Regulating my double rifle

[Leatherman]

I am so sorry I said I used Cobra bullets. I meant to say Hawk Presision bullet company. Check them out. They offer custom sized bullets in lots of weights. They even offer different thickness and hardness in jackets and lead core and you can tell them where you want he caniler on the bullet. I have ordered and used a .358" and a .352" 200 grain bullets with their thinnest and softest jacket for two of my 9.3 x72 hammer drillings that had bores of these sizes and they proved very accurate. I haven't shot any game with them but plan to get at least a whitetail with one of them someday . I like the idea of useing the softer and thinner jacketed bullets in these older hammer guns. I believe the Buffalo Arms and S&B factory ammo uses soft thin jackets on their bullets so they squish down easier in tight bores along with the design of the bullet itself. When Buffalo Arms gets the Tesla style bullet in I will stock up on them too. Let us know how it goes with bumping up .358" bullets. You might not know how the donor bullet is constructed as it will be more likely a modern pistol bullet .

[mike ford]

Leatherman,
I haven't used Hawk bullets either( I still have a "stash" of RWS), but everybody seems to have very good results with them. As far as donor bullets, for bumping up, any bullet 200gr or less, intended for either "modern pistol" or 35 Rem., should be fine.
Mike

[Diz]

Leatherman,

I had a falling out with Hawk a long time ago and I wish them well but don't use their products. I can make my own now and it's more fun anyway. I am not sure what speed to expect out of your cartridge but I would think as Mike suggests that anything for a 35 Rem or a really good pistol bullet would work fine. I have had some luck with the 200 grain Remington for the 35. I am refining the die set I made to try for a more two diameter style bullet. We'll see how that goes.

Thanks, Diz

[mike ford]

Even though I have the bullets I need, for myself, I am very interested in the process and dies. Keep us informed Diz.
Mike

[Diz]

Mike, I am working on an improved nose punch that should give me more of the two diameter style bullet that I am seeking. Right now it looks like it has to be done in two steps but I will let you know how it comes out. Thanks, Diz

[mike ford]

Diz,
I was "worrying" out a design of dies for my Herter bullet Swaging press. If I insist on a 2 diameter bullet, I may have to make them upside down to be able to eject the finished bullet. It might also be necessary to size the nose portion of the donor bullet, to fit inside the punch. I'm thinking all this may be "too much sugar for a nickel". A two diameter bullet is not necessary, if you know the barrel it will be used in.
Mike

[Diz]

Mike,

I don't think there is a way around an ejector pin. I am finding that the small diameter portion of the bullet is very firmly stuck in the point die from the pressure of reducing the diameter. I had to increase the meplat to .200" to get a clean ejection. I wish I had some of the old style Keith half jacket bullets. They would upset perfectly I think. You may be right about this being more effort than it is worth. I do have a nice 200 grain mold that I should be using instead but now I am doing it just to see if I can make it work.

Thanks, Diz

[Diz]

So here is a picture of the first good one out of the die. The bullet to the left is a 180 grain Remington .357 diameter pistol bullet and the one on the left is reformed to 9.3mm. I tried to get a better picture but it is very difficult to see where the step is because it falls on the cannelure of the bullet but you may see a bit of the taper just below it. The major diameter is .366 while the minor is .358 at the cannelure and then tapers slightly toward the point for relief.

93 two dia.jpg

I may make up ten to test but don't know where this is going. Thanks, Diz

[mike ford]

Diz,
The Herter swaging die set has an ejector pin, that works from the bottom. The nose punch is contoured and threaded to adjust the length(weight). The die, itself, is open at both ends, so to make a two diameter bullet would mean a two diameter die. The problem making it necessary to form the bullet upsidedown, is ejecting the bullet. Unless made upsidedown, the larger diameter would have to pass through the smaller part of the die. Also, the ejector pin would have to be contoured to form the nose. I don't think all this would be necessary, as long as the bullet is made to fit the barrel it will be used in.
I can't see why your bullet wouldn't work. Did you try the 200gr 35 Rem. bullet, the cannelure might not fall at the "step".
Mike

[sharps4590]

It looks good to me. As with Mike I don't see why it wouldn't work. Both of you guys are so far above my primitive capabilities it's laughable.

[mike ford]

Vic,
We all provide what we can. You helped MARAT with blackpowder loads for his 11.15x60R and that was over my head.
Mike

[Diz]

Vic & Mike,

I for one have learned a few things from both of you. I started this exercise because all the RWS and S&B bullets I have in 193 grain are two diameter and just thought the factories wouldn't bother unless there was a reason. I made an open ended die as Mike describes for this one to accommodate the different diameters. I don't have any of the Remington rifle bullets in stock so I tried a 200 grain Hornady spire point but the jacket split apart at the nose. This is a very slow process and only worth it if nothing else was available so I think I am going to put it aside for now and work on the cast bullets.

Thanks, Diz

[mike ford]

Diz,
The reason the factories made two diameter bullets, was because they would be shot in rifles with different diameter barrels. That way it would be accurate in a .364" barrel, yet not blow up a .352" one. If you are making bullets for a rifle, you have "in hand", you only have to worry about that one barrel. I also shoot more cast, than jacketed bullets.
Mike

[Diz]

Mike,

Again, I am amazed at the variation in bore diameters of these guns. That is quite a stretch but my Collath drilling measures at .366 groove diameter and so I sized these accordingly. They actually are .3665" as I got a little carried away when polishing the die. I can see why a chamber cast and bore slug is a must on these guns and always a good idea anyway. I reformed ten and may try them soon.

Thanks, Diz

[mike ford]

Diz,
Let us know how they shoot.
Mike