...if you do, which brand of dies do you use?
I got a hold of a Lee Cast Iron press since my little RCBS couldn't handle 7.5x55 and it got me thinking I'd like to try swaging pistol bullets. From what I've read, C-H makes (made?) dies that fit in reloading presses for that purpose. Does anyone here know if they are still in business or if anyone else makes dies that fit standard reloading presses?
Thanks!
Do you swage cast bullets?...And...
Moderators: pilkguns, m1963, Isabel1130
I used to swage but switched to casting.
I used a "Sportflite" swaging die in .44 cal. It came with 3 nose punches for round nose, SWC, and WC. Each nose punch had a bleed hole for excess lead. Also the base punches were flat (for plain base) or dimpled for crimping a zinc gas check. You could set it up for any reasonable weight bullet from 100gr. to over 300gr.
It was pretty rough on the press (RCBS) hinge pins.
CH were good, but I don't know if they are still being made. Corbin is nice but insanely expensive. They used to have two lines: one for use in regular presses and another for use in their own swaging press.
The larger the caliber, the more stress on the press, hence most dies for regular presses are not over 357 cal.
Lead wire can be expensive. Alternatively, if you cast "cores"in a core mold, you may as well cast bullets, IMHO......
Please let us know if you pursue this and find any of these companies!!
I used a "Sportflite" swaging die in .44 cal. It came with 3 nose punches for round nose, SWC, and WC. Each nose punch had a bleed hole for excess lead. Also the base punches were flat (for plain base) or dimpled for crimping a zinc gas check. You could set it up for any reasonable weight bullet from 100gr. to over 300gr.
It was pretty rough on the press (RCBS) hinge pins.
CH were good, but I don't know if they are still being made. Corbin is nice but insanely expensive. They used to have two lines: one for use in regular presses and another for use in their own swaging press.
The larger the caliber, the more stress on the press, hence most dies for regular presses are not over 357 cal.
Lead wire can be expensive. Alternatively, if you cast "cores"in a core mold, you may as well cast bullets, IMHO......
Please let us know if you pursue this and find any of these companies!!
-
solomon grundy
There are a few companies that I'd looked into when I'd considered swaging..
RCE
http://rceco.com
Corbin
http://www.corbins.com/index.htm
* I think that the owners of the above two companies are related - IIRC they're brothers(?)
Detsch
http://www.diemaker.us/
and here's a forum that contains a lot of topics related to swaging..
http://www.saubier.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3
It's common for people to use a single stage handloading press for swaging. The dies are often made to order, so they can be made specifically for this sort of press.
RCE
http://rceco.com
Corbin
http://www.corbins.com/index.htm
* I think that the owners of the above two companies are related - IIRC they're brothers(?)
Detsch
http://www.diemaker.us/
and here's a forum that contains a lot of topics related to swaging..
http://www.saubier.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3
It's common for people to use a single stage handloading press for swaging. The dies are often made to order, so they can be made specifically for this sort of press.