Is it worth it?

[iiranger]

and jackets from 22 rimfire cases? never heard of that

Oh yes III,

Stever at .303british.com makes/sells rimfire jacket bullets and has pictures of his work posted... more at graybeardoutdoors.com under bullet making too. luck.

[Ksmirk]

WOW all sorts of stuff to think about! and where have I been? well I've not been in this world all that long just getting started at 38 been loading and shooting LR since I was well I have always shot what most think is too far! velocity over 3200fps dang it! my 223 will really screw with that then but the 308 which is shot a lot more would prob like them and the 243. Well the dies that I was thinking about getting and the lead might be put off a little bit don't seem to work there anymore! but it was on good terms since I knew they had all that lead and since they fired me maybe they will feel bad about it and give me a break on price! Thanks fella's and I'll catch up with ya later.

Kirk

[georgeld]

Talk to 'em about it then.
Sorry about the job. Happens to some of us.
Best cure for that?? Start your own business!
I did, best deal of my life. One major mistake.
Didn't buy income protection insurance. Those two yrs til
SS started ruined me. SO, anyone in business for themselves.
Get the minimum of two yrs insurance before you even buy groceries!
BTDT, can't find better advice anywhere for the price.

Good luck,

[J. Valentine]

I think in the long run it is a decision you have to want to make.
You have to want to make your own bullets.
Its the same motivation that makes people want to reload and fit barrels etc etc.
If someone has to talk you into it well maybe you are not ready just yet.
I personally found bullet swaging a natural progression after reloading and tuning rifles .
Once I perfect something I move on.
The satisfaction comes in all different ways to different people.
Some will rejoice in the consistant accuracy they achieve others just the fact that they have made their own.
I think if you take it on with visions of selling bullets and making money then it becomes a business not a pleasure.

[georgeld]

JV:
believe you've got it nailed there.
Same with reloads. IF friends want some now and then, swap 'em, donate a few etc. But, for a business? Then it becomes a drudgery/have to deal. Takes the pleasure out of it for me.

[J. Valentine]

Making a reasonable jacket from a long rifle rimfire case is an art in itself.
First you have to have a drawing punch with a good shape to the head of the punch. It is a wasp type shape that gats fatter at the top.
This irons out the rim and balloons the head of the jacket a bit to stretch the rim right out.
Second is another straight punch of slightly larger diameter to redraw it all straight.
When you point form the bullets you usea cup base point forming base punch
(Convex punch ) This will leave a concave base to the bullet that will further reduce the effect of brands and rim marks on accuracy.
Thirdly to drive them at higher velocities , core bonding can be employed, to stop jacket shedding.
However no matter how much you try they will never shoot as good as bullets made with good quality commercial jackets.
Although I have acheaved around 1 MOA with the ones I made in the past.

[Bayou City Boy]

Bullet making isn't something everyone probably wants to get involved in. It is tedious work making a good bullet.

On the other hand, I have bought very few factory 20 caliber bullets over the years because I feel I can make a better bullet than I can buy. I actually bought my bullet making set up before there was much of a factory bullet list - pre-204 Ruger days...

It takes a pretty good initial investment for a good set of dies, but either of the Corbin brothers plus others can get you going in fine style.

One of the first posts in this section is about making bullets in some detail. You might want to look back at it...

JMO - BCB

[Ksmirk]

Make bullets for a living? HELL NO! I'm just looking to better a good thing if that makes any sense, I would like to be able to make my own bullets for my LR addiction getting to where a common Joe is hard pressed to buy SMK's in any volume but I guess everything is getting more expensive!

Yes sir going into business for myself would be great! right now it's not a great option but I'm working on it, trying to relocate back to small town America so I can try to enjoy a little and I just hate the city life. Fella's I really appreciate all your help and the places you have sent me to go get more information a big THANKS to ya! Later,

Kirk

[georgeld]

Making bullets is about the same as reloading. Just half a dozen or so simple, easy steps that require the proper tools, time and effort to produce. Like most everything else in life a man might make himself. A little talent, desire and care in making a decent product helps produce much better bullets, or anythng else for that matter.

JV: in my Sako rebarreled .223 when it was fresh. Another shooter and I combined all our bullets 55gr and less. Ended up with 19 from 35-55gr. My standard all the time load is: 25gr 4895, or at that time 23gr AA2200 regardless of bullet. THey were all loaded the same.
I am not a believer in loading as hot as possible. I no longer drive that way either. I see no point at all in running anything at the max. Guns, women, cars, or even throwing rocks at passing cars. Just a good average is much better than burning things up. Life's lessons from doing so for yrs has convinced me of the folly of such nonsense, but, yes, it did take me quite a few yrs to figure those things out. Whether you agree or not is your business.

The results of sorting bullets with that load and the fresh barrel was fun, and I learned a lot. Two of the bullets were made of .22 jackets even!!
Guess what? both of those two made about 3/4" groups.
40gr V max were one holers, about as tight a groups as I've ever fired. .230" for five shots. The homemades were from a now closed business in MT. They were nice looking, well made bullets selling for $6/100.

Amazing as it may seem, 40gr orange tipped Noslers produced 1 1/4" the best they'd do. That was ONE sample, of course another box, or batch may produce the best of all. I was merely wanting to see what the new barrel would do, had my load figured out. Had never 'sorted bullets' before, for sure not to this extent. and No, I didn't work at a dozen other things and ways trying to 'develop the most accurate load either.

First batch was five of each, sorted and kept apart for record. All that were not under an inch were discarded after the first five shots. The tightest four I loaded ten more of each of those for final sorting.

Scientific? No. Good enough to satisfy most of Saubier shooters? I doubt it. Good enough to satisfy GEORGE? Shore was.

I've settled on the cheapest 55gr I can find by the buckets full for p/dogging. 40gr Vmax for around livestock, ranch's where I need to impress the ranchers with diligent care and such things that do matter most, special care in not shooting unless a miss will hit the ground fairly close to the target. I don't want any richochet's. These things were my ideas and goals. At the time it was plenty to satisfy me. So far, I've stuck with the same results until running out of 2200, since then I've fallen back on old reliable 4895.

[J. Valentine]

George , I like Sako's also and have two . A 22-250 varmint A11 and a .308 sporter A11.
I make a 144 grain PPFB 308 bullet and a 180 grain PPFB core bonded bullet.
Use the 144 in the 308 and the 180 in a 30-06 Mauser .
Would upload a photo but it will not work.