forster hollow pointer questin

[moooose102]

i bought both sets of forster hollow pointers (1/16" & 1/8") a while ago, but as of yet, i do not have one of their case trimmers. i have been using lee trimmers, which work, but i am not real impressed with them. anyway, does anyone know if these will ONLY work with forster trimmers, or will they work with any of the lathe type case trimmers?

 

[Inspector3711]

You need a Forster trimmer. If you buy from Cabelas and get the "kit" they throw in about $40 worth of collets and arbors. You will pay an extra $15 or so for the kit but that's a bargain. You'll be able to trim most calibers without having to buy anything extra. Later on you can add the power adapter and hook up a drill.

By the way, I seem to recall that the hollow pointers aren't meant for copper jacketed bullets. Might want to read up on it.

I bought a Forster kit from Cabelas last year. One of the best moves I've made. The adjustments are simple and the thing repeats dimensions +/- .0005" from case to case.

 

[moooose102]

actually, i contacted forster before i bought them. they said it will work fine with copper jacketed bullets, but naturally it will take longer to drill through than just plain lead.

 

[Sport45]

Read this thread:

Is there a safe way to convert fmj to hollow point?

You'll see some posts like this:

DO NOT DO THIS:

There are threads on this. Use the search.

To sum up the answers:
An FMJ has the jacket applied from the front. An JHP has the jacket applied from the back. If you drill a hole in the front of an FMJ, you've created a copper tube wrapped around a lead core. And probably not bonded all that well. No-one trusts that to hold together on firing. Could even leave part of the bullet in the barrel. However unlikely that is, you don't want to touch off the next round behind it.

Besides, you now have a poorly formed hollowpoint with inconsistent geometry and weight -- having none of the science and manufacturing techniques behind it to make it perform as a hollowpoint should.

Just not worth it.

-Sam

P.S. -- And cutting an "X" in the tip of a bullet does absolutely nothing to its expansion characteristics.

 

[Hikingman]

+1 Recommend Forster Trimmers!