Thread: Ever seen anything like it?

Retrieved: 08/21/2016
Last Post: 04/27/2016

Ever seen anything like it?

Had a customer send me some dies to clean up and return to working order. Among the dies was a 44 cal die made by Herters, according to the sticker on the box and it made a rather interesting and unique bullet. Check it out. I know I have seen shot gun slugs with swaged groves in it before but has anyone ever seen them in a 44 cal bullet?

Pretty good pics as they zoom in really well and show a lot of detail. The smudges you see in the groves are simply from the tumble lube grooves of the 240 grain cast bullet I used in making this bullet. Doesn't have anything to do with the die.

JimB..
04-26-2016

I don't know nothin' but I'd bet against the sticker and say .410 slug although the straight grooves are odd. What is the diameter?

BT Sniper
04-26-2016

Definately a 44 cal.

ReloaderFred
04-26-2016

They are from a Herters swaging die. I had a set, and may still have it somewhere, but never swaged with it.

Brian told you guys they were from a Herters set of dies, so why speculate on something else?

The idea was to lube the vertical grooves, and as the bullet spun in the bore, the lube would be distributed evenly. It was another of George Herters' "better ideas", sort of like his Wasp Waist bullets that were supposed to perform better at supersonic speeds. He designed the Wasp Waist bullet after the F-104 fighter jet. His advertising said the wasp waist broke up the airflow over the sides of the bullet, making it more aerodynamic, but there was very little bearing surface on the ones I had.

If either had been a good idea they would still be with us, but they aren't...

JonB_in_Glencoe
04-27-2016

YEP!

From my Herters reloading manual, while there is little or nothing on Herter's swaging dies, he mentions this.

runfiverun
04-27-2016

Never mind all that gas blowing past the bullet.