HB-9 updated text (PDF) - Corbin Bullet Swaging

easonable length and wall thickness, if you use the correct press and
dies. In each diameter, we stock one wall thickness, which varies with the
diameter from .028 to .035-inch.
Tubing jackets are most often used with hunting bullet designs, and
nearly all commercial bullet makers today use Corbin Core Bond to create
a bullet that will not shed its core, and can be shot “inside out” without
losing much of its total weight. Core Bond is inexpensive, fast, and
works much better in actual big game hunting than a partitioned design.
The entire core is secured to the jacket, rather than just protecting half of
the core. In my eclectic bullet collection, I have a bonded tubing jacket
bullet that William McBride (founder of Star Custom Bullets) brought
back from South Africa. It had been shot at a charging Cape Buffalo’s
head, penetrating the thick horn and skull (probably more than six inches
of solid horn and bone).
It killed the animal with this difficult brain shot, and the 0.065-inch
thick brass jacket was turned inside out from the impact but still retained
nearly 100% of the bonded lead core. He also brought me a full metal
jacket military bullet that was formed into a U-shape from being shot into
a Cape Buffalo. The bullet came back out the same side. Either it or
another one like it struck one of the South African professional hunters in
the leg (and in typical fashion, the jolly fellow insisted on stopping at a
bar before going to the hospital!).
I have dozens of other examples of amazing and possibly lifesaving
performances from bonded core bullets using our Core Bond process, compared
with other designs which failed. There is no doubt in my mind that,
given the choice, every bullet I fired at a dangerous game animal would
be a bonded core design.
Disadvantages of tubing jackets:
1. The walls are straight, rather than tapered, so that without special
operations the jacket will not be the “controlled expansion” type.
2. Tubing jackets larger than .257 caliber generally are not practical
to make below .030 wall thickness (sometimes you can get .025 wall
tubing, but it is harder to find and doesn’t always form, in every caliber or
shape, without buckling).
3. It is not practical to build precision benchrest grade bullets using
readily available tubing. This is not to say tubing jackets are “inaccurate”,
but only that a deep drawn jacket can be made with closer tolerances
given the materials available on the market today. Tubing jacket bullets
can, and have, set match records. But they probably will never set high
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