What Is Lead Wire Used For?
Swaging — lead wire is the raw material for swaging bullets in a Corbin or similar swaging press. The wire is cut to length (a "slug"), then pressed into a die to form a finished bullet. Swaging produces extremely consistent bullets with better dimensional accuracy than casting.
Core production — for jacketed bullet making, lead wire is cut into cores that are seated into a copper cup and swaged into a jacketed bullet.
Testing and proofing — short slugs are used for groove diameter measurement, bore slugging, and chamber proofing.
Custom extrusion — ACE offers custom wire extrusion at $0.65/lb for diameters not in the standard lineup.
Full Diameter Reference Chart
| Wire Diameter | Common Caliber Applications | Box / Price |
|---|---|---|
| .166" | .17 caliber rimfire cores, .17 HMR swaging | 40 lb / $149 |
| .185" | .19 caliber specialty, small bore test slugs | 40 lb / $149 |
| .200" | .20 caliber / 5mm cores and specialty swaging | 40 lb / $149 |
| .223" | .22 caliber cores — .223 Rem, .22-250, .220 Swift | 40 lb / $149 |
| .243" | 6mm caliber cores — .243 Win, 6mm Rem, 6mm Creedmoor | 40 lb / $149 |
| .257" | .25 caliber — .257 Roberts, .25-06 Rem, .250 Savage | 40 lb / $149 |
| .277" | 6.8mm / .270 caliber — .270 Win, 6.8 SPC | 40 lb / $149 |
| .284" | 7mm caliber — 7mm-08, .280 Rem, 7mm Rem Mag | 40 lb / $149 |
| .308" | .30 caliber — .308 Win, .30-06, .300 Win Mag, .30-30 | 40 lb / $149 |
| .312" | .32 caliber — .32 ACP, .32 S&W, 7.62x39 | 40 lb / $149 |
| .327" | .327 Federal Mag, .32 H&R Mag bore slugging | 50 lb / $179 |
| .355" | 9mm / .355 — 9mm Luger, .380 ACP | 50 lb / $179 |
| .357" | .38/.357 — .38 Special, .357 Magnum | 50 lb / $179 |
| .375" | .375 caliber rifles — .375 H&H, .375 Ruger | 50 lb / $179 |
| .400" | 10mm / .40 S&W — 10mm Auto, .40 S&W, .41 Mag | 50 lb / $179 |
| .430" | .44/.45 — .44 Mag, .45 ACP, .45 Colt | 50 lb / $179 |
Pricing includes shipping. All ACE lead wire ships USPS flat rate to all 50 states, Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Due to USPS regulations, multiple boxes ship with individual tracking numbers per box.
Two Pricing Tiers
.166"–.312" ships in 40 lb boxes at $149 each (shipping included). .327"–.430" ships in 50 lb boxes at $179 each (shipping included). The larger diameter wire ships heavier per unit length, hence the heavier box weight.
Order ACE Certified Pure Lead Wire
12 diameters in stock. Ships USPS flat rate. Made in-house from our own billet.
About Our Lead
All ACE lead wire starts with our own billet — we don't buy and resell. We extrude in-house in Marthasville, Missouri and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Our lead is certified pure with no recycled or salvage material. Consistent hardness, consistent diameter, consistent performance across every box you order.