22 bullets from RF cases questions

[Grizzle-e-bear]

I am putting together my stuff to get back into highpower rifle competition next year and was thinking about getting the RCECO dies that work in a reloading press to swage bullets from spent 22 shells for shooting in an AR-15.  I will be getting a DCM upper that will most likely have a 1 in 8 twist barrel.  I would probably only shoot these at the 200 & 300 yd. ranges and use heavier Hornady or Sierras for the 600 yd. range.  I have 80 - 100 lbs. of soft lead in the form of sheets that are used for lining x-ray rooms that I could use a core mold to make cores with.  This figures out to about 8,000 to 10,000 bullets at 55 gr. apiece, so I figure with the price of the dies, core mold, etc. I could make them for about $3 - $4 per 100 or less, which makes for cheap shooting.

1.  Will bullets made with RF jackets withstand shooting at around 2700 fps in a 1 in 8 twist?

2.  Do these dies make either SP or HP bullets?

3.  What is the heaviest bullet you can make with RF jackets and these dies?

4.  How accurate are the core molds as far as weight adjustments?

Thanks for any help!

[stever]

Welcome to bullet making.

I will attempt to answer your questions.

1.  Will bullets made with RF jackets withstand shooting at around 2700 fps in a 1 in 8 twist?

They should.  I shoot bullets made from RF cases out of a 1 in 9 .223 barrel.  Thousands actually.  None have come apart.  I don't think yours will either.

2.  Do these dies make either SP or HP bullets?

You can make either, but as the kit comes from the factory, they actually make open tips.  That is, the tip of the case looks like a HP but there is no hole made in the lead core.  If you get a special punch to make the hole, then you would form a true HP.  You would need a tip former to shape the lead to a point, should you want SP's.

3.  What is the heaviest bullet you can make with RF jackets and these dies?

I have made 65 grain bullets but needed a tip forming die because lead extrudes out the top of the jacket when point forming.

4.  How accurate are the core molds as far as weight adjustments?

Mine are no more the 0.2/0.3 of a grain.  I used to weigh each one but don't bother anymore.

[GREYGHOSTt]

You can also use commercial jackets with these dies
and make higher velocity bullets.

[iiranger]

Mr. Dave Corbin (corbins.com) is the more prolific as in writings about these things. He has, on his web site, one of his books posted for free study or download or , sans pictures, with a lengthy discussion of this process. You might care to consider carefully, the draw back to the "reloading press" process is that the reloading press uses sleeve bearings, plenty for reloading and some case sizing/forming... but you put the load(s) of bullet making on it... "wear." Use lots of very good lube... At the same time the Rolls Royce presses (roller bearings) that both brothers sell can be adapted to the reloading press dies (and some to reloading). Not quite as slick as dies made for those presses... but it is your budget. Luck with yout targets.

[Smokin7mm]

I have been making RF jacket bullets for several years.  I mostly make 52gr open tips to shoot in my 22 hornet contender.  I think 3200fps is the max they recommend for RF jackets, much over that and they start to come appart.  You can actually use a 22mag case and get bullets up to 100+ grains if you want.  I made some 22cal 100gr for a guy that was shooting handgun silhouette using a XP-100 in 22BR.  He had a fast twist, I think around 1-6 or 1-7 to be able to stabilize these bullets.  He told me that they shot better than the Sierra 80MK's in his gun.  I have also developed a process for making 6.5mm bullets from a 22mag case.  Max weight I can get here is around 120gr in an open tip bullet.
Bret

[Utah Smitty]

I just purchased some swaging dies and a Hollywood Junior Press from a gunsmith.  The dies are Hollywood as well.  There are some dies to make jackets for .223 & .243 from .22 RF cases, but I'm not sure how to use them.  Does anyone have any info. on these, either printed, web, or verbal?

Thanks,

Utah Smitty

[GREYGHOSTt]

Utah Smitty you sir have a PM!!!

[MrBill]

The trick to higher velocities from 22 RF brass jackets is the core material.  You'll need something harder than the usual lead wire, maybe like the 20-1 or similar alloy the ASSRA fellows use in their schuetzen rifle bullets.  Wheel weights may also work for you.  Just be sure your dies are up to the challenge!  The harder alloy resists internal shearing from the rotation of the bullet in flight. Soft lead in a brass jacket is going to bulge and explode the thin brass if the velocity is up.  Check the equations for RPM at a given velocity and you'll see where that's headed. After making your bullets you need to give them a coat of moly or graphite, whichever you prefer.  The coating will help hold down  pressure and does the stuff moly does to copper jackets,  it goes onto brass a lot faster, though.  I am able to shoot RF jacketed bullets at full power in my 22-250 using the above.  They fly well and are devastating on woodchucks at whatever range you hit them.

