Bullet resizing

[gewehr76]

Hi all
Is it possible to resize .356 copper plated bullets to lets say .323 or even 308? Is there a special die to use with lube?
I have not done anything similar.
Can someone clue me in?

Thanks.
G76

 

[Johnny_Zanni]

People have resized jacketed bullets, Like .375 bullets to .366 but I would say that .356 to .308 is way to much, especially for a plated bullet as the plating would probably crack.

 

[Spawn-Inc]

you would have to do it in several steps and keep it centred every time it goes through the die so i doesn't size unevenly.

just for fun i resized 2 plated 9mm bullets and 1 cast 9mm down to .330 in my lee sizer. i used lee's case lube with isopropyl alcohol and it sized with a bit of force, but not a whole lot. i used a lee hand held press.

it worked nicely on the 124gr berry's plated bullet, fairly good with the 158gr SWC plated bullet and bad on the 105gr SWC cast boolit.

EDIT: and since these work with my 7.62x25mm brass i converted for shotshells in my glock 17, i loaded up some bullets lol.

 

[gewehr76]

Ok so with bench press and lube, its no problem? Does jacket stays intact?

you would have to do it in several steps and keep it centred every time it goes through the die so i doesn't size unevenly.

just for fun i resized 2 plated 9mm bullets and 1 cast 9mm down to .330 in my lee sizer. i used lee's case lube with isopropyl alcohol and it sized with a bit of force, but not a whole lot. i used a lee hand held press.

it worked nicely on the 124gr berry's plated bullet, fairly good with the 158gr SWC plated bullet and bad on the 105gr SWC cast boolit.

EDIT: and since these work with my 7.62x25mm brass i converted for shotshells in my glock 17, i loaded up some bullets lol.

 

[Spawn-Inc]

for that sizing the plating did, i suspect it would be harder to size an actual jacketed round, but not impossible. on the berry plated bullet it worked perfectly which is the one on the left. the one in the middle had a small skirt on it, but not like the cast one did on the right.


what are you trying to load for?

 

[gewehr76]

Thank you for input . I'm trying to make some bullets for nagant revolver. Also some 8mm for plinking.
So regular lee sizing die is that what you used?

for that sizing the plating did, i suspect it would be harder to size an actual jacketed round, but not impossible. on the berry plated bullet it worked perfectly which is the one on the left. the one in the middle had a small skirt on it, but not like the cast one did on the right.


what are you trying to load for?

 

[Spawn-Inc]

Yup, I might makes some more for my styer m95 and see how accuracy. But it wouldn't be for a while.

 

[sawzall]

I have never tried plated bullets, but I have great success sizing Lee tl356-95-rf which drop @ .3585" with acww in one pass after dip lubing in 45-45-10 and letting it dry...down to .329" and use them in my 8mm French Ordnance M1892. They get quite a bit longer and have a very slight ring around the base where the lead extrudes over the base punch which I remove with my RCBS case chamfer tool. They work and shoot fantastic for me. The 2 tiny lube grooves stay and they need no more lube. Without lube in the lube grooves they disappear which is ok if you want to powder coat. They size down almost .030" in one shot effortlessly with my Rock Chucker press. If I try pushing them through base first they turn into wadcutters. Sizing down jacketed bullets is generally frowned upon as the copper jacket can spring back a small amount after sizing and separate from the lead core which does not spring back at all. They can then separate much easier. Definitely not for hunting use after!

 

[zuke]

Yup, I might makes some more for my styer m95 and see how accuracy. But it wouldn't be for a while.

I like that idea! Now to find a handful to play with.......

 

[BigUglyMan]

Guys used go have to swage .375" bullets down to .366" to feed their 9.3s in the days before Ted brought it to the mainstream. If I was going to try to swage down a bullet to .323" I would start with a .338" bullet rather than something way bigger. And given the selection of bullets available today I'm not sure why you would bother.

 

[Spawn-Inc]

I like that idea! Now to find a handful to play with.......

I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect the 158gr round nose 38's will size nicely as the 124's did.

 

[Northman999]

Pretty sure Trade ex sells bullets for those oddball 8mm pistols.

I've resized bullets several times, more than .010 is a PITA. It can be done of course.

My advise is spend more time looking for someone selling the actual bullet you want and less time trying to change around what you've got.

You may be pleasantly surprized what you find out there.....

 

[sawzall]

Pretty sure Trade ex sells bullets for those oddball 8mm pistols.

I've resized bullets several times, more than .010 is a PITA. It can be done of course.

My advise is spend more time looking for someone selling the actual bullet you want and less time trying to change around what you've got.

You may be pleasantly surprized what you find out there.....

So I guess I should throw away all the 32-20 brass I converted to use in my revolver as well, huh? Seriously, I have a proper sized mold for my 8mm, but wanted to try something different and in a bullet profile not available. You know anyone else shooting Ranch Dog boolits in a 8mm "Lebel" revolver?While I would never do it or recommend it for precision shooting, for plinking and pigeon busting loads, it works fantastic! In fact it's the only boolit that shoots to point of aim for me. Besides, with 34 molds currently in my possesion and 2 more group buy molds on the way, I'm not about to buy boolits from anyone else.