I don't know how many here are...or are planning on swagging their own jacketed hollow points in the future...but I've come across a nice little combo that is working with excellent results for me.

Using 9mm brass and a 124gr truncated cone .356 lead bullet...I'm swagging these .40's for my S&W M&P .40 and they are dropping at about 188 grains each on average.  I use Bullseye in most of my .40 and .45 loads and I'll even shoot it in my 9mm loads...if I'm actually forced to shoot a 9mm.

I started with 4.5 grains of Bullseye and they shot rather soft...cycling was fine...point of impact on target was minimal change at 7, 10, 15, and 25 yards...I noticed some difference at 100 yards but who really shoots a handgun much at 100 yards except me?  I've gradually worked up to a 4.9 grain load and I will stay there...when shooting a 5.1 grain load it was just too much...so I backed down to 4.9 grains and it cycles great, hits where I point, and the brass isn't worked up too much for future reloads.

The Boolit itself is a mule kicker...no..the pistol doesn't recoil any more...or any less...but when shooting water jugs, sand buckets, steel, watermelons...whatever...there is a clearly a difference.  Using an XTP clone crimp die these things petal nicely and retain all their weight...the mushrooms shooting a core of 12bhn range scrap are quite good.

If anyone else is shooting their own swagged boolits..I'd be glad to hear what kind of weight and powder charge you are using on yours.

NEED PIX!!


Really I'd like to see if these are worth the cost? I just started casting and have been looking into to this for my 45acp and 40 S&W

What are you using for dies? What sort of investment do you have in them?

Mine look sorta like that.  I use the BTSniper notch die to give me the Hornady XTP clone.  My ogive isn't as much as yours...so it doesn't go down to as much of a point.  Many people make their own dies...but I got mine from BTSniper over at castboolits.gunloads.com.  

As far as costs go....let's say I have about $350...maybe more in all my swag dies...but you can get by with a lot less...I have housings for each internal part that can be swapped out...I just like to put them in Hornady Quick change bushings so I can set the depth and just pop them in and out while going thru the process.  But let's do a little math for fun:

A few months ago I was wanting some 10mm Hornady XTP 180gr jhp's...I went to MidwayUSA.com, Graf's and many more...and everyone was  else was out of stock with a 2-3 week waiting period.  So I said, "Fine, I'll go to a local range and pay top dollar"....which happened to be $28.88/hundred....and I found ONE box out of like 10 stores...everyone was buying up components and I couldn't find any....ANYWHERE...so I had to wait and get some later.  Sucks when you like to shoot a lot but can't find the bullets you want....hell...even the Nosler of the same type were sold out...and other cheaper styles were hard to come by too.

So, I spent $175 on a swage die and a few more internals and took my rather large stash of 9mm used brass....I don't like shooting 9mm so the brass was almost worthless....and I had a Lee 124-356-TC mold....I poured a few thousand lead bullets....then I expanded a few thousand brass....and then seated the lead bullets upside down as cores....then swaged them to look like the pic from the previous post.  Mine come out at around 188 grains each.  I then spent money on the crimp die for an XTP clone...which works wonders for helping the jacket petal back and the expansion gains are great.

I like making the boolits so time isn't a financial factor in my equations....the brass is free...and future brass will be almost free...you can buy 1000 9mm brass on this site for $25....I have thousands of lbs of range scrap...and get about 600lbs a week if I want it...just takes time to smelt it down.  I made 10,000 of these boolits in a few days.  I shoot about 1,000 rounds a week...when the weather co-operates.  So...10,000 rounds at $28.88/hundred would be $2,888.00 in bullets alone.  My dies paid for themselves VERY quickly....and I actually prefer these boolits over store bought.  It's a pride in workmanship....and I never have to worry about a store being out of stock...I never have to worry about factory lead being outlawed...I never have to worry about shortages based on who is in office....or rumors of political change...or anything...I have the means to make my own and sustain my love of shooting.

If however, your time is money...you will probably be better off buying off the shelf.

I have a similar thread which you can read here.

jonblack

I'm thinking of getting a RCBS Rockchucker press to use for swaging 9mm and .223... Where did you get the dies so cheap!? The ones at corbin precision are $600 for their CSP-1 press (the cheapest one). This contains all the dies required for hollow points. So what do you all think I should do? I just recently got into casting and really want to get into swaging.

