Bullet die questions
- Thread starter TrxR
- Start date
jackie schmidt
New member
I believe most dies will accommodate either .925 or 1 inch jackets, maybe even a tad longer.
I’m not real sure how heavy you can go with a .925 jacket.
-Al
Lee Martin
Active member
7 or 8 ogive dies will handle 0.925" and 1.00" (and probably longer too). For .30 BR and variants, most folks go up to 116 gr in the 0.925" and 116 - 125 with the 1.00"; give or take. The ogive also plays into what weight you shoot. While definitely not a written in stone rule, the higher the ogive, the lighter you can go. Basically, if you drop the column height enough with a lower ogive, less lead is pushed up into the point. Conversely, a higher ogive is pointed enough to squeeze the top edge more. I'm probably not explaining this well, so illustrated:
My .30 caliber bullets are done on 7-ogive Ulrich dies. From the start, I swaged them at 114 grs and they shoot great. Last winter, I toyed with the column height and tried a 111 gr.
Left - 111 gr, Right -114 gr
If the 111 gr was formed as an 8 ogive, there would be more lead pushed into the point. And this is where you get deep into CoF vs CoG discussions. I shot the 111 and the 114 side-by-side for a few weeks. While both performed well, the 114 groups tighter (by ~0.05" on average). Rather than overthink the 'why', I let the paper do the talking. And that's the key. Targets always trump theory. If you get into swaging, don't be afraid to alter the bullet (weight, bearing surface, meplat), shoot lots of targets, and take copious notes.
-Lee
www.singleactions.com
My .30 caliber bullets are done on 7-ogive Ulrich dies. From the start, I swaged them at 114 grs and they shoot great. Last winter, I toyed with the column height and tried a 111 gr.
Left - 111 gr, Right -114 gr
If the 111 gr was formed as an 8 ogive, there would be more lead pushed into the point. And this is where you get deep into CoF vs CoG discussions. I shot the 111 and the 114 side-by-side for a few weeks. While both performed well, the 114 groups tighter (by ~0.05" on average). Rather than overthink the 'why', I let the paper do the talking. And that's the key. Targets always trump theory. If you get into swaging, don't be afraid to alter the bullet (weight, bearing surface, meplat), shoot lots of targets, and take copious notes.
-Lee
www.singleactions.com
7 or 8 ogive dies will handle 0.925" and 1.00" (and probably longer too). For .30 BR and variants, most folks go up to 116 gr in the 0.925" and 116 - 125 with the 1.00"; give or take. The ogive also plays into what weight you shoot. While definitely not a written in stone rule, the higher the ogive, the lighter you can go. Basically, if you drop the column height enough with a lower ogive, less lead is pushed up into the point. Conversely, a higher ogive is pointed enough to squeeze the top edge more. I'm probably not explaining this well, so illustrated:
My .30 caliber bullets are done on 7-ogive Ulrich dies. From the start, I swaged them at 114 grs and they shoot great. Last winter, I toyed with the column height and tried a 111 gr.
Left - 111 gr, Right -114 gr
If the 111 gr was formed as an 8 ogive, there would be more lead pushed into the point. And this is where you get deep into CoF vs CoG discussions. I shot the 111 and the 114 side-by-side for a few weeks. While both performed well, the 114 groups tighter (by ~0.05" on average). Rather than overthink the 'why', I let the paper do the talking. And that's the key. Targets always trump theory. If you get into swaging, don't be afraid to alter the bullet (weight, bearing surface, meplat), shoot lots of targets, and take copious notes.
-Lee
www.singleactions.com
Were those made on .925 jackets?
How did you go about sectioning those?
Lee Martin
Active member
Those are 0.925" jackets. Sectioning was done on a Bridgeport. How the bullet is held while cutting entails:
1) Take a block of wood and carve out a recess larger than the bullet
2) Epoxy the bullet into the recess
3) Secured the block in my Kurt vice
4) Before the epoxy completely hardens, but after it has set-up pretty firm, mill almost half of the bullet. Take very light cuts.
5) Pop the bullet out before the epoxy completely dries
6) Lightly sand the cut surface with 400 grit paper
7) Steel wool the uncut side to remove residual epoxy (which there wasn't much of)
-Lee
www.singleactions.com
1) Take a block of wood and carve out a recess larger than the bullet
2) Epoxy the bullet into the recess
3) Secured the block in my Kurt vice
4) Before the epoxy completely hardens, but after it has set-up pretty firm, mill almost half of the bullet. Take very light cuts.
5) Pop the bullet out before the epoxy completely dries
6) Lightly sand the cut surface with 400 grit paper
7) Steel wool the uncut side to remove residual epoxy (which there wasn't much of)
-Lee
www.singleactions.com