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.he CHAPTER 7 CORBIN HANDBOOK AND CATALOG NO. 7, PAGE #.op

                 SOME SPECIFIC BULLETS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM
         I've  already  written seven books and my editors tell me I  have 
   over  400 articles in print,  describing the various things you can  do 
   with swaging.  It would be ridiculous to try and explain every possible 
   bullet style in this book -- you'd need a flat-bed truck to haul it out 
   and a crane to flip the pages!  
        Rather  than  that,  I  will try to explain how  each  of  several 
   examples of bullets can be made,  selecting very simple and very exotic 
   kinds of bullets,  including features that shooters find exciting,  and 
   designs  that  appear difficult or impossible until you have  seen  how 
   simple swaging makes it.   From these few examples, you should begin to 
   gain  an understanding of the process and how much more you can do with 
   it.  
                    HOLLOW BASE TARGET PISTOL WADCUTTERS
        Lead  wadcutters with hollow base can be made in a reloading press 
   in  the calibers from .25 ACP to .357/.38,  up to .458 caliber  in  the 
   Mity  Mite,  and up to .75 caliber in the Hydro-press.   The  reloading 
   press makes as accurate a bullet in regard to diameter control, but for 
   superior weight control, you should use the Mity Mite or larger swaging 
   presses.  
        Select  either  a core seating die or a lead  semi-wadcutter  die.  
   The  core seating die should be ordered with a wadcutter nose  external 
   punch,  and a hollow base internal punch.  So should the LSWC-1 die, if 
   you  wish  to  use that one.   (I would -- it isn't  available  in  the 
   reloading press system, however.)
        Prepare  your  lead cores by either casting them in the Corbin  4-
   cavity  adjustable  weight core mould,  or by  cutting  uniform  length 
   pieces from a spool of lead wire.  Specific instructions are found with 
   the tools or in other sections of this book.  More detailed information 
   can be found in the book "Rediscover Swaging".     
        To  establish the proper weight of core,  make one and put it in a 
   scale pan.  Then adjust the next few until you get what you  want.   If 
   you plan to use a core seating die (CS-1) without a core swage (CSW-1), 
   then  what  you  put in is what you will get out in regard  to  weight.  
   This is the case with reloading press die sets,  since there is no core 
   swage for them.  It isn't necessarily a bad situation.  I shot a lot of 
   good groups when I was in the Navy using bullets that had 3-5 grains 
   variation in my trusty .45 Colt Government pistol. 
        If you do use the Mity Mite or other special swage press, and plan 
   to use a core swage or the all-in-one lead semi-wadcutter die (LSWC-1), 
   then  make  the cores from 2 to 5 grains heavier than you want  in  the 
   bullet.   That  gives  you some extra lead to extrude  along  with  any 
   variation in weight.
        Lubricate  the  core by one of two methods.   If you want a  clean 
   lead bullet with no lubrication,  use Corbin Swage Lube on your  finger 
   tip  and thumb,  and just give each core a little rotation between them 
   as you pick them up to put them in the die.   It's simple and  natural, 
   no  big deal.   Let the benchrest rifle fanatics worry about  measuring 
   out  lube  with a hypodermic needle on a special stamp pad:   it  won't 
   make any practical difference in where the bullet lands.
        The other method is for placing a wax jacket on the bullet itself.  
   Instead  of lube grooves which apply a little band of lube and let  the 
   rest of the bullet scrape along the bare metal contact with your  bore, 
   the whole surface of the bullet can be covered by a thin,  hard film of 
   high temperature wax.  
        The  product  that  does this is Corbin Dip Lube.   Some  call  it 
   "Liquid  Jacket".   That's what it acts like.   You dip the core  in  a 
   small  container  and  put  it wet into  the  swage  die.   Then  apply 
   pressure,  swage the bullet,  and it comes out nearly dry.  Let it cure 
   for  fifteen  minutes,  and  you are ready to load and  shoot  it!   No 
   sizing, no lubricating, and more lube contacts the bore than if you had 
   it plastered with conventional drag-producing grooves.
        Drawback?   Alox-beeswax  lube works at somewhat  higher  velocity 
   levels  than  Corbin Dip Lube.   If you are pushing the bullets  toward 
   magnum speeds, you may be in for some leading.  On the other hand, that 
   is  what  Corbin bullet jackets are made to prevent.   From  1,200  fps 
   down,  I have had excellent results with the Dip Lube.  Many commercial 
   firms purchase it in gallon lots for their bullets,  so I know that  it 
   works  as  well  for their customers.   Any lead  bullets  can  produce 
   leading  in some guns and with some loads,  of course.   I certainly do 
   not claim this product is the best lubricant made, but it is one of the 
   most convenient and easily used, especially with swaged bullets.
        Before  swaging the bullets,  you may want to know how to put  the 
   dies  in  the press.   For the Hydro-press,  you should have  the  book 
   "Power Swaging" at hand.   You need it,  period.   Without it you  will 
   break  dies.   For  the Mity Mite,  a brief reading of the  instruction 
   sheet  that comes with the press and dies should make the  installation 
   and operation fairly clear.  For the reloading press, ditto.
