Pix of bullets made from 22 rf cases

[stever]

This is a healthy bullet beside a not so healthy one.  The bullets are 60 grain OTs.   You can see how the jacket has folded in.  Annealing would have taken care of the problem but it doesn't happen often enough with wide tipped bullets to bother.  (they're sort of semi-spitzers)  You can also see the stampings on the bases.



This second picture is more indicative of brittle cases.  This happens more to me than the first example.  the jacket "tears" and folds over.  You can feel the jackets "breaK" when you raise the bullet to within a 1/4 inch of being completely pointed up.  Also, the broken/cracked tips tend to fall over to one side of the die when the bullet is pushed out.  The unbroken ones sit nicely atop the ejection pin with my adjustments.

[Hairtrigger]

I had heard of old timers talking about making bullets from rimfire cases but did not know this is still done today.
interesting....

[stever]

I don't think that it ever stopped really. It went into decline with the re-introduction of commercial bullets after WWII.   Most shooters don't consider bullet making equipment.  They'll buy reloading equipment and maybe make cast bullets but you don't hear much these days about the jacketed ones.  corbins.com and rceco.com both sell kits to make this kind of bullet.  It's productive to make bullets on bad weather days or, if you live in a cold climate, over the winter months. 

It's also a lot of fun and gives one a sense of accomplishment.  When you make these, either from RF cases or using commercial jackets, it takes reloading to another level.  Not only is the cartridge put together by hand but so is the bullet. 

I don't do it for the money savings but these bullets cost about 3 to 4 cents each.

[Hairtrigger]

How consistant are they?
care to sell me 25 to 50 in 224?

[stever]

They shoot .75 an inch at 100 yds.  I've shot them from a couple of 222s and a 223.  They do better from the 222 but it's the rifle, not the bullet.  I'm in Canada so you'll have to find someone here that's on the right side of the border for bullets.  Here's a picture of the 60s sandwiched between some 52s and 66s I made from J4 jackets.

[Hairtrigger]

I have been googling the subject and find some interesting reading... this fastenates me.
One consideration I have is that for varminting I need a thin jacket bullet to reduce tha chances of the bullet bouncing somewhere I don't want a bullet to land

[stever]

Rimfire cases are certainly a viable option for you.  You'd need a rimfire jacketmaking die first.  They are $70 from Richard Corbin www.rceco.com 

Rim fire cases make jackets that are approx. 0.010 thick.  According to Corbin, they must be kept at no more than 3200 fps or they'll spin apart because of the thinner jacket.  That's not a problem if you're using a 222 or 223.  Bullets that are 55 grains or larger usually cannot be driven past this anyway.  For bullets that weigh less than this, it's a matter of dropping .5 or 1 grain of powder off the top. 

They do fly apart when they hit the dirt.  I tried shooting into some sand at 50 yd and only found little bits of bullet left.

If you have a Rockchucker or similar cast iron press all you'll need would be the bullet dies and some lead wire.  The wire is available everywhere.  If we could find someone that makes cores, you could buy them already made as well.  Unfortunately, the only person that I know of that makes them - Clint Starke - hasn't been around.  I don't know if he still makes them.

[Lead pot]

I like using Remington cases they are soft enough so you don't have to anneal them.
And to do away with some of those small round bottom wrinkles you might use the lube sparingly.
A point closing die will give you a nice lead tip or a good small hollow point.
If you keep them under 3200 fps they will shoot very good.

Kurt

[stever]

I don't get many Remingtons because I get my brass from an indoor range.  The brass is mostly Lapua and Eley.  Occasionally some Winchester or Federal.  It's less of a pain to sort them because there aren't too many headstamps. 

I think 3000 to 3200 fps is fine for most applications.  The only time I would want more steam is if I was shooting prairie dogs at longer distances.  Of course, you'd have to use commercial jackets or buy pre-made.  (What did I say! )
 
I live in an area where there's lots of bush.  With the exception of farm fields, I'm lucky to see past 80 to 100 yd anyway!  I have a tip forming die but don't use it that much.  I prefer the OTs.  Any extra time prepping bullets is occasionally spent with a meplat trimmer.  That's all.

Steve 

[Drilling Man]

  I also have swaged and shot zillions of them, mostly in my 222 Rem./12ga. combo gun.  I like to turn the jacket around and swage it "backwards" to make a FMJ, and then use them on small game.  I know i've shot more than a hundred rabbits with them.

  Be carefull though, as being a FMJ they don't kill small game very fast, and they will ricochet too!

