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How to Use a Top Punch

To reduce the cost of ammunition, many high-volume shooters cast their own bullets and reload their own ammunition. When a bullet is cast from lead, its shape is not always perfectly symetrical. The exact diameter of the bullet may also vary, depending on the mold used and lead alloy composition. Cast bullets are run through a sizing die that makes them all a uniform size and shape. A top punch is a replaceable portion of a sizing die that matches the exact shape of the bullet's nose as the bullet is pushed through the die. Different bullet nose shapes -- such as wadcutters, semi-wadcutters, round-noses, or flat points -- each require the use of a matching top punch.

Things You'll Need

Lubricator/sizer press
Cast bullet sizing die
Box-end wrench
Allen wrench
Top punch
Cast bullet

Instructions

- 1
  Use the Allen wrench to loosen the set screw located on the front lower portion of the press's ram.
- 2
  Insert the punch into the hole in the ram. The smaller, numbered portion of the punch goes into the ram. Tighten the set screw.
- 3
  Use the adjustable wrench to loosen the die-retaining nut. Insert the sizing die into the lower end of the sizer's base with the O-ring facing up. Install the retaining nut and slightly tighten it with the box-end wrench.
- 4
  Place a cast bullet on the die assembly nose-up. Pull down on the press's handle to raise the ram. This forces the bullet into the die.
- 5
  While holding the press lever down, turn the ratchet handle that is located on top of the press assembly counter-clockwise. This forces lubrication into the bullet lube grooves. Raise the handle to lower the ram and remove the bullet. The bullet is now lubed and sized.

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