While I am waiting to play with my new 20 tactical, I was wondering if it was practical to swage 223 bullets down to .204? Making the die wont be hard, but I am not too sure if there would be a runout problem from one side compressing more than the other, resulting in a sized but off center bullet.

Has anyone tried this before?

bullets are actually swaged "up" and not swaged "down".
when a bulet is swaged "down" it is compressed, and compressed materials tend to spring back or speing "up".
being lead and gilding metal different materials they will spring back in different proportions, producing loose cores.
a certain amount of swaging "down" could be acceptable and have no effect, but I believe that .02 out of a .224 bullet may be unacceptable.
montero

FWIW--i BOUGHT A 8x56R old army rifle thinking it was going to be an 8mm and got a big surprise. It actually shoots a .329 bullet. Lee makes a die to to take down a .338 bullet to .329. It works great but does take some effort and good lube. I've not found any "spring back" but people have said it happens. Plus I was able run the bullets accross my rcbs case master and found them to be concentric. I haven't shot this old girl yet but don't expect any trouble. It would seem to me that that's a pretty big jump taking a .224 bullet down to .204--especially with the more frangible jacket on a bullet of that size.
I'm not smart enough to help you "make the call" on this idea--all I can say is good luck--maybe give sierra a call and get their opinion??

Mark, Several companys make bullet swage dies (bullet reducing). I purchase a set from CD&4d to size down .430" to .416." I've only been using Speer gold dot bullets (bonded-Plated) and they work very well (about 1.5" groups at 100yds with an encore pistol). I'll be trying other bullets in the future. The bullets have to be sized a little at a time .004-.005" to stay concentric, I believe.
>>Corbin also makes dies but I'm not familiar with them.
>>I got a three die set for just over $150.

This raises a question I've been pondering for some time. Up here in Canada, there are a lot of .303 Lee Enfields and P-14s that still see a fair amount of use. Those who shoot them immediately realize that there is a serious shortage of reasonable bullets. Most bullets for this caliber come in at .311" with the exception of the Hornady at .312". The original British specs called for a groove diameter of .312, I belive, and most barrels were cut more generously than that. Perhaps it's no coincidence, but I've had best results with the slightly fatter Hornady bullets in this caliber.

The problem is, what if you really want a .313 or even a "premium" bullet like a Nosler Partition or Ballistic Tip for this cartridge? The companies don't make bullets like this. But they do make premium bullets in 8mm (.323), like the 180-grain Ballistic Tip and the 200-grain Partition.

So my question is how feasible would it be to size some of these 8mm bullets down to .312 or .313, and would you be able to maintain accuracy and bullet integrity?

What about going the other way? Sizing .308 up? I'd appreciate any comments or insights.

That looks like an easy one!

Lee makes a sizer that screws into your press, and you can get them either in .311 or .314 . They cost $11.88 US from Midway, so you can get both without breaking the piggy bank.

Swaging down is more conducive to concentricity than upsetting a skinny bullet.

I think you won't have any problems at all. My situation is that I am thinking about trying to take the same amount off a bullet %50 smaller in diameter. Mainly I'm thinking about it because I live out in the boonies and would like to have a backup plan if I run out of 20 cal bullets at an awkward time.

Thanks, MarkWhite, I've been thinking of the Lee system for some time now. Lee even makes their cast bullet sizers in custom diameters, so you could order one in .320, .317, .314, and .312 and size them down in gentle progression.

I've already done it with a .312 down to .309, so I know it works in principle.

My only question is what happens to concentricity and bullet integrity when you do this? Does the jacket "spring away"? Does it create uneven stresses that send the bullet off balance? I've even heard one person suggest that it could cause the jacket to rupture prematurely when it hits game.

I agree that it sounds like a cheap and easy solution in principle. Does anyone have any actual experience or insights about doing this?

The normal terminology is that you "swage" up and "draw" down in size. Many companies make draw (or "ring") dies, and they're relatively inexpensive.

It's generally accepted that you will encounter spring back and jacket separation if you draw a jacketed bullet down more than 5 or 6 thousandths, but I know that many people do, and don't complain about the results.

Concentricity may be an issue as well. I've seen examples - in the Corbin books - of bullets drawn down a great deal that were deformed by the process.

I currently swage .35 calibre bullets, but plan to get into .311's shortly. It's my plan to get a ring die and draw some down to .308 for use in my 30-06's. I don't anticipate any problems with accuracy by drawing down this small amount.

Hello Rick - I "draw down" (thanks for the distinction) .308" bullets to use in my .300 Sherwood Martini-Henry. The springback is all of 0.003". I made my die 0.005" undersize and polished, and polished, and polished and ... until I achieved 0.300" bullets - from a die that measures 0.297".

cheers edi

HELLO ENDMoND--

I'll be glad to post the accuracy results of those bullets but...........you gotta realize that the barrel of that gun looks like it was milled out with a hacksaw so accuracy (or lack there of) probably can't be blamed on the bullet.

NOW ON THE OTHER HAND I just got a swiss K-31 milsurplus---now there's some quality. That barrel shines like a brand new browning!! And shoot standard .308 bullets. Too bad the darn thing weighs 9.5Lbs. These milsurplus guns do look like fun though!!