More thoughts on bullet resizing

jonk

So I mentioned I might try resizing jacketed bullets to use in my 7.35 Carcano (mine slugs to .301) and someone said that .007" might be too much resizing for a .308 bullet, as it could loosen the core. Well, I probably am going to stick to cast bullets, where it doesn't matter if I resize them this much. But just for argument's sake, suppose the core is loosened. Could one not hold the bullet nose down and dip it into a pot of molten lead? Wouldn't this reliquify the core, solving the "loose" problem? For that matter, as an alternate to bullet swaging, couldn't one take an empty jacket, run it through a bullet sizer on it's own, then fill it with molten lead instead of wire core?

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"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conference in 1899.

paul1231

Jonk, bullet reduction dies built for jacketed bullets are slightly smaller in diameter than lead bullet sizing dies. This is because of 'spring back' characteristis of most medals (lead has almost no spring back) This is why if you attempt to reduce jacketed bullets, or the jackets themselves in a lead bullet sizing die, you will end up, at best, with a bullet .00025" larger than it should be. Of course, you can always take a chance of wrecking your firearm or yourself with these oversize bullets. You may even get a way with firing them 10,000 times, but then, one day, bad news. As to melting the lead in an already formed loosly fitted jacketed bullet to correct the looseness: It is almost impossible to standardize the bullet weight in this type of operation. As the lead heats a very small portion of it will spert out the end of the bullet. Too, when the core solidifies, there may be voids which will cause in flight instability. When I make jacketed bullets I often melt the core, with a little flux, when it's in the jacket, but that's before the ogive (nose shape) is formed. After the lead cools, the core is swaged tightly into the jacket to ensure no voids (amoung other things), and then another swaging occurrs to put the ogive on, as well as expand the bullet the final .0005" to bring it up to advertised caliber. I think most of us in the swaging hobby have been struggling with your concept for many years (a simple, inexpensive way), but have eventually taken the "ground up" method. It is expensive, to be sure, but there are swagers around that may have the ability to make those 7.35mm bullets for you at a decent price.(( I can swage quite a few calibers, but not the 7.37mm, unfortunately) Good luck.

leeblackman

Have you thought about having your bore rezised for a more econimical size of bullet or possibly even rechambering it.