[hershey]

this thread brought me to this sight..... very interested in pursueing this, i explored the corbin sight, looks like a fairly expensive start up investment...

as this is new to me, could some of you veterans help me w/ where to find the info on this process, initial thoughts are making my own core wire from lead ingots currently on hand and getting dies compatable w/ an rcbs reloader, the local boy scout camp will be my source for rim fire cases...

[talon]

Hershey, Go to :  http://www.corbins.com/prrfjm.htm

[DFrame]

Would love to be able to do this but the start-up costs are BRUTAL. Seems for a noob it's going to cost around a grand to be able to make 22 bullets from RF cases. The payback time would seem to be in decades.

[shootergdv]

The case/jackets mostly weigh around 10 grains, so you get about 15,000 45 gr. cores for 55 gr. bullets from 100 lbs. lead (7000 grains/lb.)! If you happen to own a RockChucker, Larry Blackmon sells swaging conversion and a steel die set for $465 or his BSS press and the 3 die set for $520. You still need core mold or wire and cutter and a derimmer, so you're looking at $625/$680. So your "break-even" if bullets are worth $10/100 to you is about 6500 bullets plus/minus and your time. In my experience, I can't buy bullets that perform better for $10/100 these days, so I'd keep that in mind. Plus the break point will change relative to the component prices over years, so I'm not sorry I made the investment.The 56 gr. I mostly crank out shoot great in a 1/9 AR in front of 25.0 gr. RE-15. And they are capital D Death on groundhogs ! I'm only on my third thousand so I'm about halfway even ! If you like spending spare time casting/reloading anyway, you'll probably like swaging. But if reloading seems a chore to you, you probably don't want to start down this path.

[wranglerdave]

I am part owner (3 gun club guys that split the cost) in the Corbin dies and core mould. Dies for forming and swaging the rim fire cases are good, not great. The core mould, wow, what a piece of crap! We ended up having a local machinest make us a six cavity core mould designed around a Lee mould. Works great! We get 57 gr. bullets with pure lead cores or 55-53 gr. bullets with wheel weights or lineotype cores. The RF jackets run about 10 gr.

In my experience of making bullets from 22 cal. rim fire brass, I can't over stress the importance in annealing these cases. We use a toaster oven set at 450 F for 45 to 60 minutes to eliminate folds and creases. If you want a really high quality finish on your bullets, get yourself some Bransonic Ultra-sonic oxide remover. A tablespoon in a qt. of hot water using a rotating tumbler like the one's made by Thumblers does the trick in less than a hour! You will need to put sun glasses on just to look at these bullets!

Dave McGrath

[Hank08]

Fred Huntington started RCBS(Rock Chuck Bullet Swage) during WW2 by making dies to make .22 bullets from rimfire cases.  I just sold my old RCBS dies along with a press and a
cigar box full of cores and commercial jackets for $100 a few months ago and the new owner has told me he has already made over 6000 bullets with it.  It would make hp or sp bullets.
He just drilled  holes on each side of the bullet cavity in a mold to use for the cores, works great.
H08

[84Jim]

I'm one of the other 2 gun club guys.  I have shot our bullets out of a 1 in 8 AR at a 100 yd. match several times.  Every one poked a hole in the target, usually right on call.  I haven't bench tested them yet, but my scores are pretty much the same as when I shot 55 gr. V-max's.  I also haven't chronoed my load, but I figure it's in the 2900-3000 fps range.  I need to get out to the range and compare group sizes with the 55 and 60 gr. commercial bullets that I shoot.  I haven't used the swaged bullets at 200 yet, but figure I will before the summer is over.

[iiranger]

There is a man who sells on ebay calling his business "Shooter's Shack" search under swage/swaging and has offerred a die to make the .22 bullet from rimfire jacket for $135.00 (plus ship of course). He also has a die to derim the cases. Don't recall the damage for that one. Sports flite was around $150 for both many years ago, but out of business for some time now, to my knowledge... luck.