new most hated reloading task

[Lloyd Smale]

Its SMOKES fault. he got me into trying to cast some 22 bullets and coat them for my ars. I bought a 6 cav lee mold and two thousand gas checks. Got about a thousand bullets casted yesterday. I thought those tiny cavitys would make it a finiky mold but it actually casted pretty good. today I started putting on gas checks and running them through the sizer before they get coated. Well between the gas checks going on real tight and those tiny little bullets I said so select words I wouldn't repeat here. My big club fingers weren't designed for this task. Told the wife if someone invented a gas check installing too with a collator I would probably have mortgaged the house today to buy one! I have to keep telling myself that a 1000 bullets are going for over a 100 bucks and being retired I have nothing else to do in the winter

[robg]

They are fiddley little devils but trimming brass is the worst job.

[Love Life]

You can get 1,000 55 gr FMJ bullets for a good bit less than $100.00. That's why I have no intentions to ever cast for a 22 caliber rifle.

[308Jeff]

They are fiddley little devils but trimming brass is the worst job.

'specially 30 Carbine. Even with a Giraud.

[.22-10-45]

.22 gas-checks difficult? Try paper-patching .22 slugs!

[472x1B/A]

51 gr. .25 acp can be fun too.

[Lloyd Smale]

id rather go to the dentist!

.22 gas-checks difficult? Try paper-patching .22 slugs!

[Lloyd Smale]

I guess part of my thought processes with this is to make it work then shelf it. the big reason I wanted to cast 22s is the future group buy for the 100 grain 223 bullet so that I can shoot my ars subsonic. Theres a method to my madness with this 55 grain thing. Someday the 223 bulk bullets might dry up or God forbid we get someone like Hillary elected and they put the screws to us handloaders. With that mold, some gas checks (if it got real bad I could even shoot them without) and some of smokes black I could at least keep shooting my ars.

You can get 1,000 55 gr FMJ bullets for a good bit less than $100.00. That's why I have no intentions to ever cast for a 22 caliber rifle.

[dragon813gt]

You can get 1,000 55 gr FMJ bullets for a good bit less than $100.00. That's why I have no intentions to ever cast for a 22 caliber rifle.

I have the molds and have shot plenty of them. But that's out of a bolt action. I have no desire to shoot cast out of an AR. I will pay the price of admission for Sierra Match Kings. All but one of my ARs have 1:7 barrels so trying to shoot cast wouldn't be optimal.

I have smaller hands and find installing gas checks tedious. I get a lot more checks from the same amount of material but that's about the only advantage. Even handling jacketed 22s can be frustrating. Buying a 1050 strictly to load for the ARs has a lot of appeal.

[rancher1913]

this is why I ponied up and bought the dies from btsniper to turn 22lr into ar rounds, I think it will be easier than messing with coating the little buggers.

[richhodg66]

Not shooting in an AR, but cast .22s are fun in the Hornet and .222. Good small game loads too.

[Hick]

Could your method be the problem? I cast lots of 60 grain cast for 223 Remington. I tumble lube the cast bullets (Ben's) and let them dry very little. Next, I spread the checks out on the workbench. I take a lubed bullet, put in on top of a check that is sitting on the bench, push it in a little (it sticks to the lube) then run it through my Lee sizer. Quick and easy-- even for my fat fingers, since I never have to pick up the check.

[marlin39a]

Yeah well, try working with the NOE 225107 bullets.

[dverna]

A few months ago, one of our Vendor Sponsers had 6000 Horandy 55 gr SP bullets for $425 (or thereabouts). Just over $70/1000 delivered. It was a no brainer for me.

I have two new MiHec molds. Lloyd has a point about being prepared. I will likely take the time to develop a cast load that works this year and then put the molds away until the SHTF. As long as jacketed bullets are available at reasonable cost, dealing with cast 22's is not for me.

Don Verna

[garym1a2]

Too hard to handle tiny bullets and gas checks. Thats why I went 300blk.

[Bzcraig]

I use jacketed for my AR but cast for my bolt gun.

[Mk42gunner]

The worst part for me is turning all the teeny tiny gas checks so the open end is up. I wonder if a primer flipper tray would work with gas checks? I don't see any reason it shouldn't, do you guys?

Robert

[flyingmonkey35]

The worst part for me is turning all the teeny tiny gas checks so the open end is up. I wonder if a primer flipper tray would work with gas checks? I don't see any reason it shouldn't, do you guys?

Robert

I use a lee flipper it works for me.

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

[psweigle]

'specially 30 Carbine. Even with a Giraud.

Amen to that!!!!!

[Lloyd Smale]

I just dump 500 on the table and use the ones that are flipped right and when there all gone scoop them up and drop them back on the table and repeat until there gone.

The worst part for me is turning all the teeny tiny gas checks so the open end is up. I wonder if a primer flipper tray would work with gas checks? I don't see any reason it shouldn't, do you guys?

Robert