How to Use a Corbin S Press - A Thread Geared Toward Beginners

Got up early, cleaned some wire, then cut it, and started swaging some more cores to make more slugs.
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I was thinking about the above comment in post #42. That’s where I would concluded discussing swaging Airgun slugs on the Corbin S Press with beginners. Are there any other elements of the basics of swaging Airgun slugs that S Press users following this thread think should be included that has not been mentioned or discussed?
hi, this is the first step to then create the hybrids? thanks
 
I just had a thought. For new Corbin press owners that like their press and are thinking about buying different dies in different sizes (especially .22 caliber) it may be a good idea to message a member with the die set that you may have your eye and request some samples in various weights. Agree upon a fee for the lead and the shipping and pay the member with the dies. If they shoot well from your gun(s) then you have a good idea what to order from Corbin. What do you all think about this?
 
Corbin has sent me samples as well. I have 25 cal dies arriving tommorow. I am getting .250 hollow ogive hollow point with dish base punch as well as the boattail. Kelly told me the boattail hollow ogive HP have been great performers for accuracy and hunting.
we are supposed to get some rain snow mix here Sunday so I will be swaging slugs for my Panthera. First step will be finding how heavy ( long ) a slug will fit and function in the magazine.
 
@Ta-Ta Toothie and @ndwind That’s really good to know. I’ve never asked and was unaware that they do this. With that said, perhaps this would be something more valuable for folks considering getting custom dies. For example, the Huben airguns have odd caliber sizing like .251, .252, or .253 (according to some posts I’ve read) instead of a regular .25 caliber. If one were interested in this sort of die set and another member was already using one, this would be an ideal situation to reach and ask another AGN member and owner of a Corbin die and press setup for some samples. This dynamic can make purchasing dies easier.
 
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@Ta-Ta Toothie and @ndwind That’s really good to know. I’ve never asked and was unaware that they do this. With that said, perhaps this would be something more valuable for folks considering getting custom dies. For example, the Huben airguns have odd caliber sizing like .251, .252, or .253 (according to some posts I’ve read) instead of a regular .25 caliber. If one were interested in this sort of doe and another member was already using one, this would be an ideal situation to reach and ask another AGN member and owner of a Corbin die and press setup for some samples. This dynamic can make purchasing dies easier.
I will implement something of this sorts.
 
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Great post guys, I'm reading eagerly! I'm really keen to buy a Corbin press very soon..
In order to do that I would like to ask few things to those having more Corbin experience in bullet swaging.

1) I'm interested in .25 cal only, I shot them primarily from my Epic 2 which has a 700 mm Lw Poly barrel 1-17.7 twist. It loves medium/heavy slugs, my slug of choice is Zan 45 gr in .250. I'm also strongly consider the Idea to get the new Mora which has the new RPB 1:20", light choke Lw Barrel. I'm looking to send high BC slugs with hollow points as my main purpose is smashing pests at long distance and my shooting distance is never les then 100 yards

2)I'm torn between getting dies size in .250 or .251

So asking if anyone else has made slugs for Lw barrels and which size is the best option.

In your opinion which nose shape works best for long range accuracy ( ordering RBT base and cup base but if you say there's something else that it's a must have let me know

Do you have other advice for a beginner?

Thanks for your time

P.s. I'm living in Europe area, I already asked in various FB forums to get slugs samples from those using Corbin Press and dies but I did not find collaborative slugs makers yet so if there is a good soul somewhere just let me know., I will be more than happy to cover the expenses
 
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@Esab These are good questions to ask before taking the deep dive and purchasing. I cannot answer all of your questions as I have not gotten into working with many .25 slugs yet. I think for starters it's best to slug the barrel(s) you intend to make slugs for them measure the groove diameter on the slugs that you pushed through the barrel. That way you can order a die that will produce projectiles that are good for that barrel (or those barrels). It is also a good idea to contact the folks at Corbin Manufacturing and discussing your needs/wants. They can talk you through the process. I recommend taking notes while on the phone so that you don't forget pertinent information that is discussed. Before making any slugs, try finding commercial slugs that you gun's barrel shoots well. I see you like Zan slugs right now. Have you shot many othe brands? Weights? Styles? Diameters? I started with NSA slugs and even communicated with the owner who was more than helpful with providing information. I probably took about 1.5 - 2 years of collecting information before purchasing a swaging setup.

