You are kinda out there on your own when you do such things. Not opposed to that.

Just be aware of what you are doing!

Interesting thought.

Cheezywan

 

[unclenick]

I think the point mentioned by MikeG is critical. The jacket is more elastic than the core, so it will have more spring-back after coming out of a sizing die. This will cause an issue you don't see when the bore of a rifle does the swaging. That is, with the core loose in the jacket it can slip against the jacket as the jacket spins up in the bore during firing, causing it to exit the muzzle with a different rate of rotation than the jacket has. Friction will cause the two to equilibrate at a spin rate just above that of the core (in proportion to the mass difference between the core and jacket) after exiting the muzzle. As a result, the bullet may be unstable and just tumble. Even if it doesn't, the fact the core is loose in the jacket means the jacket and core are not constrained to be concentric, which will result in wobble in flight. That will not make for small groups.

So, while you can swage the bullets smaller, you will be hard put to get accuracy that way unless you can also re-swage the bullet core firmly into the narrowed jacket.

 

[JimboLLN]

My son has made professional benchrest bullets in 6mm, and they were good enough for him to win the Ohio Nationals, (not sure of the name, but I know it was Ohio). He also placed 5th in The Super shoot. I mention this because all he used for a press was RCBS Rockchuckers, 3 of them., Each set up for a different operation.

But my main question is can you get by with cast bullets of hardend lead? I know Beartooth bullets make them. Maybe send Mike an email or PM?

 

[arkypete]

In making a jacketed bullet the core, lead, presses the jacket out to the desired size and the copper jacket grips the lead core.
To make a jacketed bullet smaller then cause the core to press the jacket back out to the desired size.
You may find it easier and less expensive to have a bullet mold made and use hard alloy cast bullets.

Jim

 

[Alaska_Man]

I agree with those who say the lead and core may loosen one from another and possibly cause poor terminal performance at best. I imagine a bonded core bullet would be OK after sizing, though.

Since Corbin sells supplies specifically to make bonded bullets, however, I may as well design and build my own. That is the course I intend to go. The type of bonding they sell seems superior to other types whose manufacturers are mum about the processes they use.

 

[JimboLLN]

My son always washed thourghly the lead bullets before installing the jackets, and dryed them in a preheated oven on a pizza pan, just remember to turn the oven off before you put the bullets in. You can also make a bullet dryer out of a large coffee can or one of those metal popcorn cans, then just put a light bulb inside. But watch the temperature closely, as you can turn those pretty bullets into much. (I know that from experience)

 

[riley]

I've been reducing the size of the 8mm bullet from .323 to .318 for a few decades now for my "drilling" with excellent results. (There used to be a fellow in Montana that sold "re-sized" jacketed bullets that gave me the idea.) A "tool and die" man made me a .318 die from what looks to be a RCBS .308 die. Since I did not have a "Corbin" press, he suggested I put the die in a vice, lube the jacketed 8mm bullets and drive the bullets through the die with a "priming rod" form a "Classic" Lee loader. It worked well! He stressed that I use only Speer "Hot Core" bullets because in his experience other brands tend to "slip their cores". (I later tried a couple of other brands to see if he was right - he was!) The Speer 8mm, 200gr grain bullet has been my "go to" bullet ever since and has taken many a deer. I have remeasured my re-sized bullets to see if any have "sprung back" beyond .318 and none have changed more than .001 over the years, while giving excellent accuracy and expansion. Your "mileage" may vary with differing velocities and rifles; my top load with the 200gr is 2400fps. I think some of the reasons for my success are: (1) small change in diameter of .005 (2) use of "flat base" bullets with a fairly thick jacket on the "base" (3) a "driving pin" that almost fills the die and is perfectly flat on the end (4) and the relatively low velocity and pressure of the load employed. (I did try to use a Lee re-sizing die that I use for lead bullets to re-size .312 diameter bullets to .309 without any luck. I found there was not enough leverage to get the bullets started in the die - I'll stick to the "tried and true" method). Good luck!