.600 homemade bullets

Casull

Casull

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My recent project is a .600/577 NE rifle. Here is my first attempt at making some bullets for it. I don't yet have a mould so I improvised. The bullets are made of 1/2" copper pipe with a lead core, then turned to proper diameter of .620" The other cartridge in the picture is a .30/06 with a 180 grain bullet. The .30 cal. bullets are a 180 grain Speer and 100 grain Speer plinker which I sort of styled these bullets after. My bullet prototypes here weigh 1300 grains, 1120 grains, 925 grains and 780 grains. Notice the hollow point in the 1120 grain bullet. The cartridge on the left is a 3" case and the one on the right 2 1/2". Any hints or suggestions would be appreciated.
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600 bullets

tiriaq hit the nail on the head with his question. If the base isn't closed what is to keep the lead from leaving the bullet and the jacket left behind in the bore? If you have an answer to that already you might consider grooving the bullet jacket a la Barnes to reduce pressure and fouling.
 
Why don't you use copper pipe caps for the jacket plus a lead core then swage the whole works together? Probably have to make a separate nose piece for the swage so that you can tap the bullet out. I am thinking in terms of a nose form that nests inside of the body portion and protrudes to the outside so you can tap it back out.

cheers mooncoon
 
Or use solid Copper shaft and use your lathe to hollow out the copper.
Thats alot of dicking around tho.
The Copper end caps would be easyer but there not as long as some of the pipe in your pics. + the 1/2 inch copper end caps are to big Dia wise as i was gona use em for cases in my Big 60 caliber pin fire.
 
the reason for copper caps is uniformity in weight and thickness which would be difficult if you are making them from solid stock. A heavily built swage with a bit of luck could crush the cap down to a tight fit over the core. You would probably be wise to anneal the caps first

cheers mooncoon
 
You could also groove the outside of the copper pipe with a pipe cutter before the machining to size is done. This would crimp the copper to the lead, maybe.
 
Hey,
The flux idea is what I was shooting for. I have a swage die in my lathe right now, I think that will make it somewhat easier. I was reading in an older book about this method and they were staying together in the big bores. I have not yet tried it. I like the idea of the caps. Are there any with an OD of around .620"? A little bigger would work as I could swage or turn. I see the need here for a swaging die also.
I think Bearman's idea there is worth trying also. Has anyone though about simply drilling a hole through and putting in a pin or even two. Any thoughts? This is all an experiment, so all ideas are appreciated. I'm not claiming to know what I'm doing, just seeing what I can end up with. I do plan to make some sort of .620" mould, I am thinking turning a .58 in a four jaw and using a small boring bar? Any hints?
thanks,
Rob
 
What sort of MV's are you looking at? If this is a dangerous game rifle, you may want to consider using hardened lead, so it performs as a solid. Or simply cast & harden .600 bullets, if the MV's sufficiently low (<2200 or so)
 
I doubt the velocities will pass 2200 fps. I live in bear country and I will use the rifle if I get good results. It will likely go out for big moose and bears. I do intend to cast bullets as well. I just want to see how this works with the tubing or caps.
Rob
 
Drilling and pining might work.
What about drilling in from the back of the Tube/ Copper caseing makeing a step then makeing the lead come in from the back so the nose fits in past the step out the front as far as needed and then the sholder of the step stops the wider dia of the lead plug.
Sorta like lineing a barrel thats shot out in two dia so it dont shoot the liner down the range when you fire the gun :D
Man i wish i could explain things better LOL
A two step lead core into a two step copper outer tube. Hows that. :)
Oh and throw a pin in there for yuks
 
I see your idea of the steps I think. I could bore "ledges" inside for the lead to shoulder on.
I got to beating on them today and I did get the cores to loosen. I have to do something with it for sure. I might try the pin idea too and maybe the ledges. If anyone has access to some copper caps, I would be interested in knowing the decimal diamter of them. I might take my calipers to the hardware store on the weekend and see what I come up with. I usually get some funny looks poking around there measuring everything.
Thanks for the help.
Rob
 
Casull:

I followed your link from the black powder forum.

You have some very interesting ideas there.

Perhaps you have already done this, but have you talked to the Corbin boys??

I know that people like Richard Graves of Wild Cat infamy do, or did use their equipment to make bullets, and I understand they are great guys and have a wealth of info to share. They may have some insights, or perspectives you may not have thought of.

Just a suggestion

Regards and all the best

R
 
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Dont know if this is a bad idea but what would happen if you just sodered a copper disc accross the back of the tube wouldnt that push the whole works out the barrel?

You could make copper plugs that fit part way inside the rear of the copper tube and flush across the whole back dia of the tube then soder them in. you would need some 1/2 inch solid copper shaft to make the plugs tho.
 
Im useing 24 ga brass shotgun cases to make cases for the 60 caliber pin fire ammo im makeing.The finished dia of my cases after triming is .640
Im posting this cause i was wondering if you could use brass as a jacket as these cases have the ends taken care of i just gota fill the primer hole kinda expensive at $1 each but copper end caps aint cheep either.
I dont know as i never seen brass jacketed bullets guess theres a good reason.
click on pic to enlarge
 
I seem to be out of 1/2" copper caps, but they should be the same O.D. and I.D. as couplers, tees and elbows I would think. Measuring a coupler, I get 0.700 to 0.702 for O.D., it seems to be a tiny bit out of round. I.D measures 0.627 to 0.628, which should be just a couple thousandths larger than the copper pipe you are using. Maybe you could soldered a cap onto the pipe before turning it down, then turn the whole works (cap included) to 0.620, leaving you with a flat disc soldered to the back of the "jacket". Similar to what Dingus suggested, but eliminates the need to find copper bar stock.
 
Hmmm.. Yeah, I see. I will try a few here and see what I come up with.
Dingus, you have a good supply of 24 gauge brass? That is not a bad solution. The case in the pic on the right is a 24 gauge case. It's only 2 1/2" long but the right dimensions otherwise for this round. I am sure it will make a good case for reduced loads. I am wondering how I could turn it into bullets too. I have a swaging die in the chuck of my lathe now, I will have that done when time allows, likely the weekend. Anyone know another pipe diameter for the caps? What is the OD of 3/8" pipe and so on?
Thanks for all the help guys, I know we'll get something going. It's fun too! You're all welcome to shoot a few if you're passing through and feel a need to shoot a .600.
Rob
 
I would suggest swaging the 1/2 caps down to near finished diameter first, pushing them base first through a tube more or less. Have an entrance hole of cap diameter then a tapered section and a finished diameter.
I would then cast up cores which were near pure lead (for ease in swaging) and swage the copper base and core together into the final shape. Tlhe cast core would obviously be slightly smaller than the inside of the cap and would upset to final diameter during the swaging.
Don't forget to anneal the base between the first swaging and the second one and you might have to swage the base down in two or three steps before adding the core.

cheers mooncoon
 
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