Im new to cast boolits and need a load for some .223

[Solus]

How the title says Im new to cast bullets and need some load data. Ive been searching for roughly 5 days on the web and cant find any. Everything I find is for 55gr. i am looking for a load for a .223. the bullet is a .224 diameter 45gr w/ gas check bullet it is a round nose bullet with 2 lube grooves. I got these a long time ago and thought Ide find a load for this finally. Not sure who the manufacturer is but it does say Beanies Reloading Supply. I checked there website and they dont sell a 22cal bullet so it must be an older stock. Any help would be appreciated. :-?

[Randy C]

I dont know if this will help
62359

[runfiverun]

you are gonna have to be a little more specific.
we have loads here from 4 grs of powder through a case crammed full.
i'm gonna guess this is for an AR rifle.

[Moonie]

In an AR I'd try 16-18gr of H4895 and work up if it didn't fully cycle.

[Solus]

yup its for an AR rifle sorry your right I should have said what it was for. Why is it that the lyman load data seems like it isnt enough powder... Maybe its because of the type of powder

[runfiverun]

because they are not loading for an AR.
there are not thousands of people shooting cast through an AR.
and probably about 6 when they wrote the manual.
any way start at 17 grs of imr 4895 and work up.
you should be just about working the action at 17grs.

[Solus]

because they are not loading for an AR.
there are not thousands of people shooting cast through an AR.
and probably about 6 when they wrote the manual.
any way start at 17 grs of imr 4895 and work up.
you should be just about working the action at 17grs.
H4895 or IMR 4895? I think I have both... any other powders I can use?

[.22-10-45]

Hello, Solus, and welcome to Cast Boolits! More important than powder..do you have the proper expanding tools (M die) for loading cast?

[runfiverun]

they seem to flip flop burn rate depending on application.
i use IMR-4895 the H seems to burn a titch quicker in the 22 cal rifles for me.
4227,2400,red-dot,unique,231,3031,4064,aa-2230,aa-1680,h-322.
they all work in a 223.
not all of them will cycle the action and give accuracy with cast.
you are allready walking the line with your diameter,and boolit weight.
you also have to have enough gas volume to operate the rifle,and a low enough velocity for the boolit to hit paper.
cast isn't a replacement for jaxketed bullets, they are an alternative and have limitations.
the loading techniques are more involved and technical also.

[Solus]

I cant use my regular rcbs 223 dies?

[runfiverun]

you can.
i prefer to not have that much neck tension.
squishing a 225 cast boolit into a 222 hole is not good for it.
sometimes a die set will not allow a large enough boolit to enter a seating die.
[my lyman die set will not allow me to use a 323 cast boolit in my 32 win,and my rcbs die set for my 44-40 won't allow me to use a 430 boolit]

for my 308's i use an expander from my 7.62x39 set that i turned down to 3095 to get the neck tension correct.
for my 223's i use a lee collet n/s die in favor over my redding 223 neck sizer because i can get the neck diameter correct.

[Solus]

I see but I heard from my coworker that you cant use the collet dies for the AR because it doesnt allow the case to form correctly and jams up the gun

[runfiverun]

you have to correct size the cases.
if you are usng full 55,000 pressure loads the cases get a little stretched.
using 40-k loads you are a bit more gentle on things.
i generally do a full length re-size every other time when using cast.
if i have to full length size i use the collet neck sizer to put thing in the right place [size]
the M-die or the lee thingy will do it also.
to put a little flair on the case mouth,i just bump them against a 24 cal expander.
other guy's do it a little differently but we are all doing the same thing.

[dverna]

Solus,

As a new caster you have decided to jump into casting at the PHD level. The .223 in an AR is not a simple task if you want to cycle the action, get decent accuracy and not lead the barrel. Many new casters have trouble with 9mm and .40 cal pistol bullets.

I fear you will become very frustrated unless you get lucky and you will give up on cast bullets and that would be a shame. If your situation permits, start with a pistol mold and get some experience. Bigger bullets at lower velocity are much more forgiving. The next step would be to cast rifle bullets for something like a .30, 33, or .35 cal rifle. Drive these smaller bullets at 1500-2200 fps. If you can get accuracy in the 1.5-2 MOA range then you are ready to tackle the .223.

Just my opinion.

It is not fun if it is too frustrating and you feel no sense of accomplishment.

[Solus]

oh I love a challenge dverna and yes I have two bullet molds for my pistols. I just happen to have these from someone who had sold me a bunch of reloading stuff and its the only thing I am not able to use that I know of. I already loaded all the jacketed bullets and setup my reloading press but I do not know how to load the 223 lead cast bullets he gave me

[Larry Gibson]

Solus

Runfiverun and others are giving good advise. I would add if your AR has the shorter M4 length gas tube (gas port is closer to chamber) and a 7" twist drop back to 15 gr H4895 (IMR works fine to but the "H" meters more accurately) and use a 1/2 gr dacron filler. What you want to do (if you don't have the PHD in loading for the AR) is to get reliable functioning at as low a velocity a you can. You'll find your best accuracy at that point.

If your AR has a 9" twist and/or the standard length gas tube then the suggested 17 gr is a good start.

If you've an AR with a piston then use the most open setting on the gas regualtor for the piston.

Larry Gibson

[Solus]

ok thank you all for the advice