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Marlin Junky
08-07-2010, 08:04 PM
I received my RCBS 22-055 today and I'm going to start casting with it soon but holy smoke... how very, very small these cavities are! My Magma MasterPot will maintain temp's in excess of 800F but is that going to be sufficient for filling out these tiny cavities with clip-on WW metal? I don't have any solder but I have some type metal and maybe enough lead to mix with some of the type metal but I really want to save my precious Pb for cutting with WW metal to make heat treated hunting alloys.

Any suggestions for a good .22 bore alloy that'll expand when it hits something at down to 2000 fps? I'm used to HT'ing and nose tempering .30 cal, so there's no aversion there... other than the smallness of these boolits. An alloy that'll fill out these cavities accurately is my main concern right now. I'll report back about my success or lack thereof w/ WW metal in a few days.

MJ

garandsrus
08-07-2010, 08:39 PM
MJ,

I haven't had any problem casting .22 boolits. You will want to preheat the mold. I use mostly monotype. You don't use a lot :)

John

1Shirt
08-07-2010, 09:39 PM
I cast 5 different 22's, and like BH of in excess of 22, preferably 28-29. For the little short ones in K-hornet works great on p-dogs. My loads for the K, 222, 223 run in the 2200 fps plus, and working on 22-250. Latest blt is the 224 Ranch Dog, which has a nice wide flat meplat. Looking forward to trying that on p-dogs. Hope to work loads up to the 2300-2400 fps bracket, but not there yet. I am satisfied with accuracy that will stay under 2 inches at 100, and once in awhile close to an inch.
Good luck!
1Shirt!:coffeecom

JeffinNZ
08-07-2010, 09:47 PM
I use clip on WW plus a splash of tin in both my Lyman 225415 and 225462 with good results. They are not harder to cast than any other bullet IMHO.

Marlin Junky
08-08-2010, 04:22 AM
I use clip on WW plus a splash of tin in both my Lyman 225415 and 225462 with good results. They are not harder to cast than any other bullet IMHO.

What's your melt temp?

MJ

Marlin Junky
08-08-2010, 04:26 AM
I cast 5 different 22's, and like BH of in excess of 22, preferably 28-29. For the little short ones in K-hornet works great on p-dogs. My loads for the K, 222, 223 run in the 2200 fps plus, and working on 22-250. Latest blt is the 224 Ranch Dog, which has a nice wide flat meplat. Looking forward to trying that on p-dogs. Hope to work loads up to the 2300-2400 fps bracket, but not there yet. I am satisfied with accuracy that will stay under 2 inches at 100, and once in awhile close to an inch.
Good luck!
1Shirt!:coffeecom

BHN 29 enables me to exceed 2400 fps in my 1:10" 30-30. Are you using fast powders in your 222 & 223 or full cases of medium burning powders?

MJ

rhead
08-08-2010, 05:12 AM
I use wheeweights plus 2% tin. The tin reduces the culls enough to be worthwhile. They are the only boolit I shoot that seems to need an oven heat treat instead of water dropping. My Lee mold likes the pot hot. The exact temp needed for the pot will vary depending on your casting tempo. It is the mold temp that is critical.

Mk42gunner
08-08-2010, 05:51 AM
MJ,

I too read the horror stories about casting .22 caliber boolits. Then my buddy wanted a load for dispatching trapped bobcats, (that wouldn't blow big holes in the hide), before they could get too nervous. (He sets a lot of traps with a light drag). We decided to use an old H&R .22 Hornet and load it to around .22 WMR velocities.

To make a long story short; I bought a Lyman 225438 mold and once I figured out how to run it, I have no problems making perfect boolits with plain old undoctored wheelweights. How they shoot I don't know he hasn't remembered to bring the rifle by yet.

Robert

JeffinNZ
08-08-2010, 06:22 PM
What's your melt temp?

MJ

I typically run at 650F.

Marlin Junky
08-08-2010, 08:17 PM
I typically run at 650F.

650F! Wow... I typically cast with a Rowell ladle at 750F or more and that's for .30 cal. It's going to be interesting to see how this RCBS 22-055 works.

MJ

AZ-Stew
08-08-2010, 08:54 PM
I recently acquired the same mould. I haven't shot any of them yet, but I have 400 or so cast up, with 100 of those sized, checked and lubed, ready to load. They cast easily from linotype at a 750 degree pot temp. After casting 10-20 into a cold mould, everything ran well and I had a small pile of good ones in short order. I want to load some up for my .221 Fireball and .223 bolt action rifles and give them a good wringing out. Should be fun.

Regards,

Stew

stephen perry
08-08-2010, 10:13 PM
I like my 4 lb LEE pot with my Lyman ladle. Cast fast temp around 675. Look for sharp bases. Any lube works fine. Unique powder any small primer rifle or pistol. WW or linotype.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR