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Does anyone swage 22rf spent cases in to 223 bullets? Or any swaging? If you do, is it cost effective? I know the material used is free if you pick up your own cases and get cheap lead, but the tools are a bit high. I just buy my bullets, but have thought about swaging bullets. I have even thought about getting molds and making my own bullets and waxing them up. Seems simple enough on the latter but it still costs about 75 bucks for the lead smelter and 28 bucks give or take for a bullet mold. Paraffin and a crayon and some VPJ is the ingredients used in most lubes that are homemade.
I have never tried it, but I know it can be done. Corbin does or at least did offer kits/presses. I do cast bullets, have used them successfully in the usual handguns, 30-30, have reached about 85% of "full" velocity (estimated) in a 30-06 with heavier bullets, and have got good results even in 22-250 and 220 Swift (these at about half max velocity - I'm an engineer, not a magician!) Check out the Cast Bullet Association's websites, consider buying the book they offer with a title something like "Cast for Beginner and Experienced" or something like that.Casting bullets is pretty involved, you need a lead melting pot, a ladle or a bottom-pour pot, the moulds, a lube-sizer, and a case-mouth belling die (Lyman "M" die) so you can seat them in bottleneck cases. The alloy to cast with and lubes to use are subject to considerable debate among CBA members. I like wheel-weight alloy with maybe a little tin added to improve cast-abilty, and LBT blue lube. But that's just me, and I have not won any cast bullet matches.
I haven't tried swaging bullets in a good number of years. Maybe the dies are better today, but back then, I couldn't keep them conformed to standards. Mic them out and they didn't set well with bullseye competition. So if you are talking something beyond 50 yards, you are talking about something that shot like a boomerang. Maybe they got better through the years, but I got sour on them a long time ago.
When I reloaded .223 I used jacketed soft points.
I was working for a good hunting round but did not like such a small round for hunting when I was done.
When I reloaded .223 I used jacketed soft points.
I was working for a good hunting round but did not like such a small round for hunting when I was done.
Unless your shooting Coyotes or very small game, the 223 is a crap round. I have used it on deer and its crap crap crap. If you take head shots it may work other than that I can not print crap enough. I will stick with the tried and true proven 30 cals for me. 308 and the 06 work very well on most any game in north America. I shot one small deer in the UP of Michigan about 120 pounds, 8 times with the 223, right behind the shoulder at 25 yds it ran almost half a mile before dying. non of the bullets reached its heart. I shot a much larger deer 13 point with one 06 round and it wend down in the same tracks it was standing when I pulled the trigger. I can give you several examples of the same thing. If you hunt bigger game with a 223 its a chase em round. You are better off with bow.
Funny. I went way left field on my hunting rifle. I now hunt with a Marlin Guide gun 1895 in 45/70.
The .223 was back in 1980 or so with my Mini-14, it just did not deliver like my .308. The .223 round never did impress me.
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