        But here's a quick run-down:   the Mity Mite die goes into the ram 
   of  the Mity Mite press.   The ram is the steel cylinder that moves  in 
   and out of the press frame when you pull on the handle.   It has a 5/8-
   24 TPI thread in the working end,  and the handle forks attached to the 
   other end.  
        There  are  two punches with the die (each and every die  has  two 
   punches that are required to operate it,  except for draw dies).   Lead 
   tip dies come with one punch,  but use your existing point forming  die 
   bottom  punch.   We  are  not going to be using those  dies  now.   The 
   reloading  press  has  an  internal punch  captive  inside  the  black, 
   threaded adapter body.   It's external punch slips into the press  ram, 
   and the die screws into the pressd head like any reloading press die.
        In the reloading press, you would be using the CS-1-R core seating 
   die,  and you would have the hollow base internal punch inside the die.  
   If  you  wanted to install this punch (because the die  normally  comes 
   with a flat base internal punch, and you order the other base shapes as 
   optional punches),  you would unscrew the die insert from the bottom of 
   the  die and then pull the original flat base punch straight out of the 
   top  of the die insert.   You would clean the new punch,  and press  it 
   gently  into the top of the die insert,  then screw the die  and  punch 
   together back into the adapter body.
        In the Mity Mite press,  you would see that the die has threads on 
   one  end and a venturi (funnel-shaped) opening at the other end.   This 
   venturi  opening  helps align the external  punch.   The  threaded  end 
   should  have  a steel cylinder with two diameters protruding  from  it.  
   This  is  the head and tail of the internal punch.   The tail is  about 
   0.312 inches in diameter, and the head (right next to it) is about 0.50 
   inches in diameter.   The rest of the punch is the same size,  minus  a 
   tad, as the die bore.  It is a diamond-lapped sliding fit.  
        If you want to change the base shape,  you slide this punch out of 
   the die, clean the new one carefully of all grit and dust, and slide it 
   carefully  into the die from the threaded end.   Flat base,  cup  base, 
   hollow base, and dish base shapes can all be made this way.  Bevel base 
   can  be simulated but remember that all end shapes which are formed  by 
   pressing  against  a  punch will have some degree of shoulder  or  step 
   where the edge of the punch contacts the bullet.   A true bevel base is 
   not made in this simple kind of die.
        Screw the die into the press by hand.   In the Mity Mite, screw it 
   in all the way.   Don't use tools.   Hand-tight is tight enough.  Don't 
   confuse the swage die,  which is about 3/4-inch in diameter,  with  the 
   black threaded floating punch holder (FPH-1-M) in the press head!  Many 
   people  think  the  punch holder is the die,  because it looks  like  a 
   reloading press die.  
        The  external punch is held in the punch holder.   In  a  previous 
   chapter this was covered with photos and detailed description.  The hex 
   bushing  unscrews  from the end of the FPH-1.   Inside is a  collar  or 
   bushing that slips over the punch.  (If the punch is smaller than  .375 
   diameter  -- if not,  the punch already has the bushing and hex bushing 
   assembled  to it.   Just remove the one in the FPH-1 and set it  aside, 
   take  out  the  round rocker bushing  but leave  in  the  solid  rocker 
   button.  Install the punch as one unit.)
        Assemble  the  round rocker bushing and then the hex bushing  over 
   the  external  punch.   If you have any doubt as to what  part  is  the 
   external  punch,  look for the one part that does NOT fit into the  die 
   full  length  so  that it comes to the mouth of the die  and  fills  it 
   completely  from end to end with some left over! 
        The die is the round steel cylinder with the hole through it.  You 
   can see through it if you pull out the internal punch.    The  internal 
   punch  will NOT fit into the floating punch holder properly.   It has a 
   tail section that keeps it from fitting. The head of the internal punch 
   and  the  head of the external punch are the  same  diameter,  but  the 
   external  punch has no projection or tail section.   It steps down from 
   the  head (about .50 inches diameter) to the shank (about  0.36  inches 
   diameter)  to  a section that is just below bullet diameter,  having  a 
   portion that is closely fitted to the die bore.
        The punch should be held finger-tight in the floating punch holder 
   at this point.   The adjustment of the punch holder is made by  putting 
   one  of the lubricated cores into the die mouth,  and carefully  moving 
   the  ram forward so that the external punch can be aligned with the die 
   and  moved into it.   The object now is to adjust the punch  holder  so 
   that  the  press  handle  can be moved to the point where  the  die  is 
   forward  as far as it can go.   If the punch and holder stops  the  ram 
   from  going  forward  now,  back off the punch holder.   If  the  punch 
   doesn't contact anything yet, that's fine.  Just get it into the die.
        Make  sure  that  the ram is capable of going as  far  forward  as 
   possible, unlimited by coming against the punch or holder.  No pressure 
   should be generated,  no particular force required.   The weight of the 
   handle  should be more than sufficient to move the ram forward all  the 
   way.   Have you got that adjustment made?  Make sure the ram is free to 
   move back and forth on both sides of its foremost extension.   You  can 
   tell  if it is right,  because the pivot pin that holds the ram to  the 
   press  handle will line up on the same plane as the bolt that holds the 
   handle to the two links.
