FMJ kit

Capt_Vin · May 22, 2008, 02:58 AM

Hope this is the right board to ask on, but has anyone ever heard of a kit they sell to put a FMJ on a hand cast bullet? From what I was told by one of the members of my club when we were discussing bullet casting, there is a kit availible that has slightly under-sized bullet molds in the specific caliber to pour the lead, then after it has cooled, you place the slug in another mold and pour in molten copper, which encases the lead forming a FMJ. The kit comes with copper ingots and a table-top 'furnace' to melt the ingots plus the ladels to pour it and a cooling rack. What you have to purchase seperately are the actual molds. He said the kit ran about $200 with the size specific casting and jacketing molds.

Has anyone heard about this or is the guy at my club inhaling to many solvent fumes? If it exists, where can I get info onit and maybe order one. I hand load most of my ammo and recently got into casting my own bullets. It would be nice to be able to jacket em at home too.

ConfuseUs · May 22, 2008, 04:03 PM

I say that's bull, and here's why: Copper melts at about 2,000 deg F as opposed to lead which melts at about 620 deg F.

So I don't think anyone wants to run a small copper smelter on a tabletop at home. I could be wrong though.

The way full metal jackets are made is by swaging a copper jacket onto a lead core using dies and a press. They're basically stamped out, not cast in a mold. Check this link out:

http://www.corbins.com/

There are cast bullets that use a copper gas check on the base though. You cast the bullets in a mold and then stick a copper gas check on (when you size them I think) and that allows you to use higher pressure loadings.

Capt_Vin · May 25, 2008, 01:40 AM

Thanks, makes alot of sense. I had a feeling this kit was too good to be true. Could explain why I can't find any info on it.

Ruthless4christ · May 25, 2008, 02:14 PM

i agree that a table top kit is not very plausible but is there anything on the market that allows someone to completely make there own fmj rounds from scratch? taht would be a God send for me where I live, as ammo is very scarce and expensive(sometimes i have to drive to the next town just to get 9mm rounds)

ConfuseUs · May 26, 2008, 04:13 AM

The link I posted is for a company that sells tooling and supplies for making jacketed bullets. They even sell a kit to make .224 diam jacketed bullets from spent .22 LR cases.

Probably you could find something on that site that would work for you.

Scorch · May 27, 2008, 12:04 AM

Corbin bullet swagers can make bullets from a variety of easy-to-find metals, including copper tubing, other cartridge cases including but not limited to 22 RF cases, copper sheet. You need lead wire for the core and the appropriate dies for the swager. I had a friend some years ago who would spend hours swaging his own bullets on a Corbin press. Very high quality bullets, I might add.

May 22, 2008, 02:58 AM	#1
Capt_Vin Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2006 Posts: 266	FMJ kit Hope this is the right board to ask on, but has anyone ever heard of a kit they sell to put a FMJ on a hand cast bullet? From what I was told by one of the members of my club when we were discussing bullet casting, there is a kit availible that has slightly under-sized bullet molds in the specific caliber to pour the lead, then after it has cooled, you place the slug in another mold and pour in molten copper, which encases the lead forming a FMJ. The kit comes with copper ingots and a table-top 'furnace' to melt the ingots plus the ladels to pour it and a cooling rack. What you have to purchase seperately are the actual molds. He said the kit ran about $200 with the size specific casting and jacketing molds. Has anyone heard about this or is the guy at my club inhaling to many solvent fumes? If it exists, where can I get info onit and maybe order one. I hand load most of my ammo and recently got into casting my own bullets. It would be nice to be able to jacket em at home too.

May 22, 2008, 04:03 PM	#2
ConfuseUs Senior Member Join Date: April 26, 2007 Posts: 461	I say that's bull, and here's why: Copper melts at about 2,000 deg F as opposed to lead which melts at about 620 deg F. So I don't think anyone wants to run a small copper smelter on a tabletop at home. I could be wrong though. The way full metal jackets are made is by swaging a copper jacket onto a lead core using dies and a press. They're basically stamped out, not cast in a mold. Check this link out: http://www.corbins.com/ There are cast bullets that use a copper gas check on the base though. You cast the bullets in a mold and then stick a copper gas check on (when you size them I think) and that allows you to use higher pressure loadings. __________________ Overkill is better than underkill.

May 25, 2008, 02:14 PM	#4
Ruthless4christ Senior Member Join Date: June 24, 2007 Location: CNY Posts: 790	now my question is this... i agree that a table top kit is not very plausible but is there anything on the market that allows someone to completely make there own fmj rounds from scratch? taht would be a God send for me where I live, as ammo is very scarce and expensive(sometimes i have to drive to the next town just to get 9mm rounds)

May 26, 2008, 04:13 AM	#5
ConfuseUs Senior Member Join Date: April 26, 2007 Posts: 461	The link I posted is for a company that sells tooling and supplies for making jacketed bullets. They even sell a kit to make .224 diam jacketed bullets from spent .22 LR cases. Probably you could find something on that site that would work for you. __________________ Overkill is better than underkill.

May 27, 2008, 12:04 AM	#6
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	Corbin bullet swagers can make bullets from a variety of easy-to-find metals, including copper tubing, other cartridge cases including but not limited to 22 RF cases, copper sheet. You need lead wire for the core and the appropriate dies for the swager. I had a friend some years ago who would spend hours swaging his own bullets on a Corbin press. Very high quality bullets, I might add. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

May 25, 2008, 01:40 AM	#3
Capt_Vin Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2006 Posts: 266	Thanks, makes alot of sense. I had a feeling this kit was too good to be true. Could explain why I can't find any info on it.