  DM

[stever]

They are a favourite from my 222 as well.  I especially liked the fact that I could make a 60 grain coyote bullet that easily stabilized from my 1 in 14 twist barrel.  I've never tried making an FMJ but it's good to know that they work.

[Rick Teal]

Steve:

I would have thought there'd be some sign of the ironed out rim at the base of the jacket, but they look pristine down there.

[stever]

You can normally see where the rim was before you polish them.  The middle bullets are made from RF cases here.

After you polish the cases, it's very difficult to see any evdience of a line.  They literally polish up like gold.  Nice and shiny.  I'll try and post a pic of the difference when I get home later.

Steve 

[MonkTx]

You can normally see where the rim was before you polish them.  The middle bullets are made from RF cases here.

After you polish the cases, it's very difficult to see any evdience of a line.  They literally polish up like gold.  Nice and shiny.  I'll try and post a pic of the difference when I get home later.

Steve 

Hello all, new guy here. I am really looking into swaging bullets like this and have loads of questions if y'all don't mind but I'll keep it short this time.

Do you notice worse fouling using rimfire jackets?

Thanks, Monte.

[stever]

I have never noticed a difference.  I have fired a pile of them from a 22 Hornet, a couple of 222s and a 223 but never saw any fouling. 

I cannot vouch for the truth of this next statement, but somewhere on the Corbin website they say that these bullets are less likely to foul.  They cite two reasons:  a higher zinc content in the jacket - 30% (rf cases) vs 5% (commercial) and the thinner jacket engraves easier which leaves less deposits.

[rickyp]

I am thinking about trying this, I have a never ending supply of R.F. cases at the local shooing range.

do you have to use wire or could I make my own with pure lead?

what all would I need and how much and any one have a good deal on used stuff

[Rick Teal]

You can get extruding dies from Corbins that allow you to make smaller diameter wire from larger diameter wire.  I start with .365 wire and extrude .105 wire.  I suppose you could get one of these for making wire appropriate to .22 calibre bullets and cast you own billets in a size that the die can take.

[talon]

Rick is speaking about  tools and technique that isn't mentioned in any of the Corbin Handbooks ( I think), and is worth considering in certain circumstances. For instance, even a hydraulic press has difficulties extruding wire from a 'standard' wire making system to make any diameters below .185". I have one of the dies that Rick speaks of that fits in my CSP-II press where I take .360" wire, cut it into 1" lengths, and then extrude it so that it fits my .17 cal jackets. Each length made this way is long enough for 2 or 3 jackets. Of course, if you don't have .360 wire you can use cast .360 cores. I believe the price of this die is about the same as a LSWC die. I'm not a technical person, but I believe there are limits as to just how much one of these simple extrusion dies can downsize lead wire from a given parrent wire (core) size. I'm not sure, but the Corbins may even make these dies to fit a reloading press. Anyway, this is a 3rd option  to make your cores.

[Drilling Man]

do you have to use wire or could I make my own with pure lead?

  I "cast" my own cores with an adjustable core mould.  It is a 4 cavity and works pretty good.  You can get them in different diameters...

  DM

[303Guy]

....  I have fired a pile of them from a 22 Hornet, .....

What bullet weight did you use in the hornet and how was the accuracy?  I am considering going this route as I too have a supply of cases.  I would like to use as much bullet weight as possible.  Have you tried soldering the core in?  (This would cost more, I know but might produce controlled expansion of sorts).

303Guy

[stever]

I made a bunch of 45 grain bullets.  The accuracy was around an inch @100 yds from the Hornet.  The rifle was a Handi with a 4x scope.  Bonding the cores would be too much work and wouldn't make any difference WRT expansion.  In certain instances, you might get leaks from the firing pin indent on the jackets.

[DFrame]

I'm new to this as well. I have a 22 Jet, a .222 and a .223 I'm thinking of making bullet for.
I'm curious about the annealing process.

[kid_couteau]

Hi All

How much does it cost to get setup for this?

Kid

[kennisondan]

I am interested in do this... the cost factor will hopefully be appealing.. I am curious... I am about to pick up all the brass I see everywhere I see it... I assume you can use bigger brass for bigger bullets and lead wire or adjustable billets/molded wire ? this works for all calibers ? I think I would want to be able to do this even though I did not get right into it heavily... to be able to make bullets and shoot regardless of availabiltiy of jacketed rounds either at a price or at all... I just like to be able to make them no matter what.
dk