        Now,  holding  the  handle  so that the ram  is  at  the  furthest 
   position forward, screw the floating punch holder toward the ram.  Keep 
   turning  it by hand until the punch contacts your lead core and you can 
   no longer turn the punch holder by hand.   If,  at this point,  you are 
   able to screw the punch completely into the die and the die face  comes 
   up against the hex bushing on the punch holder, something is not right.  
        The  possibility is that you didn't have enough lead core for  the 
   set  the way it is.   The cure is to obtain a hardened steel bushing to 
   slip over the tail of the internal punch, extending it forward.  Do NOT 
   try to machine or modify the external punch or die to cure  thholder by hand.   If,  at this point,  you are 
   able to screw the punch completely into the die and the die face  comes 
   up against the hex bushing on the punch holder, something is not right.  
        The  possibility is that you didn't have enough lead core for  the 
   set  the way it is.   The cure is to obtain a hardened steel bushing to 
   slip over the tail of the internal punch, extending it forward.  Do NOT 
   try to machine or modify the external punch or die to cure  thward again.  
   Did  any  lead come out the bleed holes in the side of the LSWC-1  die?  
   Or, did you feel a rather sudden increase in the resistance in the CS-1 
   die?   Back  off the ram,  eject the bullet,  and see if it  is  nicely 
   filled out.   See if it stays in the die,  or if it comes back out with 
   the punch. 
        Normally,  the  bullet will stay in the die even if it is somewhat 
   undersized  at this point.   Jacketed bullets often come out  with  the 
   external punch until enough pressure has been applied to expand them to 
   die  diameter.   When  you run the ram all the way back,  the  internal 
   punch comes up against the stop pin in the back of the press and pushes 
   the  bullet  out  by holding the internal punch  still  while  the  die 
   continues to move back with the ram.
        If the bullet is poorly formed, adjust the punch holder a fraction 
   of  a turn forward and try another core.   When you get it  right,  the 
   bullet  will  be properly formed and will measure the correct  diameter 
   from one end to the other.   The internal punch will have formed a deep 
   hollow  cavity  and the external punch will have transferred  its  nose 
   shape to the end of the bullet (in this case, a wadcutter nose).  
        If you have voids or unfilled edges on the bullet,  then you might 
   have a bit too much lube.  Wipe the lube off the external punch and try 
   another core without so much lube applied.   If that still doesn't come 
   out well,  adjust the punch holder slightly forward again.   But do NOT 
   keep adjusting the holder forward until you feel an extreme resistance.  
   One hand force is all you should ever need to apply.   If it feels like 
   you  should be using both hands,  something is wrong and you may be  on 
   the verge of breaking your die.  Stop and find out what is wrong.
        If the lead is too hard, this can be a serious problem.  Hard lead 
   does not flow or swage very well.   Soft lead swages very nicely.   The 
   pressure  required  to swage even a 3% antimonial alloy of lead  is  at 
   least double that of pure lead.   When you first start,  it may be hard 
   to judge how much pressure is enough.   The press is so powerful that a 
   very  light pressure on the handle produces a very great force  on  the 
   ram.   With  calibers in the .375-inch range and up,  you can break the 
   die  without  seeming  to apply undue effort,  so be  careful  to  stop 
   applying  force  or adjusting the punch holder forward as soon  as  you 
   reach the point where the bullet begins to form nicely.
        With a little pressure on the ram,  while swaging a bullet,  cinch 
   the hex bushing on the punch holder up snugly by hand.   This keeps the 
   punch aligned with the die,  so you don't have to do more than check it 
   from time to time.  Swage all your bullets with the punch holder set at 
   this position and the locking nut secured against the face of the press 
   head.  If you want to repeat this setting soon, lock down the set screw 
   on  the  punch holder.   Having several punch holders gives  you  quick 
   repeatability by leaving each punch in its own holder with pre-set lock 
   nut.  
        Now,  back to the reloading press.   The adjustment is exactly the 
   same,  except that you put the external punch in the slotted  ram,  and 
   adjust the die downward toward the punch,  while the punch is raised to 
   the topmost position of the ram.  It is important that you realize that 
   the  furthest extension of the ram is what controls consistent results.  
   If  you swage by feel entirely,  you may get widely  changing  weights.  
   Use  feel  to  judge whether or not a core is a great deal  lighter  or 
   heavier as you approach the top of the stroke.  
        Do  NOT  continue  to  press if you  meet  resistance  before  you 
   normally did on similar bullets during a run.   You will probably swage 
   a  heavier than usual bullet,  at best,  and at worst you may break the 
   die or mash the punch flat.   Set aside any cores that either developed 
   less  or more resistance to swaging than your usual bullet  during  any 
   given run.   Those are light or heavy cores.  They can be used for some 
   other weight, or melted down for a cast core.  
        We have covered a lot of elementary material here.   Refer to this 
   basic  bullet  and adjustment procedure for just about any  other  die.  
   The concept is the same:   approach the right adjustment from the loose 
   side,  where you have no pressure,  and increase it in small bits until 
   you  achieve  the desired result without exceeding moderate efforts  on 
   the handle.   It is a lot like experimenting with a new powder  charge:  
   build  the  load in small increments and watch for signs  of  pressure.  
   Here we are dealing with pressures that could destroy a rifle when they 
   are normal.   But they don't contain much total energy, so no parts fly 
   around  when a die breaks.   You hear a crack,  and you see one in  the 
   die.   That's about it.   With just reasonable care,  you'll never know 
   what a broken die sounds like.
        For  the  rest  of the bullet styles,  I will give  only  a  brief 
   description  of  the process,  detailing only the  unusual  aspects  of 
   making  the  bullet.   Please  remember the basic  rules:   swage  dies 
   increase diameter,  never reduce it.   Lubricant is required for  every 
   swaging  operation  (I won't keep mentioning it).   The punch must  fit 
   easily into the die, or it is the wrong one to use.  The force you feel 
   should  on  the handle should be mild,  never  requiring  double-handed 
   effort.   And while you can experiment,  do get a good understanding of 
   the basic operations for each die first.
        
                    HOLLOW POINT JACKETED HANDGUN BULLETS
   
        The hollow point is made during core seating.   Instead of using a 
   flat  faced punch to push the core into the jacket (in the core seating 
   die), you need to order the optional hollow point external punch.  This 
   punch has a conical probe on the face, which presses down into the lead 
   core  and forms a cavity at the same time that the lead is  pressurized 
   to move the jacket walls out and meet the die.
        A more uniform hollow point can be made if you first seat the lead 
   core  with  a flat punch,  then change to a hollow point  to  form  the 
   cavity.   This  step is for the perfectionist,  and may be  unnecessary 
   even then, depending on how deep the lead seats in the jacket and other 
   factors.
        In  any press,  this operation takes place as a result of using  a 
   hollow  point  punch  during the  core  seating  operation.   The  dies 
   themselves  are  the same,  regardless of whether you select  a  hollow 
   point or a soft point,  an open tip or a full jacket.  In a single core 
   seating die,  for making semi-wadcutter or wadcutter hollow points, you 
   can use the HP punch either before or after using another nose punch.  
        The  key  to  successful use of more than one punch  on  the  same 
   bullet  is  to realize that you do not have to press the punch all  the 
   way into the die.   Using a portion of the possible extension into  the 
   die and lead gives you almost total control of how deep and how big the 
   cavity  will be.   Whether you swage the HP first or use another punch, 
   such as a Keith nose punch,  first,  determines the cavity size and the 
   shape of the bullet.  
        A Keith punch and a hollow point punch can produce a wide range of 
   shapes,  including  a simulated round nose!   Experiment  with  various 
   insertion  depths.   In other words,  adjust one punch to go in further 
   and the other one to stop short of going in all the way.  Using both to 
   the  full extent possible only means that the bullet will be  primarily 
   formed by the last punch you press against the lead.   Whichever  punch 
   is pushed in hardest and further against the lead is the one that gives 
   the bullet most of its final shape.
        If you use a point forming die,  then of course you do not need to 
   experiment  with  semi-wadcutter nose punches.   The point forming  die 
   will  shape  up the ogive for you.   It will also  smoothly  close  the 
   hollow point to a more long and narrow shape, depending on how far into 
   the  point forming die you wish to push the bullet.   If you adjust the 
   press  and die so that you just barely push the bullet into  the  point 
   forming die, then you will have a very large hollow point.
        On the other hand,  if you push the bullet into the die as far and 
   as  hard  as you reasonably can,  you may well close the  hollow  point 
   completely.   This  can  produce an unusual result:   you can fill  the 
   hollow point cavity with a fluid or powder,  or a steel ball,  and then 
   cause  the end of the bullet to roll over this material and trap it  in 
   the cavity.   If the hollow point is much deeper than the ogive length, 
   a good portion of the cavity will remain at its original size while the 
   part toward the end of the bullet becomes more narrow.  
        This  means  you can make   hollow  point 
   completely.   This  can  produce an unusual result:   you can fill  the 
   hollow point cavity with a fluid or powder,  or a steel ball,  and then 
   cause  the end of the bullet to roll over this material and trap it  in 
   the cavity.   If the hollow point is much deeper than the ogive length, 
   a good portion of the cavity will remain at its original size while the 
   part toward the end of the bullet becomes more narrow.  
        This  means  you can make th 
   your more experimental designs.
                          BOATTAIL HANDGUN BULLETS   
        With a long shanked rifle-style bullet,  a special set of dies  is 
   required to manufacture a good boattail base.   At Corbin,  we make the 
   rebated  boattail  base,  popularized by the fine Lapua match  bullets.  
   But in a short,  stubby handgun bullet, it is easy to make a rebated or 
   a regular boattail using only a special punch (and not really all  that 
   special).
        Usually,  it's necessary to seat a lead core in the jacket using a 
   core  seating  die.   The  die is sealed on both ends  by  punches,  so 
   pressure can be built up inside the jacket to expand it like a balloon.  
