Swaging your own .22 pellets

[Xxoo0o0o0ooxX]

Well I have been swaging .22 pellets for several airguns. The thing is I was very upset with how much the swaging kit cost to produce such un-accurate pellets. The groups are huge from a short 20 yard range 2 or more inches some times. Now I am getting sub 1 inch groups wile that is no hole in hole it is a head shot. Please enjoy the video & I would be happy to post more if anyone is interested.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCiBi38Go3w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCiBi38Go3w[/url]

[breakfastchef]

Good information. You will save lots of forum members the expense of finding out what you learned. There is a of engineering that goes into pellet design that a simple device cannot reproduce. Consistency of weight and shape being two important factors. Swaging might be good for a survival toolbox or for end-of-days.

[BDS]

Yup... Can't mimic alloy lead wire, fed at controlled temperature into a 3 to 5 step process inside precision machinery with expensive die sets (at least for the good pellets) that are often checked and re-furbed.

Also, the "alloy" of lead and antimony and/or tin is part of the black-magic of the better pellet makers like H&N.

[Xxoo0o0o0ooxX]

Good information. You will save lots of forum members the expense of finding out what you learned. There is a of engineering that goes into pellet design that a simple device cannot reproduce. Consistency of weight and shape being two important factors. Swaging might be good for a survival toolbox or for end-of-days.

Yes it may not be for everyone, you could buy a lot of pellets for what the kit cost. But I am getting better at producing better and better pellets. I now hammer pellet blank in to the swag flat, then use driving pin. It will center better this way. It is better to go slow using light hammer strikes at 1st. High presser hand pump grease on the driving pin helps pellets swag faster & will flow down and make for easy extraction of pellet. Very sharp blade & make sure, if a razor it is the side that with cut smoothly along the metal face of the die & not scratch it. Use soft steel wool to polish skirt then extract. I can hit small targets now with this process, that makes me happy 

[Xxoo0o0o0ooxX]

Yup... Can't mimic alloy lead wire, fed at controlled temperature into a 3 to 5 step process inside precision machinery with expensive die sets (at least for the good pellets) that are often checked and re-furbed.

Also, the "alloy" of lead and antimony and/or tin is part of the black-magic of the better pellet makers like H&N.

The lead/alloy I use is "used pellets", I have like 30lbs of the stuff. LOTS & LOTS of CPHP's LOL  But yes that may make them a lot harder pellet. That might be why my driving pin is flattened out at the top after 1500 or so pellets I have made. I see photos & videos of other peoples Nomad pellet swagers with no wear on the driving pin. They do hit very hard & accuracy has improved substantially, from 3 inch plus groups down to less then 1 inch. Well all those pellets I made with bad skirts & defects will be donated to my SMG22 which loves em and don't discriminant much. What is interesting is they shoot a little higher then Crosman pellets that weight less in my Prod.

[Xxoo0o0o0ooxX]

Okay Guys/Gals  I found a way to make even my rejected defective pellets shoot tighter groups, as good as my precision pellets I make with polished skirts. All you have to do is coat the pellets with lee alox bullet lube & let dry for 24 hours. I cant wait to see the results from my best pellets coated in this stuff. Also found that if you re-swag a pellet upside down it makes for a very deep cavity pellet with only a tiny hole on the nose of the pellet. So you can fill em with what ever you could imagine  Or leave them empty & they will act like a .17 HMR with a  sealed air filled hollow point bullets. Where they blow prairie dogs to peaces. Here is the link to the video on how to make my precision pellets
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdvZRWUmtYc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdvZRWUmtYc[/url] I hope you enjoy 

[Bill L.]

I think I would try a arbor press or vise instead of a hammer.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-ton-arbor-press-3551.html

[Xxoo0o0o0ooxX]

Yes I did try using my vice when I got the kit, it did not work very well & was worried I would damage the die. I will look in to a arbor press, does any one use one of these for swaging pellets or bullets?

[Xxoo0o0o0ooxX]

I coated my best pellets I made last night in lee bullet alox coating & here are the results from 6 shot group at 20 yards. Not a bad group but I would  need to re-adjust my scope if I were to shoot these all the time. But it has been fun experimenting with them trying to get them perfect. I also found that if the pellets are to large for your bore like the Hatsan Supercharger in .22 you can put the pellet back in the die upside down & just pop it right back out. Although they do not shoot very well at all in my Supercharger. Has anybody tried these in any other springer? If so what was the results?

[Colt25]

How heavy do the pellets come out? If they are over 8-9 grains be careful shooting them in a springer, or it could spell bad news.

[Xxoo0o0o0ooxX]

They are a little over 20gr's I will have to weigh them, but I need a new scale. My supercharger .22 loves CPHP in 14.3gr  shoots them at 525 & Crow Mags, I think they are around 20 gr's but did not have a chance to crony the Crow mag before my crony just decided to stop working 

[Paul]

Interesting thanks for the info