loading HM² 223 AR mold 225-62-1

[grampa243]

ok guys this thread is for sharing load data for JTknives' mold for the AR.

http://heavymetalmolds.com/ is the place to order now..

please use any data in this thread with caution and be careful. Use at your own risk.

[finishman2000]

well I just ordered the mold and looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with.

[Fire_stick]

20.7 grains of Varget has given me my best group so far at 50 yards. In a 4 shot group I did get one dang flier, however. 3 looked pretty good. In the picture below, the holes with a "1" are from the 20.7 grain load. The other holes are from a 20.4 grain load that opened up a bit more.

Attachment 75295

The bullets are water quench and have an approximate hardness of 28 BHN (per Lee tester). The bullets with GC are about 62 grains +/-. Sized to .225" and lightly tumble lubed with 45/45/10 (Alox/JPW/MS). Prior to tumble lubing and checking, I did make a quick inspection of each bullet and cul the ones that didn't have full or near perfect bases.

The gun is a newer model Mini 14 Ranch Rifle. I loaded 100 rounds last weekend after getting this group in the initial test, and I hope to shoot these 100 rounds this weekend at 50 to 100 yards. Hopefully I'll be able to report some positive results.

[Bruizer]

How fast are you looking at running these bullets?

[Fire_stick]

I'm not concerned about speed as much as finding a load that groups well. But I estimate this load to be about 2300 fps. Which may be a little to fast.

[Down South]

I wonder how a mixture of Lino, Mono and Foundry would work? I have about 400 lbs of the stuff. I know it would be super hard especially after aging or water cooling. Of course the boolit would probably turn to dust if it hit something hard. Should cast a nice boolit though.

[Centaur 1]

What's the twist rate of your barrel? I recently bought my first AR, it's a Daniel Defense with a 1-7" barrel. I'd love to be able to use cast boolits, but I'm afraid of wasting time and money on something that isn't going to work.

[grampa243]

What's the twist rate of your barrel? I recently bought my first AR, it's a Daniel Defense with a 1-7" barrel. I'd love to be able to use cast boolits, but I'm afraid of wasting time and money on something that isn't going to work.

hey once we get things working i'll be glad to send you a sample of mine. i'm still waiting for my sizing die so i can start the testing.

[Centaur 1]

hey once we get things working i'll be glad to send you a sample of mine. i'm still waiting for my sizing die so i can start the testing.

That would be great. I hate the idea of owning a rifle that I can't cast for. As long as they're somewhat accurate, I'd be happy if they cycle the action and not lead the barrel. Our local indoor range frowns upon fmj bullets going 3200fps since the backstop is intended for stopping handgun ammo. If I want to shoot there, I either have to shoot cast boolits or buy frangible ammo from the range for $30/box.

[Wayne S]

What's the twist rate of your barrel? I recently bought my first AR, it's a Daniel Defense with a 1-7" barrel. I'd love to be able to use cast boolits, but I'm afraid of wasting time and money on something that isn't going to work.

I'm just about finished load development with heavy J bullets in my RRA w/ 1-8 twist. I've been able to trade for two .225 bullets and have 3 .225 molds,After the J bullet test I'll start on cast, after that I'll work a trade with you on what I have and let you run a test .
One think you do need to locate is a neck expander ie. an M-Die for .224 Cal. I think ??? RCBS sells the body and interchangeable expander/belling plugs.

[blikseme300]

I use a Lee universal expander body with a self made insert that mimics the M-die. It opens up the neck to .224 and creates a small bell to ease the seating. A Lee FCD is used to crimp this bell back to parallel.

I have been trying a number of combinations but no pet recipe yet. The 3 requirements of no leading, action cycles and accuracy are hard to get. I discovered a problem with my AR bolt in that the extractor spring appears to have broken as the grip is very weak compared to my other AR's. I will be testing again this morning using a new BCG.

[runfiverun]

you can chamber a 227 diameter boolit in most 5.56 chambers with no touching of the throat area.
a 228 will scuff but will generally chamber pretty easily.
I wouldn't hesitate to start with 18 grs of 3031 through the 4064 powder speeds and move forward from there.

any alloy harder than ww's but less than lino should be pretty decent too.
in most of my testing I found lino to be too hard and the accuracy increased as I added more soft lead to it.
I finally just cut it in half to be the same as store bought commercial bullet caster alloy.

[blikseme300]

So I went testing again yesterday and learnt that I need to redo all my testing. I switched out the BGC of my 5.56 AR with one from another rifle and now cycling and ejection are fine. Some of my earlier test loads were very accurate but cycling was not there. I will be retesting those load combinations. Oh, another thing I learnt is that Dacron really works when working with the slower powders. This obsession we share has no limits or bounds.

[Wayne S]

blikseme,
On the "Dacron", did you use the long stringy stuff where you have to pull and guess at the "correct amount" or the "batten" type, which if flattened, where you can cut off the same amount each time.
Had to chuckle, I remember using the stringy stuff in my 10" 30-30 Contender. Use to much and it looked like someone blew on a "Puff Ball"

[SteveUSP]

Is there anyone willing to sell/swap about a dozen or so of these boolits? I'm just getting started and would like to see if these work in my RRA 16" 1.9 twist before I commit to buying a mold. I'll trade some lead or brass. Thanks.

[blikseme300]

Steve, PM me your address.

[blikseme300]

blikseme,
On the "Dacron", did you use the long stringy stuff where you have to pull and guess at the "correct amount" or the "batten" type, which if flattened, where you can cut off the same amount each time.
Had to chuckle, I remember using the stringy stuff in my 10" 30-30 Contender. Use to much and it looked like someone blew on a "Puff Ball"

Wayne, this is what I use. The pieces I use are about 3/8" square. This is the first time I have used Dacron and I am impressed and converted. I am still a noob at rifle cast reloading but as I passed the half century a while ago it is time to settle down and do fun stuff.

[blikseme300]

There are at least 29 molds out in the wild and not much load information yet? Come on guys and gals, please share.

[Wayne S]

Blikseme, , the bag says 45" x 60" so I'm taking it that is "batting", padding, or what ever people that sew call it.
On loads, I posted on the "RESULTS" section under NOE 225-70RN 10 shots in 1.25 x 1.625 using a 26" Savage w/ 1-9 twist.

[grampa243]

There are at least 29 molds out in the wild and not much load information yet? Come on guys and gals, please share.

my push through sizer is coming this week then i should be able to start sharing