   If  you turn the jacket over so the closed end is toward to top of  the 
   cavity  in  a point forming die,  then you can apply a fair  amount  of 
   pressure  inside the jacket with an external punch that fits down  into 
   the jacket.  The fit must be close, to keep the pressure from extruding 
   lead around the punch. But it is practical and works well.
        If  you  put  a core inside a handgun jacket,  then  use  a  punch 
   (ordered as an open tip core seating external punch) that fits into the 
   jacket to press against the core,  and put the assembly into your point 
   forming  die (base first),  you will produce a full jacket,  open  base 
   handgun bullet.  
        Should you have a truncated conical point forming die, rather than 
   a  round nose shape,  you will actually have what could  be  considered 
   either  a  nose or a boattail base!   To use it as a  base,  eject  the 
   bullet and change the external punch to a regular Keith nose punch that 
   fits  into  the  point  forming  die  by  hand.    (Remember,  in  your 
   experiments,  to  try each punch by hand first -- you don't want to fit 
   the punch to the die permanently!)
        Now,  with  the Keith nose punch installed in  die, rather than 
   a  round nose shape,  you will actually have what could  be  considered 
   either  a  nose or a boattail base!   To use it as a  base,  eject  the 
   bullet and change the external punch to a regular Keith nose punch that 
   fits  into  the  point  forming  die  by  hand.    (Remember,  in  your 
   experiments,  to  try each punch by hand first -- you don't want to fit 
   the punch to the die permanently!)
        Now,  with  the Keith nose punch installed in  point 
   (depending on how much lead you moved forward) TC nose,  a short shank, 
   and a rebated boattail base -- what a combination!   But give it a try.  
   You  can load it either direction.   I like to make these bullets  with 
   about  one  caliber  length of straight shank.   That usually  means  a 
   bullet with one of the longer jackets and toward the heavier end of the 
   weight  scale.   But  as  you can see from some of  the  tests  in  the 
   magazines   (one  of  which  is  reproduced  in  the  Corbin  Technical 
   Bulletins)  this  design can result in a 40% improvement  in  ballistic 
   coefficient and as good or better accuracy than conventional shapes!
                    SHOTGUN SLUGS WITH ATTACHED BASE WADS
        This  is  a  task for the  Hydro-press  system.   There  are  many 
   possible kinds of highly accurate slugs you can produce.  One is a slug 
   that  fits  inside the Winchester Red Wad,  and is thus  made  slightly 
   under  normal diameter to use the sabot effect of the standard  plastic 
   wad.   Another is the slug with wad attached to it.   This operation is 
   quite  simple.    A die set can even be produced to stamp out excellent 
   wads from various materials.  The details of operating the press are in 
   the book "Power Swaging".  
        I will just outline the process here.  The wad is made with a hole 
   through the center.   The hole is precisely centered as a result of the 
   die-forming  process.   The pre-swaged core and wad are put into a  die 
   with a nose cavity punch in the die,  and a base punch having a  slight 
   depression in the face,  like a smooth rivet head, follows the wad into 
   the swage die. A core seating or lead semi-wadcutter type die is used.
        As  pressure  is applied,  the lead flows up into the  nose  punch 
   cavity and forms any desired shape of nose.  Usually a conical flat tip 
   or a domed shape is made.   The lead also presses hard against the wad, 
   and  finds a pressure escape through the hole in the middle of the wad.  
   The lead flows through this hole,  and fills the cavity in the head  of 
   the punch that is backing up the wad.
        The wad is compressed under tons of pressure,  and so is the lead.  
   The  lead  extrusion through the hole in the wad forms a perfect  rivet 
   head on the other side of the hole.   When the bullet is  ejected,  you 
   have a lead slug firmly attached to the wad,  which now tries to spring 
   back to original size and keeps pressure on the base of the slug.
        Another  unique twist on this is to form a hollow base cavity with 
   a  post in the middle,  and with a hole in the middle of the post  that 
   will take the threads of a number six or eight metal screw.   It  might 
   seem very complex, but in reality all you have to do is imagine a punch 
   having  a mirror image of this cavity and post and hole formed into the 
   steel  face.   The reamer and polishing work required  is,  of  course, 
   somewhat expensive.  But it is well within reason for anyone who wishes 
   to manufacture a unique kind of slug.
        The idea is to shift the weight forward, maintain a longer bearing 
   surface  for alignment,  without having a massive weight,  and  provide 
   solid  support in the middle of the cavity so that the wad is not blown 
   into the cavity upon firing.   The screw attaches the wad to the  post.  
   It  might even be possible to fill the cavity with cornstarch and  then 
   swage  the wad to the slug,  but this has not yet been tried (maybe  by 
   the time this book has been out a year, it will be common).
                          PRECISION AIRGUN PELLETS
        Airgun  pellets are really no different from any other hollow base 
   semi-wadcutter bullet.  The dies have smaller punches and cavities than 
   most calibers.   Corbin makes .20, .14, .17, .224, or anything else you 
   like.  Diameter is critical.  Rather than the waisted design, these are 
   like a precision handgun bullet in minature. 
