casting / swaging airgun slugs

[Aggy]

Just received an email. Back from Dave Corbin the uk and Canada are two of the few people he is still exporting too ,and he isn’t recommending using any other presses with his dies as they have too much slop to be repeatedly accurate, tolerance of .001 and a swage pressure of 20.000 psi within the die ,will try and work out what the kit will cost .

just going to the lead to use I have about 200 lb of lead pipe ,diving weights lead shot ect I intended to melt it into ingots first to get most of the muck off and then cast into small cylinders ,holes drilled into a steel bar , to feed the press would this be any good ,it will no doubt have tin or something mixed with it 

[1066]

I would hold back on melting and mixing the lead you have at the moment. As you say, some of it may well have tin/antimony etc. alloyed with it. Once it's mixed it can't be unmixed. Swaging usually requires soft lead, this is why you find swaged pistol bullets used for target shooting are low velocity  and faster bullets are cast with additives to harden them.

I would try and sort the lead with a hardness tester, you really need a Bhn number less than 10. Cast your soft pure lead into fingers or small ingots and the same with your hard lead - then you can work out the ratios in your melt pot to produce your "wire". For velocities below about 1,000 fps soft pure lead would be your best option. Increasing hardness exponentially increases the pressure required to swage.

[1066]

On 8/28/2020 at 6:01 PM, 1066 said:

This little chaps are .357 and weigh 100gns - They started life as a .44 cast soft lead ball and shoved through a Lee sizing with a standard press. I intend to try them in my .357 nitro muzzle loading revolver.

If anyone's interested, they shot fairly well in my revolver - quite comparable with the 158gn conventional cast bullets. Top group 158gn cast TC bullet/3gn Unique. Centre group the swaged slugs/3gn Unique. .. .357 6" Alfa/Westlake revolver, 20 yds, rested, open sights. Both groups 2"

[17 squirrel]

1066 is right, use the wrong material and you will crack the die. That’s an expensive lesson to learn, don’t ask me how I know that. You can use old lead pipe etc but tell Corbin when you order the die and they will make it to suit. With mine it had one large bleed hole instead of three small ones. That can then cause problems if you use soft lead as the weight may vary slightly. I have found that brought lead wire gives the best most consistent results. I sometimes use leaded plumbers solder to make air rifle slugs/pellets as it is readily available and reasonably consistent/soft. For “match slugs” I Swage a core 2-3 grains overweight in a .190 core die that I use for .243 jacket bullets. That tightened the groups no end. Hope you keep us updated how it goes. 

[Ballistol]

3 hours ago, 17 squirrel said:

1066 is right, use the wrong material and you will crack the die. That’s an expensive lesson to learn, don’t ask me how I know that. You can use old lead pipe etc but tell Corbin when you order the die and they will make it to suit. With mine it had one large bleed hole instead of three small ones. That can then cause problems if you use soft lead as the weight may vary slightly. I have found that brought lead wire gives the best most consistent results. I sometimes use leaded plumbers solder to make air rifle slugs/pellets as it is readily available and reasonably consistent/soft. For “match slugs” I Swage a core 2-3 grains overweight in a .190 core die that I use for .243 jacket bullets. That tightened the groups no end. Hope you keep us updated how it goes. 

Can I ask where you get your supplies of lead wire from?

[17 squirrel]

Hi Ballistol. I am a gas fitter / plumber so I get mine through my local merchant when  they order lead flashing etc. Have used Calder lead, Heaps Arnold’s Heaps and Royston lead. They will all supply soft lead wire but often have a minimum order weight usually 20/25 kg and their carriage changes are usually quite expensive. 
 

[Ballistol]

10 hours ago, 17 squirrel said:

Hi Ballistol. I am a gas fitter / plumber so I get mine through my local merchant when  they order lead flashing etc. Have used Calder lead, Heaps Arnold’s Heaps and Royston lead. They will all supply soft lead wire but often have a minimum order weight usually 20/25 kg and their carriage changes are usually quite expensive. 
 

Thanks for sharing the information, much appreciated.

[terryh]

On 9/6/2020 at 9:55 AM, 1066 said:

If anyone's interested, they shot fairly well in my revolver - quite comparable with the 158gn conventional cast bullets. Top group 158gn cast TC bullet/3gn Unique. Centre group the swaged slugs/3gn Unique. .. .357 6" Alfa/Westlake revolver, 20 yds, rested, open sights. Both groups 2"

Bit Off OP but I always wondered how the Westlake's performed vs original 38spl revolvers, cheers for that.

[1066]

1 hour ago, terryh said:

Bit Off OP but I always wondered how the Westlake's performed vs original 38spl revolvers, cheers for that.

Sorry if I was straying a bit there, really just trying to point out that modifying a soft cast bullet is quite possible with fairly basic equipment. A soft cast bullet or ball gives a fairly consistent slug to start with.

And completely off piste - I think the Westlake .357 will shoot just as well as an original .38 spl revolver with a bit of care and load development. The groups there were only the second time I've shot it, so right at beginning of load sorting. There's very little information about for the loads as most owners seem more interested in the "bang" factor than the accuracy factor. Some of the spread of the groups will be sighting error, the open sights, as supplied are much too fine for my old eyes and will need a little attention. Unfortunately I'm not able to use full wadcutters at my local range.

Does it compare in quality  with my old S&W Mod14 .38spec Masterpiece? No. Is it fun to shoot? Yes.