Editing Handloading (section)

=== Swaging ===

Most shooters prefer jacketed bullets, especially in rifles and pistols. The hard jacket material, generally copper or [[brass]], resists deformation and handles far higher pressures and temperatures than lead. Several companies offer [[swage|swaging]] presses (both manual and hydraulic) that will manufacture on a small scale jacketed bullets that can rival or surpass the quality of commercial jacketed bullets. Two swaging equipment manufacturers offer equipment and dies designed to turn [[22 Long Rifle]] cases into brass jackets for 22 caliber (5.56&nbsp;mm) bullets.<ref name=nonte_8 />

Example variants of swage dies include:{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

* ''R dies'', used for bullet swaging in the reloading press. No expensive special press is needed; however, the reloading press cannot swage all calibers and variants of bullets.
* ''S dies'', steel dies for a manual press. They have a maximum caliber of {{convert|.458|in|mm}} and a maximum jacket length of {{convert|1.3|in|mm}}.
* ''H dies'', dies designed for [[hydraulic]] presses and are offered in calibers up to {{convert|25|mm|in}} and jacket lengths of more than 1.3". In a hydraulic press, bullets from [[powdered metal]] can be swaged.

Every bullet diameter, and most of the bullet types, need special dies, making swaging a rather investment-intensive enterprise.