.222 rem & cast today

[mainiac]

After shooting hundreds of boolits out of my hornet, and finally settling on the most accurate load for it, ive laid it aside and started shooting the duece, as of today. The extreme things i found with the hornet, happened because it is a hornet..... or so i thought! The .222 that im trying cast in, is a rem 700 bdl sporter that is a very good shooting gun. It shoots groups with 52 gr. handmade br bullets that are between .400-.550. Not knowing where to start, i selected 2 powders, 8.0 herco,and 20 748. Two different boolits, and 3 different alloys. The 8.0 herco load shoots about 6 INCH GROUPS!, with both the 225415, and the 22 bator! The 20-748 load shoots better, but still poorly, 2-2.5 inch groups. The bator boolit outshot the 225415, by a long ways. The 15-1 ww,lino alloy shot the best. Straight lino was the worst. Everyone talks about how great lino is, and here is another gun that dont like it. My hornet wont even keep them on the paper (15 inch groups!), and this 222 shows a dislike also, although no where near as bad. Are all these .22,s as finicky as these ones of mine are? I realize that i have many loads to try, and im sure that i will get the duece shooting well, its just that the .22 will really throw its shots, if its not happy! Anybody got a favorite 222 load/ boolit stlye? On hindsight, the 20-748 load with the bator boolit shot groups around 2 inches, and i guess that aint so bad, for now!

[felix]

What powders on the shelf? Primers? ... felix

[mainiac]

Felix, got about everything to load with. Im thinking of going with v-133, h322 next. Also, i seated these about .020 in the lands. If you have a choice, do you jump or jam, with cast? Also, i only have 1 sizer, and thats a .225. I havent done a chamber cast on this gun, but have to beleave that it is very close to .224. When are you guys going to finalize the BEST 22 mold?

[felix]

There's the problem!!! Start 008 OFF the lands, and continue back to 020. Hopefully, the bator does not grab the lands too strong. If so, treat the nose as the body and back off. BlueDot/N105 at 8.5 or 9.0 for a medium load, 6.0 with 4756 for a baby load, and 12.5 N110 for a full 2400 fps. Use PISTOL primer. ... FELIX

[NHlever]

There was a good article in a "Bullet Making Annual" a number of years ago about cast in the .222. The author had a Savage 340, and found that the Lyman 225415, and the RCBS 55 grain fp worked the best for him. He also found that 700x worked best for the light loads, and 2400 worked best for the mid to high range loads. ( .22WMR to .22Hornet level) I believe that he was using water quenched wheel weights, or heat treated ones. I've been working with a Hornet, but have been keping my eye open for a .222 also. The only mold I have so far is the Lyman 22596, and it works, but I do want to try others.

[35remington]

Try 8.5 grains H4227 and the Lyman 225415 seated to touch and work backward.

Load development for my friend's 222 Bullberry barrel was about as hard as falling off a log. At 1800 fps, this duplicates a 22 magnum and is not too noisy. This bugger really, really shoots.

A squirrel hunt is in the works in one week.

Don't be tempted to drive it too fast to start. Some of the load recommendations are rather high in some manuals with cast to expect good accuracy. The high velocities with fast pistol powders are not the route to go if seeking groups either.

[felix]

Objective would be to get 5 boolits to touch at 50 yards. Eliminate any ambient condition as much as possible. A 14 twist 22 cal expands the envelope as expected with no funny stuff, and would make shooting errors obvious at a hunnert. You are after a load before going out further. Oh, by the way, we are getting Corky's 12 twist 223 ready before a full "blowd" out test. So far, and not officially, Walt's 55 grainer and Lyman's 225646 are about tied in that they shoot a half inch at a hunnert circa 2400 fps with the 14 twist bench gun, 222 ackley. ... felix

[SCIBUL]

Hello all.
I have been playing with the 222 sincs 4 month now but didn't get good results. I tried Vihtavuori powders (N 110, 120 & 130) with Lyman 225415 (55grs) but have used rifle primers... I'm gonna try pistol ones !

[DLCTEX]

Felix: What is a 225646? I don't find it in my references. What powder are you using to get good results at 2400? DALE

[compass will]

Objective would be to get 5 boolits to touch at 50 yards.felix


Felix, as you know I have been doing the same thing with the 22-250 using a fluted bull barrel on a H&R buffalo classic. I will switch to 50 yards (from 100) so we can compare results.

[mainiac]

There's the problem!!! Start 008 OFF the lands, and continue back to 020. Hopefully, the bator does not grab the lands too strong. If so, treat the nose as the body and back off. BlueDot/N105 at 8.5 or 9.0 for a medium load, 6.0 with 4756 for a baby load, and 12.5 N110 for a full 2400 fps. Use PISTOL primer. ... FELIX

Will try these loads, thanks, I have another mold to try as well, its a 225438. This boolit is the best boolit for my hornet.