I have been casting bullets off and on (Moore than on) for the past twenty years. When I ran the bullets thru my lubri-sizer, I had thought that I was shaving a microscopic amount of lead from the bullet while lubricating it. Now, come to find out, I discovered that I have been swaging my bullets. I seem to have discovered this while investigating powder coating my bullets.

My question is: if I am swaging (compressing) the bullet to a specific diameter, where does the excess lead "flow" without deforming the bullet base of nose?

Thanks in advance for your help!

__________________
Judge control not gun control!

Makes the bullet slightly longer. Not a problem.
Ever see wire made by pulling it through a die?

__________________
Science plus Art

It just gets longer along the shank. If it 'shaved' the bullet it would change its weight.

The one or three thousandths of an in in size reduction doesn't appreciably alter the shape of the bullet

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Yes, lengthening the bearing surface ever so slightly. No big deal.

Mic' the bullet length before sizing and then check it after sizing to see the very small amount of increased length.

Yep, when sizing cast bullets, the lead is not removed, just moved. Sometimes if a lot is swaged down (.005"+) you can see some "flashing" or flow on the sides of the base of the bullet...

All good answers up here.If I may add something,check if the groove is concentric all around the bullet.If the bullet has a crimping groove,it is easier to spot this since the crimping groove is thin and any difference will show up right away.If the groove seems to be unequal all around the bullet,it might mean that the nose punch doesn't properly fit the bullet's nose thus starting it crooked while going into the sizing die.

If your bullet hs grooves, the metal moves into the grooes. Unless you are sizing a lot, like more than 0.003", there isnt much metal to move.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO