Hey guys,

I was searching around on the internet looking for cheap .223 bullets and I came across the Corbin website. Has anyone tried bullets made from .22lr cases? If they are any good, has anyone acctually tried making them? Is the process tough or simple. It is pretty spendy to get started, but I think it would be worth it if they are any good. Let me know what you think.

thanx,
Mark

well it depends on what you call any good
they are a lower velocity projectile read that as thin jacket but they will shoot pretty accurately.
making bullets is like computer programing
garbage in garbage out.
if you will go over to graybeards outdoors and to the bullet making section there is a thread on them..

I am continually amazed at the folks "out of touch" with our history. There were two men in Lincoln, NE who decided to provide bullets to varmint shooters during/after WW II by making varmint bullets out of fired .22 rimfire cases for jackets. You may have heard of them. Joyce Hornady and Vern Speer. They didn't stay together that long I am told and, of course, Mr. Hornady moved down the road to Grand Island, NE--business remains with his family and Mr. Speer farther west. BUT this was their start.

Then there was Mr. Sisk of Iowa Park, TX. Sold rimfire jacketed bullets by mail in the same era. 1968 gun law prohibited so he retired.

And RCBS stands for "Rock Chucker Bullet Swage". Mr. Huntington began by making "bullet swage" tools on machine shop equipment in the back of his parents laundry (??). Of course customers wanted a suitable press and the Rockchucker was born.

Can you? Don't know. Pretty well "said it all" with the "garbage in/garbage out." You won't get much with monkeys rented from the zoo or teenagers "doing the dew" but it has been done.

Mr. Dave Corbin has a brother Richard. They don't agree completely and have different businesses (surprise!). Richard is at rceco.com. Mr. Blackmon has no web site. Snail mail address in back, directory of Gun Digest Annuals. CH4d.com has some shorter bullet dies for, mainly, pistol bullets. Used in heavy reloading press.

If you shoot much, it can "pay." Most places will thank you for picking up the fired cases. If you wish to sell, you need a Federal license. Class VI (??) ATF manufacturers license would cover you. $30.00 for 3 years.

Mr. Dave Corbin is quite a writer and has a large number of his books posted on his web site(s), corbins.com etc., and covers this at length and you can read about the process (sans pictures) FREE. Or download, or ??? Takes questions too. [dave@corbins.com] If you can cook a decent meal, chances are you can make a decent bullet. Rimfire jackets are light and velocity is recommended under 3200 fps. Surperb for .222. Not as good for .223 especially with "fast twists"... If this suits you, "go for it." Might be the next Mr. Sisk. luck

Mr. Sisk may have made some from 22lr cases, but the competition bullets that he made had great copper jackets. I still have quite a few of his 22 bullets and have given quite a few to Cheechako who frequents our forum.If he made some from 22lr cases, they may have made decent plinking bullets.
Butch

I have made .22 AND 6 m/m bullets of various weights using cast cores and .22 RF cases with tools from Corbins' (when the two Corbins were both working together in the same company in the 1970s).

The bullets I made with the RF case jackets worked fine in both diameters as varmint bullets, but were nowhere near useable as BR bullets, both of which was "okay" with me.

AC

We have made quite a lot of 22 caliber bullets using the Corbin dies and fired 22 rim fire cases.

They shot as well, if not better than, the normal bullets produced by Winchester or Remington that are sold in bulk.

does anyone have these bullets for sale?

#1). I believe Mr. Calhoon of Calhoon bullets has made rimfire jacketed bullets for sale commercially. Don't recall the web address but google is there for us to lean on.

#2). Mr. Redgwell of 303british.com has had rimfire jacketed bullets for sale. He is Canadian (as was Mr. Calhoon) and importing might be a pain. You can ask. luck.

Hi
and what about making 375 bullets from 222remington case? has anybody tried to do some bullet from fired 222 remington cases for 375 rifles?
regards
YES

quote:

Originally posted by Markhpb:
does anyone have these bullets for sale?

with the now available abundance of copper jackets that don't need the special processing of the rimfire jackets which sometimes fail to produce a good bullet. these are not time economicaly sound for the bullet maker that is selling projectiles.
rg...

