Anyone still swage bullets? Info on half jackets requested
- Thread starter Eddietruett
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Yep.. Those are what they called 1/2 jackets. The Hornady's are pistol bullet cups. They were about a 1/4 inch in depth. The ones you have can be used in the old CH swage tool...but they will usually lead the bore a bit or a lot. Unlike the 1/2 jacket Speers they left a lot of lead touching the bore...and the Speers had a good roll type crimp. I happen to have quite a few of what you have pictured and Herter's half jackets too. All the pistol swaging stuff I have is going on ebay including the wire. Although I guess you could mash bullets and powder coat them. LOL
Last edited:
OP
Wish I knew somebody that could use them
rockquarry
Member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2005
- Messages
- 8,496
- Reaction score
- 10,422
Try the castboolit site.
austintexas
SWCA Member
swedge tool
I still have the 357 swaging die I got and used in the 60s. I never had trouble with excessive leading. I gave it up because it was too much trouble and went with just cast bullets. You can have it if you pay the postage.
SWCA 892
I still have the 357 swaging die I got and used in the 60s. I never had trouble with excessive leading. I gave it up because it was too much trouble and went with just cast bullets. You can have it if you pay the postage.
SWCA 892
Hi Eddie,
I used to have a .44 caliber swage die set from a company in Michigan called Sport Flite. Those half jackets would've been perfect!
Those dies could be used with either those half jackets or with special zinc washer-type gas checks. I think the latter was developed by Jim Harvey, the guy who developed the .22 Harvey Kay-Chuck.
Swaging was fun, but I found it hard on the press. You really need a dedicated swaging press, especially for larger caliber work. It is quite a bit more expensive to do than casting!
I used to have a .44 caliber swage die set from a company in Michigan called Sport Flite. Those half jackets would've been perfect!
Those dies could be used with either those half jackets or with special zinc washer-type gas checks. I think the latter was developed by Jim Harvey, the guy who developed the .22 Harvey Kay-Chuck.
Swaging was fun, but I found it hard on the press. You really need a dedicated swaging press, especially for larger caliber work. It is quite a bit more expensive to do than casting!
Sport Flite...Had a set of them...in 44. Broke the handle on a Herter's Press.I could do 357s with it...or maybe it started the destruction. That's why I still have my RCBS A2s. I still have a 357 mold and zinc washers for casting. Even Herter's sold those molds...made for them by Lyman
If you load the Speer body, fire the round, since even the lead nose
factory bullet will pull free from the copper jacket, with a hammer,
bullet remover.
Good luck.
factory bullet will pull free from the copper jacket, with a hammer,
bullet remover.
Good luck.
They called that cast bullet with the washers Protex Bore. You see them occasionally on ebay etc...Jim Harvey developed shot loads for revolvers too and made the bbls Smooth bored. The BATF deemed them in violation of the original Firearms act from the 30s. I don't know if it is an old Harvey bbl but I have 1 38 Sp S&W bbl that has no rifling and a type of vented choke device? screwed on the end. I can not think of any reason a smoothbore pistol bbl would be so dangerous as to be illegal....other than to be in violation of a kinda ridiculous law. Had this bbl for years
Last edited:
rockquarry
Member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2005
- Messages
- 8,496
- Reaction score
- 10,422
I've done swaging twice, in 1971 and again about thirty years later with different equipment. Very interesting work, but with little practical value. Swaged bullets are a lot of work and perform no better than well-fitted cast bullets of the proper alloy for the load. The best cast bullets will equal or exceed the accuracy of swaged bullets or factory jacketed bullets.
The Harvey washers (already mentioned here) were cut to industrial standards rather than than the more precise dimensions needed for handloading. They sort of worked, but a lot of sweat for often not-so-great results. In theory, the washer left the bore "sherardized" which was allegedly a coating. I can't remember now if the bores leaded or not.
I did see some very good accuracy with a 190 grain cast bullet for the .45 ACP. When you opened the single cavity mould, you inserted a washer in a special groove, then filled the mould with lead. The lead flowed through the hole on the washer and locked the washer onto the bullet. Sounds like a lot of trouble because it is.
I actually have a new unused 4 cavity mold by Hensley and gibbs for that 190 gr 45 can bullet and a used one by Lyman(SC)as well as another that seems to be a clone in 357 caliber. I also have a bunch of the zinc washers. They were supposed to coat the bore and strip out any lead. The 45s IIRC have no grease groves. Have to go check it. They are both in one of the safes. As has been said...not hard to do but keeping the mold temp is a pain when having to put washers in by hand...without gloves. not really worth the work. I also remember running the 38/357 through a size die for 9mm Para.I was using the old Lyman 45 sizers. I still have about 5 of them. Duh!
rockquarry
Member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2005
- Messages
- 8,496
- Reaction score
- 10,422
About the time I started handloading in 1965, the swaging fad and its offshoot bullet making process promoted by Lakeville Arms were already on their downward spirals. Without C-H and a few others who made cheap tools available for the handloading masses, the process would never have reached the modest success it achieved.
