This is shaping up to be a good thread with a lot of different aspects to it. The OP originally posed the question as to whether a HAMMER swaged bullet was the way to go. And, as Ranch said, the ODGs used swaged bullets for their long range work. They, and the buffalo runners that shot factory ammo, shot swaged bullets made at the factory IN LARGE QUANTITIES in presses. Swaged bullets were used by the factories simply due to manufacturing expediency, as it is much easier to make large quantities of bullets in an automatic swaging machine than it is to cast them.
However, and as Kurt will tell you, while a press swaged bullet can be a very good bullet, it is often more difficult to precisely control the weight of a press swaged bullet than it is a bullet that is cast. Swages don't always bleed the excess lead off in a consistent manner, and close weight control is sometimes a problem when swaging. Good cast bullets--and note that I said GOOD cast bullets--can be remarkably consistent for weight, and if handled and treated properly, can shoot with any swaged bullet.
Which brings us to the HAMMER swaged bullet. The hydraulic or mechanical press uses a uniform amount of pressure to push the slug into the swaging die. The hammer swage, on the other hand, is dependent on the force of the hammer blow on the punch to form the base and shape the sides and nose. And this is where the rub comes in. It is virtually impossible to hit the punch exactly the same way and with exactly the same amount of force from one bullet to the next, and a bullet should be formed with one precise blow in a hammer swage, not with several successive applications of the hammer. Bases and skirts do not get formed with the same relentless precision with a hammer swage as they do from a press. I would suggest and submit that the guys that win the most using hammer swaged bullets are, among other things, better and more consistent with their hammer technique when they make their bullets than their fellow shooters.
Cast bullets have their shortcomings as well, but these shortcomings are much easier to identify and address. They are also easier to make without the expenditure of a fairly large sum of money than press swaged bullets.
That is a neat old outfit you have there, BTW.
