Need bullet advice

[Captain Capsize]

I am needing to develop an accurate squirrel load for my Savage o/u .223/20 ga. It has a 1:14 twist rate. I am thinking maybe a 35-40 grain bullet at 1600 fps or such. From what I have read the slow twist rate won't stabilize a bullet much heavier than 40 grain. But that theory is based on a 3,000 fps bullet. I am wondering if that also applies to a bullet traveling 16-1800 fps. I would prefer to reload with cast lead boolits. Anyone know of a source or perhaps a mold in that weight range. I am not a stranger to casting my own but have never done it with such a tiny boolit. Thanks for your input.

[MarkP]

Lyman 225107 -- NOE has some in stock

[cbrick]

Don't be intimidated by the old wives tales that the small boolits are hard to cast, they aren't.

The trick is mold heat (not higher pot temps), don't look at it as pouring lead, your pouring HEAT and with the little boolits your pouring very little heat in relation to mold block size. Pre-heat your mold to a good CASTING temp, cast at a quick pace and pour a generous sprue puddle to keep the plate hot. That's it, get and keep the blocks and sprue plate hot and you'll be a happy camper.

Rick

[kenyerian]

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=413&osCsid=mnkpm9u05vg8t0aseu4r2fqhb5 . This is a very good mold. I love mine. I just use it in the Hornet though.

[Captain Capsize]

What velocity are you shooting them at?

[kenyerian]

1900 ft / sec. Use in T/C with 10" barrel

[Larry Gibson]

I also have a Savage 24V that was a .222 Rem But was rechambered to .223. It has the 14" twist and stabilizes 60 gr 225462s just fine down to 800 fps (just haven't gone lower). However I use the FN'd 225415 over 4 gr of Bullseye for 1550 fps out of my 24V. It has accounted for many, many squirrels, grouse, chuckers, rabbits and a few other paltry varmints.

Larry Gibson

[Captain Capsize]

Thanks for the info, I feel like this .223/20 is going to be my most favorite small game getter. I am up in north central Pa. where I hunt until January my casting and most of my reloading equipment is back in Fl. I would like to try some lead boolit loads while I am up here would anyone be willing to sell me some of their cast .224 boolits any number from 10 to 100. I will gladly send you a check or Paypal if you use it. If you would pm me your reply I would be grateful, thanks.

[Blammer]

50gr bullet and 6gr of unique you'll have a nice 22 magnum with your 223

make sure you load that 20ga with the tri-ball from Dixie, incase them squirrels charge ya. :)

[Outpost75]

I'm not sure why you need the higher velocity unless you are shooting at long ranges over100 yds.

The loads over about 1300 fps bloodshot alot if meat. With subsonic loads with bulet having a large meplat, you can eat right up to the bullet hole. My own preference is for rook rifle type performance in. 32 S&W long rifle, 88-grain bullet at about 900 fps. Kills much better than. 22LR high velocity with low noise and minimal meat damage.

[Piedmont]

Captain Capsize, The 1-14" twist you have is ideal. You don't have to worry about using heavy bullets. Use whatever weight you want up to 60 grains. Most early Hornets and some still today use a 1-16" which is the same as .22 LR. Those are the ones that start giving trouble with stability up around 50 grains.

[Captain Capsize]

Thanks for the affirmation troopers. I am anxious to try some different loads. Regarding using high velocity rounds, I don't want to destroy meat so I head shoot my squirrels. I like the idea of a flat shooting round that won't be gross overkill. I am presently hunting with my .22 mag/20 ga. and it is just fine, maybe a little more power than necessary but it shoots flat to about 70 yds. I like the idea of a low power .223 rifle that will shoot a full power round when needed (perhaps a coyote at 150 yds.). I have a 30-30 load that will cover that need but in some states Pa. for instance don't allow small game hunting with larger than 23 caliber.

[Captain Capsize]

50gr bullet and 6gr of unique you'll have a nice 22 magnum with your 223

make sure you load that 20ga with the tri-ball from Dixie, incase them squirrels charge ya. :)

I know you are making a joke about being charged by a squirrel but that actually happened to me. I haven't told this story much because it sounds so much like bs I hesitate to tell it. But anyway "believe it or not". Nearly 50 years ago I was deer hunting in the mountains in Calif. with my .357 Ruger pistol. I didn't see any deer within range all day but across a ravine I saw the biggest squirrel I had ever seen. So I sneak over there and the sq. runs up a tree and climbs into a nest, I sit down on the ground near the nest and wait and wait. Some 30 minutes later I notice an egg shaped stone right next to me so I pick it up and quietly lob it into the tree just above the nest. It comes crashing down and the sq. leaped straight up and almost fell. I guess he fell asleep and forgot about me. He was so startled he ran down the tree jabbering up a storm. He was on the trunk and stopped for a second, I drew my pistol and fired a shot just as he moved, it took off his rear leg. This made him really mad and he came down and was running straight to me I had a second to realize, holy **** this thing is going to be on me in a flash. I fired another shot 3 feet in front of me and hit him right through the top of the head, he was drt. After I got my wits about me I dressed him out and took him home, he had a nut sack as big as a walnut, this was a big sq. I was young and dumb and had no idea how to cook sq. and my wife didn't want any part of it so I put him in a roasting pan (remember this is a big sq.) and baked him for about an hour. Well needless to say, he was tough as leather and totally unfit to eat. "Believe it or not". So now that I know how to cook sq. I enjoy eating them and hunting them. They are a lot easier to drag out of the woods than a deer.

[dragonrider]

Good story, animals do funny things sometimes.

[Kent Fowler]

I got charged by a half crazed jack rabbit out in West Texas about 25 years ago. My best friend is still laughing about it.

[T-Man]

I started out swaging 224's. Then graduated to using 22LR brass as jackets in my swaging program. I have finally settled on Powder Coated 224's weighing 56 grains. I can fundamentally mass produce these things, which is the point since I do a lot of training with my full auto M4's I managed to collect over the years. You burn through a LOT of ammo when those empty 30 round mags are hitting the ground every few seconds. It was fine when you could grab a few cases of surplus 5.56 for a hundred bucks a case back in the day. But for single shot use, no reason what you are proposing cannot work well, and in fact exceed what you are vying for