Should I bother trying cast in a 223 Saiga?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

I'd be happy with soft ejection (rifle chucks factory ammo 20+ feet) and 4-5 MOA (what it does with Tula ammo) although it would be nice if it shot a little better.

Looks like I need around $120 in gear which includes:

Lee 6 cavity mold
Lee Dies including neck sizer in case I decide to load for a bolt gun down the road
Lee expander
Lee sizing die
Lee case length gauge (already have trimmer)

Each round would cost:

.03 gas check
.01 lead
.03 powder for Alliant 2400 or similar burn rate?
.03 per primer

So probably less than half of Tula and I could shoot he close range steel at the range. Should I do it? I've got a pile of 223 brass from my firends with ARs. Don't really want to have to cycle it by hand, though.

[RogerDat]

No reason you can't get good cycling and lead free operation. I load .223 with 23.5 - 25 grains of Varget and they reliably cycle a mini-14 they are cast from Lyman #2 alloy, gas checked, and powder coated. So I size twice, once to set the gas check, then again after powder coating. I find I can push the non-stick aluminum foil down between gaps in rack and just lay the bullets in there on their side to bake on the powder coat. No lube aside from the PC.

There is an expander plug that NOE makes that fits into the Lee Universal expander so that it gives a consistent neck tension and small amount of flare. Much like a Lyman M die. I think it helps with getting consistent pressure for cycling.

Find out your twist rate and match the bullet you cast to that twist rate. Faster twist likes heavier bullet, slower wants lighter. Mine are cast for a fast 1:7 twist so I found a 70 grain mold yielded a great deal more accuracy than the 55 grain commercial stuff. Talking the difference between 20 rounds mostly all on a 12 inch target to 20 you can cover with your hand.

If that brass is military head stamp the primers are crimped, after you take out the primer you need to swage and/or trim the primer pocket with a 60* chamfer bit from harbor freight. CH4D and others make a pocket swager that presses into the pocket and re-forms the primer pocket. Only have to do that once, to deal with the military crimp. There are a few primer pocket swagers to pick from.

[runfiverun]

2400 won't work your rifle.
think more along the lines of 3031 or 4895.
lyman no-2 or close-nuff alloy would be a good place to start.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Thanks guys! Given the extra cost of the slower powder needed to cycle the action, I might just stick to the 44 lever gun for the steel targets. Might give 9mm a try though...

[Boolseye]

296/H110 cycles my .223 carbine. Also 300 BLK.

[Tackleberry41]

Some of the Lee you may want to consider other options. Often with semi autos, you need the small base dies, Lee does not offer any. Its not written in stone, depends on the rifle. I have a Lee 224 sizer, but is near worthless as its undersized. Your better off investing in the NOE set up. All of my NOE sizer stuff fits in a small box, vs the lee which take up more space. The lee expander, isnt really an expander, but a flare tool. Wont find a set of rifle dies that come with an 'expander' like you need for the slightly oversized cast bullets. Again, NOE is the way to go, other wise you will tend to swage down the bullets seating them, then accuracy will be terrible. I gave up on Lee dies, just leemented yet another Lee mold the other day so it casts the right size and is usable. I have a Lyman 55gr, the lee mold is also flat nosed, may not feed so well. The Lyman is round nosed. 2400 may work, try it, AKs tend to be a bit over gassed. If it doesn't plenty of other uses for 2400, try something else.