Home Brew Hollow Point Bullets

Todd M

Craftsman of metals...always learning.
I received an old Forehand DA revolver in 32 S&W Long a few weeks ago, and have been experimenting with loads in it. Trying to get the feel for where to point it to poke holes where I'm looking. Using a Ideal 313249 mold that has seen many good days but ain't retired yet. I took a top punch I didn't need and shaped the nose end to a point. Seems to work fairly well. Haven't shot any yet, looking forward to seeing if they perform.
 

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KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
Neat looking bullets but I would be real careful about putting too much force on that Lyman 45. The handles are known to break pretty easily.
 

Todd M

Craftsman of metals...always learning.
I've been think about that, Keith. I don't think it's room much stress, but always the chance. Thinking about making a handle out of flat and bar steel for this job. Not to get more pressure but to eliminate the risk.

Yes just "swaging" if you will.
 

Eutectic

Active Member
I did something similar years ago with just the die out of the sizer, Removed the return pin and would push a bullet to the bottom of the die on the vise anvil and then form cup points with a rod so shaped and fitted to the bore to center and tap slightly to form. These days I drill all HP's (almost) This includes cup points and some tapers. Faster for me that the pains of casting and I think more accurate bullets.

Pete
 

Todd M

Craftsman of metals...always learning.
Pete I like your way with the size die in an anvil. Should be as simple as a 5/16" rod for 30 caliber. May need to thin it down a tad to fit in a .310 sizing die. Currently I'm using a .313 die.
 

Eutectic

Active Member
I shoot A LOT of hollow points! Maybe over half of the cast I shoot are HP. I shoot most hollow points in rifles. I now CAST NONE for rifles! Why? My method of drilling them on center produce more accurate loads. I bought a Gould mold 60 years ago and have several .44 & .45 HP's. I probably hunt two species the most........ Mountain Grouse and varmints (including predators). No HP's on Blue Grouse! The meat is WAY too tasty! I prefer 1/2 MOA for either and have loads that deliver. Grouse are normally under 50 yards but you need accurate. A couple years ago a nice Blue saw me as I saw him maybe 45 yards away. I took aim offhand....... The smart devil went behind a long dead log out of sight! Every 10 feet or so he would peek over the top showing just his head. I moved about 10 feet right while his head was down. A bent Lodgepole Pine made a good standing rest. He would peek over and lower his head faster! He was a couple feet from the end of the log! For three or four times he peeked his head over now in the same spot without moving into the open. I put my scope on the spot..... His head appeared and then it came apart...... You can't make those shots without extremely accurate loads.
Varmints? I shoot a lot of ground Squirrels. Ranchers hate them. Some are 200 yards and even more. Try a cast hollow point and see if you can hit them! 1/2 Minute of Angle is a lot easier at 50 yards than it is at 200 yards especially if our cast bullet has a hollow point!
Reason enough I drill varmint HP's!

Pete
 

Todd M

Craftsman of metals...always learning.
Pete, maybe you have posted pictures before, but would you mind posting a pic or two of your process for drilling hollow points?
 

Eutectic

Active Member
Pete, maybe you have posted pictures before, but would you mind posting a pic or two of your process for drilling hollow points?
I re-read above and see I make a lot of positive statements! I look at this as having walked down the road; taken all the 'scenery' in...... and tested what I see!
No camera at the moment; but I have some older pictures and I have a scanner!
So why don't I like cast HP's??? Only my older ones are straight! HP's are hard enough to cast without having misalignment when your done!
Look at this scanned closeup This is a close range .44 defense load. Close range because it can't make a 600 yard Keith shot! This is a Lyman mold 429244 about 35 years old. You can see the HP off several thousandths with the naked eye. A sharp eye will see a lack of fill at the bottom. This is problematic with the pin not being hot enough (hotter than the blocks) I didn't care here as the bullets are close range only. Here, Ian's comments of brass pins is a good one as thermodynamics improve.collets002.jpg

I have a lathe mill combo in my garage which has a collet chuck and collets as well. But my little 3" lathe is so handy right in the loading room! Before my newer equipment I had this "crooked cast HP syndrome" So I pondered on it. A drilled HP would solve my problems if it could be done on center (unlike Lyman) and quickly enough to not make casting a big timesaver. I need to modify my little guy for collets I thought. I had a brain storm that worked! A collet has to pinch tighten on the work. I used pipe threads....... tapered ones! even pipe at times! I would chuck up in the 4 jaw chuck and then bore into the threaded end to .001" over sized diameter. Length for specific bullet. i would then remove the chuck from the lathe and using it like a vise of sorts I would soft jaw it in the vise and saw two vertical slots 90° apart. A nut threaded with NPT thread finished the job. I have ratchet box end wrenches so tighten/loosen is quick. The flat bottom gives me a positive repeatable stop for fast accurate drilling. They hold bullet 'dead nuts'. Here's a picture of a couple.... I use a steel alignment pin to indicate into the 4 jaw.

collets001.jpg

Jacobs chucks.... Never paid a lot of attention to them. But they make them in precision grades. I saw one on sale cheap (because of odd mount) I bought it! The 3/8"-24 female thread was perfect! Now this is an accurate chuck! A chucked (and sized) bullet will usually run in .001"! But lets talk cast bullets.... It is rare that they cast truly round.... I even consider .0005" to .001" max good. Then, a bullet 'rolled' in a mic will show the mold seam 'proud'. I don't see 'dead nuts' and .001" being different on target. A couple MOA load may take a little more off center but a 1/2 MOA varmint load won't!
I will use the Jacobs chuck always for modifying bullet length... (as I talk about a lot!) Fast and accurate. I have a blind hole and use aluminum pins for a positive stop and have a large assortment of lengths. I HP handgun stuff as well with the chuck using collets for 'benchrest' loads.:cool:
I had a couple pictures on file that sort of shows this work.

Pete

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Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Your collet using pipe threads is a great idea! Cheap and quick too.
A single tap and die set would let you make collets for any bullet diameter in a hurry.
 

Intheshop

Banned
Collets get used with 10T porta powers.They make a cylinder that "pulls".....think auto collision pullers.We swage stainless exhaust tubing with them as well.Lots of uses for collets.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Todd, I have an idea on a simple tool that would work very similar to what you are doing. Let me get some stuff together and see what I can cobble together.
 

Todd M

Craftsman of metals...always learning.
Sounds good, Brad, but don't let it get in the way of your important projects.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I've HP'ed with my Forster trimmer. If, and only IF, you are loading concentric rounds with little run out does this work the way it's supposed to. It's seems like it takes forever to make up 50 rounds, but then it also seems like it takes forever to cast 50 bullets out of a HP mould. I think casting and then swaging a HP held in a swage die would be the fastest, most accurate way to do it.
 

Eutectic

Active Member
I think casting and then swaging a HP held in a swage die would be the fastest, most accurate way to do it.
Good point Bret..... In fact swaging a casting improves it more times than not. The trimmer method for HP is a futile effort for good bullets; best for across the room stuff.:headbang: Drilling HP's is a lot more accurate in my experience when the bullet turns and the drill bit is stationary as in the lathe. Some methods may look perfect to the eye but is the drill going straight with the bullet? Both linear and circumferential alignment has to be correct for a HP bullet to be accurate.

Lightly swaging as talked about here works? but nose shape may be modified under pressure or worse yet pushed off center. Making a nose (point forming) hollow pointing die to hold shape as well as concentric alignment will give you perfection but making such dies is 'delicate' work to say the least!:rofl: I've done a couple and you almost sweat blood boring, shaping, in those 'tiny' holes......I think Brad may be ready to try it though.....:cool:

Wish I had a couple of the machines places like Sierra and Hornady have!!!

Pete