        They  have  a deep hollow cavity and thin skirts to  give  a  good 
   seal,  and they usually are made slightly smaller than a waisted pellet 
   so that the bore friction is reduced.   Swaged with a Dip Lube coating, 
   they  provide  good  lubrication  that is consistent  and  dry  in  all 
   temperatures.  The  nose  can  be conical or of the  Keith  style  with 
   equally  good results.   Such pellets in .2235" diameter make excellent 
   indoor practice bullets or mouse shooters in a conventional  centerfire 
   rifle used with a primer only.
        There  are complex ways to swage the waisted pellet,  but it isn't 
   usually  worth  the  effort compared to the results you  get  with  the 
   simple  single die method in either reloading press or Mity  Mite.   In 
   the reloading press,  only a .22 pellet is offered,  unless a run of at 
   least 100 dies is ordered (for resale).   But in the Mity Mite, you can 
   have anything you wish.
                          PLASTIC TIP RIFLE BULLETS
        
        Several  of the common plastic rod materials swage nicely to  form 
   lead  tip  replacements  in any  conventional  rifle  caliber.   Nylon, 
   polyethylene,  and other "soft" plastics that can be shaped by pressure 
   and retain that shape after pressure is removed make nice tips for your 
   hunting  bullets.   The  idea of the plastic tip predates  the  current 
   Nosler design by many years,  as seen in the early Norma nylon tips and 
   in  home-swaged  bullets using Nylon tubeless tire patches  (plugs)  in 
   stark black or white.
        The  FBI  once  contacted Corbin about making  Nylon  bullets  for 
   handgun  use  in  an indoor training facility.   The  idea  came  about 
   because  a  conventional Speer Nylon bullet had a sharp  shoulder  that 
   prevented the use of speed loaders.   When these bullets were re-swaged 
   in  a  simple  Corbin point forming die,  right  off  the  shelf,  they 
   acquired  a  more bullet-like profile and worked  in  the  conventional 
   speed loader.  
        A side benefit turned out to be that the agency could reload these 
   plastic  bullets seemingly without end,  after reswaging to remove  the 
   rifling and other impact marks.   I have one left in my collection that 
   was shot and reloaded and reswaged over 25 times, and it could still go 
   on without any apparent change.  
        Nylon rod can be obtained from most plastic suppliers.   It can be 
   cut to short lengths in a lathe or bandsaw.   The bullet is made in the 
   same  way as any open tip design,  by seating the lead down inside  the 
   jacket with a punch which fits into the jacket.   But before the  point 
   is formed,  the short piece of Nylon is placed inside the jacket.   The 
   diameter should be close to the jacket ID.  
        When  the point is formed the jacket and Nylon plug smoothly swage 
   into one profile.  The ogive locks the plastic in place (it crimps into 
   the material since the plug is larger inside than at the external tip).
                             FRAGMENTING BULLETS 
        Bullet  swagers  have been making their  own  fragmenting  defense 
   bullets  for years.   It is extremely simple.   Just dipper a charge of 
   number twelve lead shot into a jacket,  and seat the shot like it was a 
   solid core.   Press a bit of soft wax or a thin cardboard wad over  the 
   shot.   A  wad can be made in a regular swage die of smaller caliber by 
   putting  a  bit  of cardboard between the punch  and  die  and  pushing 
   through it.  
        Then,  form  the  ogive in a point forming die.   To increase  the 
   fragmenting  effect,  first  roll or tumble a quantity of shot  with  a 
   little  dab  of  Corbin Swage Lube.   This lube  keeps  the  shot  from 
   sticking  together  -- it may appear solid when you swage  it,  but  on 
   impact it break up nicely.  
                             HYPERSPEED BULLETS
        What  would you call a bullet that goes 2000 fps from a snubby .38 
   Special?  Impossible?  No, you can develop an ultra-light bullet in any 
   caliber  and  then find a fast-burning charge of the  right  powder  to 
   propel it at unbelievable speed.  Some of the effects are dazzling.
        Here  is how you retain enough bearing for a semblence of accuracy 
   and still keep the bullet weight down:  use cornstarch as a core!  
        The  secret  is  out...but  only bullet  swagers  know  about  it.  
   Cornstarch  swages under high pressure to form a sort of  hard  plastic 
   material that is much lighter than any conventional jacket filling, yet 
   expands the jacket as well as lead under swaging pressures.  
        Because of the low density of the material,  even when swaged to a 
   plastic  state,  you  can make a regular length bullet that  seats  and 
   balances as it should, yet has very low inertia.  The sectional density 
   is  very  low,  which means it doesn't penetrate very far and  it  also 
   doesn't  fly  very  far before losing its speed.   Those  can  be  good 
   features in a defense bullet used in populated areas.  
        When  you top the cornstarch with a small amount of lead,  you can 
   produce  a method of delivering a devastating high velocity  projectile 
   without  nearly  as much danger to people behind the  intended  target.  
   Make the filling out of swaged lead shot of small diameter, rolled with 
   Corbin  Swage Lube,  and you have just produced a superior  fragmenting 
   bullet  with ultra-high velocity.   You need nothing special to do  all 
   this,  except the right punch to fit into the jacket at the depth where 
   you want to swage the material.
