Make my own copper bullets

[Mad Jack McMad]

I have been thinking about making some solid non-expanding flat nosed copper bullets for my .25 ACP Baby Browning for SD use. I carry the Baby when nothing else fits the requirements. But there are no jacketed flat nosed bullets available for the 25. So i thought as i have access to a workshop with both CNC and manual machine that i perhaps can make my own bullets.

The question is, are there something particular i should think about when i make these bullets?

 

[rfwobbly]

Besides the missing reload data, solid copper bullets are not as dense as lead flavored bullets and therefore will be longer for the same weight. That means they'll protrude further back into the cartridge case, leaving very little room for powder.

It would take a LOT of work. These fixed-barrel 25's, 380 and 9mmMak handguns can be VERY picky about the bullet's nose shape.

• You might have more luck swagging out spent .22 cases and making your own jacketed bullets. That's done all the time for .223 and other small calibers.

• Another less time consuming route might be simply re-sizing existing bullets down to .251/.252 dia. Such an adventure might start with Hornady #2510 (a 60gr bullet for the .257 Roberts). Once swagged you could drill out the center on a lathe to get them closer to 50gr.

 

[rcmodel]

+1 on no reloading data.

A solid copper bullet will run the pressure up because it takes more force to drive them into the rifling and swage them to fit the lands & grooves then with a normal jacketed lead bullet.

Seems like a disaster waiting to happen on a blow-back .25 ACP.

I would be of the opinion you couldn't make the .25 any more effective then it already is with standard .25 ACP ball loads anyway.

The Baby Browning & the 25 ACP's only claim to fame is 100% reliable functioning, and good enough penetration to probably poke some small holes in places that shouldn't have holes poked.

A flat point would no doubt not feed as reliably as a FMJ-RN, and penetration would probably be less at attainable pressure limits of the gun.

rc

 

[GooseGestapo]

Speer has a 35gr Gold Dot HP. I believe this should do what you're wanting to achieve. Speer also has data published.....

If you decide to continue with the project, I suggest pulling a 50gr RN from a loaded round and use this as a rough template. Also, you'll need to turn in one or more relief grooves (ie: Barnes Triple shoks's). Then, you can make the point a truncated conical.
Good luck. I'm sure someone, somewhere, sometime has tried this. I wouldn't expect great results....