Full forming bullets

[Deleted]

some have some questions and fears about Full forming bullets and getting them through the die multiple passes without hiccups, I thought I would address this issue. Luke did a thread a while back but I don't remember if he did pictures so here goes.

first you need a line scribed on the bullet, in this case a 335 .458 and a red sharpie.


next make sure you have lines on both your die mouth and your ram. your line needs to hit between the grooves on the bullet.


apply bullet lube after the line dries for a minute or so. I use stick wax and a little goes a long way. simply smear on your fingers and roll the bullet. load the bullet in the die and align the marks



push the bullet through and this is what it looks like after the first pass


align the marks and push it through two more times, after lube it only takes about 5 seconds for three passes.
as you can see its very repeatable and with a little practice very easy.

the mark will remain on the bullet if you don't carry them in your pocket just in case you want to index.

[rambler]

Very nice tutorial. Simple and effective!

[Richard]

Very nice tutorial Bill. As a "newbie" to full forming the pic's were very informing.
I might add that a small dot ground into the side of the "push rod" (i'm thinking of using a small dental burr in a Dremel tool) and the die, would eliminate marking other than the bullet; and would be permanent.
Thanks
Richard

[7mmfreak]

Exactly how I do it. Coming from a guy to whom this is all old hat, that makes me feel good.

[rkrobson]

Thats a great tutorial, I actually have burned alot of bullets not completely understanding the marking of bullet, die and plunger. Bill is your die setting much looser than a one time pass through die? Thanks, Ray

[Deleted]

I set my die to fit on the first pass, three times through just insure consistent sizing.

when you can push your bullet in the barrel to the shoulder with your fingers your size is very close, start large and slowly size down til it fits, two hand push on a fouled barrel, 30 lbs or so...

also keep in mind when you size a large batch of bullets it is added insurance to remove your plug and push every single one down the bore to be sure they all good, smooth or FF that's my practice. nothing worse than a stuck bullet 20' up a tree...

Yes Rich permanent index marks work well, that's what I normally do but this die has been used very little..

[lwh723]

Good pictures. Similar to what I do.

Here's a video I put together on it if anyone missed it:



Since making the video, I am made one adjustment. If I'm NOT indexing from die to barrel, I make the mark on my die, so I can just line it up on the rifling engraved on the bullet after the first pass.