                  PARTITION STYLE HANDGUN OR RIFLE BULLETS 
        Putting  a partition across the middle of a bullet is as  easy  as 
   telescoping  two  different  diameters of  jackets  together.   This  is 
   covered  in some detail in the book "Rediscover  Swaging".   Basically, 
   the inside jacket is of smaller caliber and is about half the length of 
   the  outside jacket.   When jackets do not exist ready-made to fit this 
   way,  a  Corbin JRD-1 draw die can turn some available jacket into  the 
   right size.  
        In  the Hydro-press system,  it is possible to make partitions  by 
   folding  and  pressure-welding the actual jacket wall material  into  a 
   band across the jacket at any desired point.  Copper tubing is normally 
   selected,  so  you have both the benefit of the soft copper tubing  and 
   the partition effect.   If you want to go one further,  add Corbin Core 
   Bond and a little heat, and you have a bonded core, partitioned, copper 
   tube  bullet  -- something none of the famous firms who are  known  for 
   making one of these features apiece have managed to combine.
             
               PENETRATOR CORE OR LIQUID FILLED CAVITY BULLETS
        I  group these two styles because they are made the same  way.   A 
   set of special punches is made to seat a very light core in the  bottom 
   of the jacket.   One punch seats the core,  and the other puts a center 
   in  the  core.   Then  a long hollow point punch slips  down  into  the 
   jacket,  finds the center, and starts extruding lead up along the punch 
   sides.  Plenty of good lube is required on the punch. 
        The  punch  is withdrawn,  leaving a long,  deep cavity  precisely 
   centered  in a lead sheath inside the jacket.   A carbide,  uranium  or 
   other heavy metal core can be placed in this cavity.   It works best if 
   the  insert  material is slightly larger than the cavity for  a  gentle 
   press fit.  A punch can also be made to do this.  
        Corbin  does  not provide these heavy metal  cores.  Most  of  the 
   people  who  do  this work are able to obtain their  own  from  defense 
   agencies  or  suppliers.   Such  bullets are usually made  for  special 
   projects  within the military and are discussed here only to  show  the 
   possibilities.   Liquid  filling  for  the  same cavity  can  easiy  be 
   substituted.   A  lead ball is placed in the end of the cavity to  help 
   seal  it,  and then the bullet is put into a point forming die and  the 
   ogive  shape extrudes lead over the widest part of the ball  and  locks 
   the assembly together.
                   ULTRA PRECISION BENCHREST RIFLE BULLETS
        The quality of the bullets you can make in a typical Corbin  swage 
   die  for the Mity Mite or Hydro-press will equal or exceed that of  any 
   bullet  made  today.   You do not need to pay thousands of dollars  for 
   special "benchrest" quality.  The best quality that money can buy comes 
   far less dear than some folks imagine possible.  
        On  the  other  hand,  I do not recommend the  die  sets  that  we 
   manufacture  for  use  in a reloading press as benchrest  bullet  dies.  
   They  are  good dies,  and have often been used to  make  match-winning 
   bullets.   But the system does not lend itself to what I would call the 
   ultimate control over the bullet weight and style.  
        Reloading  press  dies are made to work in a press  that  was  not 
   designed specifically for bullet swaging.   Corbin Mity Mite and Hydro-
   press  dies  were  designed along with the  press,  without  having  to 
   consider factors necessary for reloading.  The Hydro-press and the Mega 
   Mite  press both handle reloading as a side benefit,  not as a  primary 
   goal that might restrict optimum design for bullet making.
        Alignment,  sensitivity of control ("feel",  if you like), balance 
   of  the  forces that tend to produce ram torque,  amount of press  head 
   movement under stress,  maximum leverage potential,  and other  factors 
   from  how ejection is handled to where the top of the ram comes to rest 
   in relation to the press head,  are all optimized for bullet making the 
   the special swaging presses.   These things simply are not there,  in a 
   reloading press.   It doesn't matter how big or strong or expensive the 
   press  is:   if  it was made primarily for reloading  ammo,  it  wasn't 
   optimized for making bullets.  
        I  have  had  a few perverse clients shoot  winning  matches  with 
   bullets  made  in our standard reloading press dies,  and they  enjoyed 
   telling their fellow shooters (who had spent thousands of  dollars,  in 
   some  cases,  for  the  "right" benchrest equipment) how  little  their 
   equipment  cost (usually under $250 for everything -- dies  alone  cost 
   about $160).   But while it can be done,  I certainly feel that you are 
   better  advised  to  use equipment made with all the  benefits  of  the 
   special swaging press in mind.
        There  are two secrets to making benchrest  bullets.   First,  the 
   jackets  themselves  must be very concentric and should be  weighed  so 
   that  you  can cull out any over or under a nominal  value.   Different 
   weight by itself has little effect on the bullet path,  within a factor 
   of from 1 to 2 percent of the total bullet weight.  (Calculate the drop 
   difference and you will see that one-hole groups at 100 yards are still 
   possible  with  bullets that weigh plus or minus half a grain in  a  55 
   grain .224 caliber,  or bullets that have 1.5 grain variation in a  150 
   grain .308 caliber).