As for nose shapes, I suggest also doing some reading of posts by Ballistic Boy (projectiles forum), Centercut, and other competition shooters in the benchrest and ELR forums. There is plenty to learn. I suggest that you take your time, read, and ask quesrtions when you don't understand. Searhing and reading is really helpful. I can't stress that enough.
 
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@Esab These are good questions to ask before taking the deep dive and purchasing. I cannot answer all of your questions as I have not gotten into working with many .25 slugs yet. I think for starters it's best to slug the barrel(s) you intend to make slugs for them measure the groove diameter on the slugs that you pushed through the barrel. That way you can order a die that will produce projectiles that are good for that barrel (or those barrels). It is also a good idea to contact the folks at Corbin Manufacturing and discussing your needs/wants. They can talk you through the process. I recommend taking notes while on the phone so that you don't forget pertinent information that is discussed. Before making any slugs, try finding commercial slugs that you gun's barrel shoots well. I see you like Zan slugs right now. Have you shot many othe brands? Weights? Styles? Diameters? I started with NSA slugs and even communicated with the owner who was more than helpful with providing information. I probably took about 1.5 - 2 years of collecting information before purchasing a swaging setup.

As for nose shapes, I suggest also doing some reading of posts by Ballistic Boy (projectiles forum), Centercut, and other competition shooters in the benchrest and ELR forums. There is plenty to learn. I suggest that you take your time, read, and ask quesrtions when you don't understand. Searhing and reading is really helpful. I can't stress that enough.
Thanks buddy for your fast reply.

I already slugged my barrel few days ago and I'll give you some numbers but did not take note if they were bore or groove diameter but I think you figure it out: 0.2480 and 0.2534.

I love Zan mostly and H&N, shot them from both Barrels CZub and Lw from 30 to 46 gr, ( I only kept the lw barrel because you can shoot heavy slugs from it) I also tried JSB slugs but they are too light for my stile of shooting, other than that nothing else. Nsa and Javelin are difficult get in Europe sometimes
Both brands are accurate but Zan does best all around: being in love with ballistic and terminal performance I tested both in 15% calibrated home made gel bloc, tested from 50-100 -150 -200 and 300 m and where Zan slugs mushroomed completely even at 300 m, the H&N failed to open up at 200 m already, at 300 m they were almost zipping through the entire bloc probably because the higher content of antymony or due to a different HP.
That's why Zan is my Brand of choice.
I will listen to your advice to read anything I can find on this Forum.
 
I can give my opinion. It isnt worth much but its free!🤣 I have been swaging with Corbin equipment for about a year and half. I started doing 22 slugs then for my 45 longrange muzzleloader now 25 cal airgun.
I have dies in .218 to do flat base , dish base and cup base. my experiancee the cup base didnt shoot good in my guns or my friends so several diffent brands. I can do standard hollow point , large hollow point , and hollow ogive [ like the FX hybred ]. I also have the X punch [ segmented ] hollow point.
I got the 25 caliber dies yesterday afternoon. i got .250 dish base and boat tail base. hollow ogive with the large and small hollow point pins. I made some yesterday and just got home from our indoor range testing in my FX Panthera. the dish base hollow ogive lg HP at 54.5 grains here are the results according to my Garmin chronograph. 10 shots avg 92.9 ft-lbs ave 876 fps spread 18.4 std sev 5.1 these functioned well in the mag. show great accuracy potential.
The boat tail hollow ogive lg HP 52.7 grains 10 shots avg 94 ft-lbs avg 896.3 fps spread 12.7 std dev 3.3 these also functioned well in the mag and great accuracy potential!
Granted only two ten shot strings at close range but i wanted make sure they functioned before making a bunch!
This is the weekend before our deer season opener so our indoor 100 yard rifle range is swamped so ill do longer range testing later. Oh and this was done with the tune I had on my rifle. I havnt played with that at all yet!
I know this isnt real scientific but its some information to start with. when I talked to Corbin last Monday they had a few sets of .250 and one of .251 dies on hand ready to ship. They are super people to deal with!!!!
 
