Handgun Jackets are available in packages of 250 or 500, depending on caliber. They are made of 95/5 gilding metal or 90/10 commercial bronze (a misnomer, as it is actually a form of brass). Handgun jackets can often be redrawn to make smaller but longer rifle jackets, such as redrawing a 1/2 inch long .38/9mm jacket to make a 1-inch long .308 jacket for 110 grain 30 carbine bullets, or producing a .351 WSL jacket from a .38/9mm jacket.

A .45 caliber jacket can be redrawn to make .44's that are slightly longer, or considerably longer .348 Winchester jackets. The .40 pistol jacket can also make a .348 Winchester but of course since there is less total volume of metal in it than in the .45's, it makes a shorter .348 than the re-drawn .45. Bear in mind also that bullet jackets are not usually the same diameter as their nominal caliber. A .45 jacket could make a .452 pistol bullet for the 45 ACP, or it could be expanded to make a .458 rifle bullet for a .45-70.

The actual bullet jacket itself is usually around .003 inches smaller than its nominal caliber. Jackets are not "wrapped around" a lead bullet, as some people seem to think, but are filled with lead and then expanded under tons of internal pressure until shaped by the die in which they are enclosed. The jacket must start out smaller than the caliber so it will easily fit into the swage die, and the lead core must then fit easily into the jacket. Then the two are squeezed outward by the swaging pressure applied to the lead core by means of a seating punch. The lead expands, pushes the jacket with it toward the die wall, and then the die stops the expansion. The jacket springs back slightly as the pressure is released. That allows the bullet to come back out of the die with reasonable ejection force. Lubrication on the jacket OD assists in the release.

Sort By: Default Name Ascending Name Descending Code Ascending Code Descending Lowest Price Highest Price Newest Items

38/9mm x .380 jacket, pk/500 Code: J-38-380 Price: $70.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none

.38/9mm x .500 jacket, pk/500 Code: J-38-500 Price: $75.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none

.40/10mm x .630 jacket, pk/250 Code: J-40-630 Price: $75.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none

Jacket, 452 cal, 0.5-long, pkg/250 Code: J-45-500 Price: $78.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none

45 x .680 jacket, pk/250 Code: J-45-680 Price: $78.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none

45 x .840 Bullet Jacket, pkg/250 Code: J-45-840 Price: $80.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none

Jacket Reducing Die, -R Code: JRD-1-R Price: $239.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none

Jacket Reducing Die, type -S Code: JRD-1-S Price: $239.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none

Jacket reducing die, type -H Code: JRD-1-H Price: $275.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none

Jacket Trimmer Die, Type -S Code: ET-2-S Price: $299.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none

Jacket Trim Die, Type -H Code: ET-2-H Price: $437.00 Check at Corbins.com Quantity in Basket: none