Description
Our Swage Rod Backer/Case Mouth Expander is made from D-2 tool steel, then through hardened, not case hardened, to Rockwell 58-60C for maximum life.
Expands case mouth to ~0.455″
Bullets tested below sit squarely, and have a “suction pop” sound when pulled out by hand.
Setup:
The rod MUST be fully bottomed in the case, or no, you will not get a proper bell. If you can see shiny when fully inserted, that is not correct.
The larger diameter shiny surface is a guide to ensure the case is square to the bell. The smaller diameter shiny surface is nothing more than a backing tip. We made it smaller, but not too small to ensure there was no interference with the case web, but yet giving as much diameter as we could to spread the load. The transition from shiny to dull is where the actual bell mouth occurs.
Also functions as swage backing rod for .45 ACP length cases.
Tested with 9mm (0.452″) projectiles from:
Berry’s
Bayou Bullets (Donnie Miculek, brother of Jerry)
Required but not included:
Dillon Swage Backup Die Body p/n 12184
Dillon 9/16×18 Lock nut p/n 13483