Custom Made .510 bullets At Home

[mgstucson]

I just recieved a set of dies that I can use to make custom .510 bullets any weight from 800gr on down, in either a broad meplat flat point or a 10 Secant Ogive VLD for long range competition shooting with my 50bmg. I can make the bullet flat based or with a rebated boattail. I can make these bullets at home. These can be used for 500 Jeffery, 500 NE, 500 A-Square, or 50bmg. I can also reduce the bullets for the 505 Gibbs.

Annealed (oxidized and discolored) solid copper jackets on left, finished and polished bullets on right (800gr Flat Point Solid, 700gr VLD) No cannelures yet.

Complete die set for making bullet jackets and jacketed bullets (Flat base 700gr VLD bullet, Rebated Boattail 700gr VLD bullet shown)

Hydraulic press used for making bullets.

Hand press which uses same bullet making dies.

The solid copper tubing jackets pictured are .035 thick. I can make solids with double jackets, .070. I can made partition bullets, bonded core bullets, brass jacketed bullets, even mild steel jackets. The hydraulic press will even swage some solid copper bullets, but I have not ventured in that direction yet.

 

[Fordy]

Gday mgstuscon
That’s pretty cool

We do things a little different down under (Aussie)

Cheers

 

[matt85]

Neat! What are you using for the jackets?

 

[mgstucson]

@matt85
3/8" L copper tubing (.035 thickness, pictured above ). But M tubing (.028) or K tubing (.049) can also be used.

You can also use commercial bullet jackets made by Corbins.

Check out this page to see what is possible even using 308 brass as a bullet jacket. These bullets shoot 1/2 moa at 200yds. (Super Hi Res pics of super accurate home made 50bmg bullets using 308 brass and 30-06 brass as jackets, commercial jackets, and aluminum ballistic tips.)

308 brass for 50bmg jackets



@Fordy
Not all of us have really cool lathes or know how to use them. The rest of us just have to make do on this side of the pond.

 

[Huvius]

I did something similar using 7mm RM brass with the belts turned off.
I don't have a 50BMG so I sold them but they were pretty simple dies and it was an enjoyable exercise seeing what could be done with differing jacket lengths and core fills.

 

[mgstucson]

I did something similar using 7mm RM brass with the belts turned off.
I don't have a 50BMG so I sold them but they were pretty simple dies and it was an enjoyable exercise seeing what could be done with differing jacket lengths and core fills.

That is really cool. I am going to try the same thing with 300prc brass, since I have no simple means for turning belts off cases at present. I just need to find a horde of Berdan primed brass that someone is getting rid of to have a lifetime supply of 50bmg jackets. I already have about 1000 commercial jackets to work through. Now that I have this set, I am going to compare long range accuracy potential between copper tubing jackets, cartridge brass jackets, and commercial jackets. If the accuracy is similar, which I expect it will be, I will just use the most economical jackets available at the time. Swaging my own bullets gives me options in uncertain times without being held hostage to prices or supply chain problems with commercial options.

I will mainly shoot the flat tip bullets for hunting, either soft points or solid points. I will do ballistic gel comparisons beteen each type of jacket for expanding bullets and solids. Right now my current leaning is toward bonded core partition bullets with copper tubing jackets for expanding bullets. For solid non-expanding bullets, I am leaning toward a double jacketed bullets with a bonded core using K copper tubing (.049 wall thickness) inside a cartridge case brass outer jacket.

This solid brass, swaged down, cartridge case head should make a heck-uv-a bullet point for a non-expanding solid, lead core bullet.

I am hoping this hybrid brass, copper, lead double jacket concept will give me monometal straight line penetration, with lead bullet case capacity. To shoot straight monometals one sometimes has to drop bullet weight to get good velocity, or drop velocity on same weight bullets because of loss of powder capacity due to the longer monometal bullets. I am hoping to create a hybrid to give me the excellent terminal ballistics of the monometal, at the same time maintaining the excellent external ballistics of lead core bullets. Time will tell, but the journey should be fun no matter the outcome.

 

[Huvius]

The journey is fun and very educational!

Turning the belt off is another step but the nominal diameter of the 7mm brass is .511” so as little work as possible in forming.

Your dies look just like dies I have for other purposes.

I actually cracked one bleeding 20-1 lead cores so I am very impressed that your dies can swage the bases as shown on your boat tail projectile there!

Also, my best tip to any swager is to visit your local recycling centers and look through their range brass. My local center has a dedicated pallet box of spent brass they get from local ranges, others mix it in with brass scrap.
They often have various copper tubing for way cheaper than buying from suppliers.

 

[mgstucson]

The journey is fun and very educational!

Turning the belt off is another step but the nominal diameter of the 7mm brass is .511” so as little work as possible in forming.

Your dies look just like dies I have for other purposes.

I actually cracked one bleeding 20-1 lead cores so I am very impressed that your dies can swage the bases as shown on your boat tail projectile there!

Also, my best tip to any swager is to visit your local recycling centers and look through their range brass. My local center has a dedicated pallet box of spent brass they get from local ranges, others mix it in with brass scrap.
They often have various copper tubing for way cheaper than buying from suppliers.

Sounds like great advice.

These dies are made only for pure lead. They will not bleed alloys in the core swage die. Corbins.com will sell you H dies for their hydraulic presses that will swage and bleed alloys, but the bleed holes sizes have to be enlarged to different sizes, depending on the alloy. You will need to send them samples of your alloy for them to make the dies. The H dies are 1.5" diameter. They will take the stress. Then those core swage dies can only be used for that alloy , no longer for pure lead, nor different alloy.