        The  problem  with weight variation is that it can be caused by  a 
   thicker  base,  thicker walls,  or even a difference in wall  thickness 
   from one side to the other.   If it is merely a bit longer  jacket,  it 
   won't  have  much  effect.   And the heavier  or  lighter  jackets,  by 
   themselves,  do  not  cause bad groups.   It is a mixture of  different 
   jackets that can throw off the group size.   A heavier or lighter  wall 
   is  not  bad,  it  just  can't be used with something  different  in  a 
   benchrest match.  
        The  next  secret  is  consistency in the  method  of  making  the 
   bullets.   The  little  rituals and weird theories about what  makes  a 
   bullet shoot are a lot of fun for the people who believe in  them,  and 
   even  if  they make little sense to rational people,  I see no harm  in 
   following the latest fad in regard to many of the rituals.   But for  a 
   person  who is mainly interested in fact,  and wants to see what really 
   does  and does not make a difference,  it doesn't take too long to  see 
   that a machine rest in an indoor tunnel easily proves that  consistency 
   makes more difference than any specific method.
        In  other words,  whatever you do in regard to how you apply  your 
   lubricant,  whether  or  not  you  "rest" the  cores  overnight  before 
   swaging,  or  whether  or not you spin and weigh each  bullet  in  some 
   questionable  fixture or tool made to point up some mysterious accuracy 
   factor,  the real effects will come from doing things the same way each 
   time,  so  all the bullets do indeed come out looking and shooting  the 
   same way.
        Some of these rituals help produce a more consistent bullet, often 
   for reasons not entirely related to the goal that the shooter feels  he 
   is  trying  to  reach by that ritual.   Benchrest  shooting  originally 
   brought  a  great many serious benefits and pointed out errors  in  how 
   bullets were being made during the 1940's and 50's.   To some extent, a 
   level  of mystique and fraternalism has moved into the place that  used 
   to  be  held by serious investigation,  with the quirks of  the  latest 
   winner being slavishly repeated by next year's would-be winners.
        But this is true in all competitive sports.   Winning matches does 
   not necessarily make the shooter an expert on every aspect of the tools 
   and  equipment  used  to win.   Sometimes a good  deal  of  winning  is 
   attitude  and  practice,  especially when equipment differences  become 
   very slight at the top levels.  All of this is merely to point out that 
   making benchrest quality bullets is not necessarily the exclusive realm 
   of  a white-bearded wizzard who knows cosmic secrets  which  you,  mere 
   mortal, can hardly be expected to understand.
        As  a matter of fact,  nearly anyone with a reasonably good set of 
   dies  and  careful attention to what he is doing can turn  out  bullets 
   capable of one-hole groups.   Then it is up to the rest of the  system, 
   including the handload and the gun, the shooter and the fates that blow 
   the winds, to let that one-hole group appear on any given day.
        This  information  doesn't play well with those who would like  to 
   have you believe there are dark secrets beyond your reach,  which  only 
   certain  people  (who happen to have something they might -- hold  your 
   breath!  -- be persuaded to sell you) have in their posession.  But you 
   can prove it to yourself, and to anyone else who doesn't have too big a 
   stake in keeping it quiet!   There is no fundamental difference in  the 
   potential  quality  of a .458 bullet,  a .600 Nitro bullet,  or a  .224 
   benchrest bullet made by the process of swaging outlined here.
        All  swaged  bullets  made  by  hand  on  good  equipment,   using 
   consistent components, can be made carefully and well.  They can all be 
   benchrest  bullets  of their caliber.   A heavy  recoiling  .458  isn't 
   likely  to  produce as tight a group as a conventional .224 short  case 
   benchrest  cartridge  using  specially selected  primers,  but  if  you 
   compare  similar kinds of guns and loads,  you will soon see that  your 
   own  home-built  bullets  stack up in the same way  as  benchrest  .224 
   bullets stack up against the average factory offering.
        You have nothing to fear in the accuracy department,  in regard to 
   the  dies  or the bullets you can make,  given the  material  and  care 
   necessary.   Do not, however, make the error of assuming that a perfect 
   bullet  will turn an average rifle into a benchrest gun.   It will not.  
   The errors caused by poor bedding,  a light barrel,  gas cutting in the 
   throat or leade,  improper powder charges,  or even a less than  steady 
   shooter,  will  completely  overwhelm the slight errors produced  by  a 
   bullet of average quality.   No difference between a perfect bullet and 
   an  average one could be told with most of the guns that are capable of 
   being  carried afield,  if the load is right and the shooter  does  his 
   part.
        A  good discussion of accuracy and bullet design can be found  the 
   the  textbook,  "Rediscover  Swaging".   The techniques  for  obtaining 
   greater  than  usual  core weight consistency and proper  core  seating 
   are  also  discussed in this book.   Multiple passes at  core  swaging, 
   holding the pressure for a consistent length of time,  application of a 
   precision film of lube rather than the usual transfer of lube with  the 
   fingers, and other factors that increase the consistency of results are 
   discussed.  
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