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I can give my opinion. It isnt worth much but its free!🤣 I have been swaging with Corbin equipment for about a year and half. I started doing 22 slugs then for my 45 longrange muzzleloader now 25 cal airgun.
I have dies in .218 to do flat base , dish base and cup base. my experiancee the cup base didnt shoot good in my guns or my friends so several diffent brands. I can do standard hollow point , large hollow point , and hollow ogive [ like the FX hybred ]. I also have the X punch [ segmented ] hollow point.
I got the 25 caliber dies yesterday afternoon. i got .250 dish base and boat tail base. hollow ogive with the large and small hollow point pins. I made some yesterday and just got home from our indoor range testing in my FX Panthera. the dish base hollow ogive lg HP at 54.5 grains here are the results according to my Garmin chronograph. 10 shots avg 92.9 ft-lbs ave 876 fps spread 18.4 std sev 5.1 these functioned well in the mag. show great accuracy potential.
The boat tail hollow ogive lg HP 52.7 grains 10 shots avg 94 ft-lbs avg 896.3 fps spread 12.7 std dev 3.3 these also functioned well in the mag and great accuracy potential!
Granted only two ten shot strings at close range but i wanted make sure they functioned before making a bunch!
This is the weekend before our deer season opener so our indoor 100 yard rifle range is swamped so ill do longer range testing later. Oh and this was done with the tune I had on my rifle. I havnt played with that at all yet!
I know this isnt real scientific but its some information to start with. when I talked to Corbin last Monday they had a few sets of .250 and one of .251 dies on hand ready to ship. They are super people to deal with!!!!
Hi buddy, thanks for your reply. How do you do large Hp? Can you change how deep you can go with the HP pin or you need something else?
 
Hi buddy, thanks for your reply. How do you do large Hp? Can you change how deep you can go with the HP pin or you need something else?
@Esab It's called a hollow ogive. I know this thread is long, but this thread was created to provide these types of answers. That information is well documented within this thread with photographs. It's time to start reading.
 
@Esab It's called a hollow ogive. I know this thread is long, but this thread was created to provide these types of answers. That information is well documented within this thread with photographs. It's time to start reading.
Hi buddy, I read all the thread twice yesterday and I was aware already of the hollow ogive. in fact if you read above what ndwind was saying he mentioned "I can do standard hollow point , large hollow point , and hollow ogive [ like the FX hybred ]. I also have the X punch [ segmented ] hollow point." That's why I was asking if you can do standard HP or large HP varying the depth of the hollow pin.
 
Hi buddy, I read all the thread twice yesterday and I was aware already of the hollow ogive. in fact if you read above what ndwind was saying he mentioned "I can do standard hollow point , large hollow point , and hollow ogive [ like the FX hybred ]. I also have the X punch [ segmented ] hollow point." That's why I was asking if you can do standard HP or large HP varying the depth of the hollow pin.
@Esab To my knowledge there is a range of hollow-point depth that can be set by adjusting the floating punch holder. The hollow point depth can be controlled to varying degrees by how you set your punch in the floating punch holder. If you set it too far down
(or too deep), you can damage the punches and possibly the die. After a certain depth you no longer have a "hollow point." The further down it is set, the more resistance you will feel when engaging the ram handle. You should be able to use leverage without trying to use an excessive amount of force to turn the cam over. In this instance I would say that is an example of an excessive amount of force would be to attempt to use your body weight to pull the handle down in order to turn the cam of the press over at the bottom of the stroke. DO NOT SET THE PUNCH IN THE EXTERNAL FLOATING PUNCH HOLDER PAST THE LIMIT LINE. Be sure that the limit line is always visible. This is very important. Let's see what he has to add to this or explains differently.
 
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The hollow ogive is a seperate forming die used in the core forming process. the lg and sm hollow point is just the size pin chosen during point forming process. you cant really change the depth of the hollow point because you have to run the core to the bottom of the point forming die to fully form the nose of the slug. The lg hp has a taper to it the sm is a straight pin. The greatst terminal performance in my opinion is achieved with the hollow ogive taperd pin or X punch.