Swaging .223 Bullets from .22LR Brass with a Blackmon Swaging System – Chapter 1 – Making Jackets Melting lead alloys in moulds may be the most common way to make your own bullets, but it’s not the only option.  A small, but equally dedicated number of reloaders also make their own ammunition using modified or […]

In chapter three of this series, we seated some cast lead cores into our brass jackets using the Blackmon core seating die.  In chapter four, we're going to complete our bullets by performing the final step in the process, point forming.

Dillon's Super Swage 600 is a premium model stand-alone primer pocket swaging system. The tool includes everything you need to normalize primer pockets on several different calibers and can be installed in a manner of minutes. Once configured, the Super Swage 600 is incredibly fast; even a novice operator can expect to churn out 300-400 casings an hour with very little effort. Though cheaper options like drilling or filing do exist, the build construction, precision and above all speed of this tool more than justifies the expense. Regular use of military surplus brass vs civilian casings will also allow reloaders to quickly recoup their initial investment.

In chapter one of this series we made some brass jackets out of discarded .22LR casings using the Blackmon jacket swaging die.  In chapter two, we're going move on to the next step in the process of swaging bullets; making lead cores.

In chapter two of this series, we made some 45gr cores using pure lead and the Blackmon core swaging die.  In chapter three, we're going to seat the cores in preparation for point forming.

This video documents my recent experiment with swaging 124-grain 9mm bullets up to .45 caliber so I could produce an unusually light-for-caliber .45 ACP load. The results were enigmatic: accuracy was reasonably good, in spite of the fact that almost all the bullets were keyholing. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to […]