Cores from buckshot?

[Leftoverdj]

Hello Jmauser,


If any one is interested, I have one for sale with three die sets, .30, .357, and .44 calibers. $25.00 plus shipping. It is a cute little set up. :wink:

Donna

You're tempting me, Donna. (but I'm resisting.)

Got a whacko question. You folks have mentioned difficulty getting affordable cores. I'm sitting on about 100-150 pounds of buckshot I bought for scrap lead prices years ago. Most of it is 000 with some 0. Alos got a few pounds of 0000, but I shoot that in a .36 Rem repo.

Question is, could that buckshot be run through progressively smaller Lee push through dies to make usable cores? It's apparently pure lead with a graphite coating?

[Donna]

Once lead is separated it cannot be fused back together by pressure alone, it must be molted then it becomes one solid unit. If you were to pore a lot of buckshot into the housing of a ram and push it through an opening to form lead wire all you would get is a lot of little bits of lead type wire at best. Melt it into an ingot then push it through an opening to form real lead wire. Unless you wish to make a frangible type bullet but then it must be supported the lead shot completely by a jacket. I have made buckshot bullets before and thy are interesting.

Donna

[Leftoverdj]

Lemme go into a little more detail.

Were I to push a single 000 buckshot  measuring about .350 and weighing about 60 grains through a series of sizing dies until I had a 60 grain cylinder .224 or .243 in diameter, would that cylinder be usable as the core for . 257 bullets weighing 65 to 75 grains?

[talon]

Yes, thou it would be easier to roll them into core shape using a gismo such as a Corbin Knurling tool (with or without the knurling effect, thou that would greatly assist the spinning of the little buckshot into cylinders (cores)).