In my oh so humble opinion...Corbin dies and press are outrageous.  They are for a different market...the commercial bullet market.  If you head on over to the castboolit forum on gunloads.com and go to the swagging section...you'll find a lot of helpful people.  BTSniper is making dies...or he can upgrade the internals of the CH-4D dies.  I have a set of .224 dies being made.  I shoot my AR-15 A LOT...and having a steady supply of bullets is becoming a necessity.  I lucked out and got a few of those $70/thousand Hornady 55gr FMJ's that Midway had on sale...but it took me 2 months to get them.

On the Rockchucker.  I use the RC IV...aka the Supreme...the RAM has cutouts for the primer load and the spent primer ejection..plus the steel is soft.  On the 9mm to 40...and the .224...this isn't really a problem....if you start making larger calibers that require more force per boolit....then you really need to upgrade the ram.  I made one at work out of some 1" stock...machined out the connector holes and set screw holes....and left the top of the Ram as is...except I beveled the edge slightly...and then drilled and tapped the center for a threaded bottom punch and/or a threaded shell holder adapter...this steel is much stronger than the original plus it doesn't have all that material missing for the primer stuff and the snap in shell holder.  There is a guy (up North) on the forums making custom swage presses...however..the plans are free to anyone and if you have access to a machine shop....you can make it yourself...or have a local shop make it for you....MUCH cheaper than corbin or the likes...and this press is both massive and strong.

I'd go with the Rockchucker and a set of dies to get you started...the dies paid for themselves the first few hours I used them...with the prices of bullets going up...and up..and up...and with the markets sometimes getting oversold due to someone speaking an opinion on the news and everyone panicking...I'll be making my own from here on out....plus it is a lot of fun.

I hope this helps you a bit.

I'm looking for a setup to turn 7.62x25 brass into .308 diameter rifle bullets. First bulk anneal the brass. Then either fill with molten lead or a precast core. Then swage it "backward", so that the primer pocket becomes a hollow tip and the bulk of the brass is toward the tip of the boolit.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

I've done this  with the 9mm to 40...however...you must take off the head of the brass....it is pretty thick...I use a vertical mount belt sander but some people use a harbor freight tubing saw...like a mini chop saw. If you cut all the head off...and leave just the primer flash hole...you have a good little holllow point.  I have an insert for my swage die that looks like an inverted ball and will round over the brass...making your base of the bullet look like factory open bottom bullets with the 1/16" or so round over.  I think if you look at some of the dies the guys are making now a days...you may just swage them the normal way....their accuracy on the .308 is quite surprising coming from the brass they are using.

@b2riesel Thank you I'm a new member over at castboolits and I've been thinking about contacting BT but now you've made my decision for me. Thanks for the input

So this might be a dumb question on my part and if it is please just say so! When you swag does it make the cast lead in to the HP or do you need to buy a HP mold for the lead? I ask because all swagged boolites I have seen have been HP.

The point forming die has the hollow point punch in it. It forms the hollow point when you swage it. My .45 dies have a separate point form die but the 9to40 is a one step with the HP nose punch in it.

Havn't checked in on the sight in a while but glad to see b2riesel is have good sucess with the dies. He was in much more need of it then I am at the moment so I sold him my personal die. I couldn't have put it better myself with the points he made about the joy and rewards of making your own bullets and not having to worry about shortages anymore.

I have had quite a bit of sucess improving the standard CH dies, making the internial components stronger to hold up to making these bullets. The range results from these bullets made from brass have been equally sucessful in a wide range of different clibers.

Glad to see it is catching on. Someone mentioned wanting to see some pics. Here is one of my favorites of the 40 cal from 9mm brass with the same die b2 has now.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/40buldge028.jpg


Here is the results and bullet I was attempting to duplicate

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/critical_defense_hornady.jpg


and here is a look at my version of an XTP next to the factory bullet.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/blanksandbirdshot003-1.jpg

Really is fun stuff and you soon realize anything is possible when making your own bullets.

Matter of fact feel free to viewall my latest projects at my photobucket account .http://s636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/BTSniper/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ28   I do plan to have a lot more to offer in the near future.

Good shooting,

BTSniper

Followed up to the "inverted ball" part.  Got pix?  IM is fine if you don't want to hijack.

I think he means the base is concave.

jonblack