I did some reading about this on a couple other forums several years back.

Basically, if you have a supply of lead wire and match grade same brand rf brass, this is great. If not it is not cost effective and the bullets are not that accurate.

Both Corbins, Dave at Corbins.com and Richard at rceco.com, address the use of cases for jackets.

It works. It is a bit more complicated than the copper cup but works fine. With the brass in the head of a .223, you will not get the lead in to make a same weight bullet as a copper cup, but if you can live with a lighter, longer bullet... go for it. Or reverse the case and make a real solid "solid."

Mr. Dave is the more talkative and has several books on his web site for review or download that cover this at some length. Among his many books you will have to do some digging,but the question is answered and costs, generally, are discussed. luck.

I'd look into it a little further but I don't think a license is required by ATF to make, or sell, bullets (projectiles). A manufacturing license is required to make (manufacture, reload, handload) ammunition TO SELL.

you do need a class 6 lic to sell bullets.i make and sell and have a lic to do it.

quote:

Originally posted by cv1973:
you do need a class 6 lic to sell bullets.i make and sell and have a lic to do it.

If you're gonna sell em you need FFL 6 as per GCA 1968. That includes loaded ammo, bullets, cases, any components of fixed ammunition.

From the ATF's "Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide", 2005 edition (the latest):

(F11) Is a license (FFL) required to engage in the business of selling small arms ammunition?
No. A license is not required for a dealer in ammunition only, but a manufacturer or importer of ammunition must be licensed. [18 U.S.C. 922 (a)(1)(B)]

According to a local bullet manufacturer, no license is required to make and sell bullets but I'm waiting on a call back from our ATF field office to verify that.

quote:

According to a local bullet manufacturer, no license is required to make and sell bullets but I'm waiting on a call back from our ATF field office to verify that.

Read...GCA, 18 U.S.C., Section 921(a)(17)

If you're making for your own use then no license is required. If you sell any of it you will need the FFL 6...your local field office will refer you to the licensing center where you can begin the process. FYI - you'll need to FULLY establish a legal business entity in your jurisdiction and demonstrate local compliance to the ATF investigator during the approval process. Have fun...

From our local ATF field office in Savannah:

The answer to your question is YES- he WILL need an FFL to manufacture bullets. Ammunition is defined in the regulations as follows:
27 CFR 478.11- Ammunition: Ammunition or cartridge cases, primers, bullets or propellant powder designed for use in any firearm other than an antique firearm.
You can find the definition on page 36 of the white Federal regulations book.

So, evidently you need an FFL to manufacture bullets. I had no idea....

Yep...it's actually an old rule that even now seems counterintuitive but that's why we manufacturers have the licenses...it's a requirement.

quote:

I am continually amazed at the folks "out of touch" with our history.

+1! Not many folks here in England know that Mr Webley started out making...bullet moulds!

Although it was a long, long, time ago.
With regard to making jacketed bullets I recall that the pure copper rimfire fired cases were more in demand than the brass rimfire cases too. And something about the best way to "iron out" the firing pin strike mark.

And wasn't the first press made from old car axle parts by Huntington?

And I rememember something about making bullets for African calibre rifles from surplus military fired .45 ACP cases!

quote:

Originally posted by enfieldspares:
And I rememember something about making bullets for African calibre rifles from surplus military fired .45 ACP cases!

Many years ago in Australia, 458cal projectiles were being made by using 308Win cases cut off at the neck/shoulder junction and filled with lead, the case itself formed the jacket. Dont know exactly how they were doing it. One old timer gunsmith still has a press set up for drawing down projectiles. Draw down dies were made from old barrels ... in the 1960's drawing down 0.458" projectiles was the only way to keep old 11.2 Schulers and 425WR's firing.
Cheers...
Con