22 Centerfire anyone?

[rikkit]

Well I crossed another line that I had drawn in the sand! I swore that I would never get involved with casting calibers smaller than 6.5mm. Well a deal fell my way and I am now the owner of 2 Savage M 340's one in 22 Hornet and one in 225 Win. 50 yd. groups are easily 1 to 11/2 inches, 100 yd groups are a different story. I'm casting with the Ly225415 and a semi custom Lee 2 cav GC mold that I purchased from Midsouth, could this be the "Bator mold" that I hear about on this board? I have been loading mainly with Red Dot and loads from Lyman 47. I would appreciate load,and possibly mold recommendations from anyone who has experience with these calibers. My goal is to maintain MOA at 100 yds. TIA

[waksupi]

I've been having some luck with WC852, with the case filled to about halfway up the neck. Can't tell you the amount in grains right off hand. I'm shooting the Bator .22, which is what I suspect you have. I'm getting about 1.5" at a hundred, when I hold well. I believe velocity is right around 2000 fps.

[JDL]

I haven't crossed that line yet but, I'm being tempted mighty strongly. A friend has some loaded for .222 but, hasen't tried them yet, so I'm waiting to see.-JDL

[Greg]

Rikkit-

I shoot the 22 k-Hornet in a 10" Contender and a 24" CZ 527. One of the moulds that I use is a Lyman 225415, with it my best accuracy has been with Reloader 7 and a small pistol primer. The ball seat in the Contender measures .227 so I size to fit. The jury is still out on which alloy shoots best between wheel weights and 92-6-2 either air cooled, or heat treated. The velocity is 1700 in the 10" barrel and I get two minutes of angle or so, my shooting partner shoots my gun and loads into ½" at 50 yards and irritates me to no end.

Another mould that I have is a NEI 22-54 GC, it casts a 60 grain bullet, with it my best accuracy has been with 2015 BR and a small pistol primer. I size all my 22 bullets to .2265 In the CZ I get 2400 fps and minute of angle or less, with no leading. I use heat treated wheel weights at this velocity.

I tried all the loads in the lyman handbooks, with lackluster results. Once I went to a traditionally slower powder success was easy. Of course that just shows the lower pressure better fits the alloys that I have available.

In the 222 and 223 success has been found with 2230C, 760, Varget, and to a lessor degree, Reloader 7, again I like the NEI 22-54-GC but the Lyman 225415 works great also. I use Remington 7½ primers, and heat treat. Velocities run to 2700 fps and groups minute of angle.

In the 225 Winchester, I would try the slowest powder you can find a published load listed for at that bullet weight (50 grains) try to find a load in the 25,000-30,000 psi range. Then I start 10% below that and look for the sweet spot, usually by a tenth of a grain in the small cases. I sort my bullets by the tenth of a grain, and seat into the lands.

God Bless ya’ll.
Greg

[Four Fingers of Death]

Shame on you guys, I have a 22 Hornet (never fired it), 223 (on second barrel with it), a 220 Swift and have been offered a 22/250 Remington for not a lot of money. I was just about to sell the Hornet now you guys got me thinking I should keep the little rifle. I'm gonna have to sell some or get another rifle cabinet!
Help!!!

[7br]

Shame on you guys, I have a 22 Hornet (never fired it), 223 (on second barrel with it), a 220 Swift and have been offered a 22/250 Remington for not a lot of money. I was just about to sell the Hornet now you guys got me thinking I should keep the little rifle. I'm gonna have to sell some or get another rifle cabinet!
Help!!!

Of course you need another rifle cabinet. Then when you put one rifle in it, it will look so lonely that you have to by another rifle to keep it company.

[Bass Ackward]

Rikkit-

The ball seat in the Contender measures .227 so I size to fit.

Another mould that I have is a NEI 22-54 GC, it casts a 60 grain bullet, with it my best accuracy has been with 2015 BR and a small pistol primer. I size all my 22 bullets to .2265 In the CZ I get 2400 fps and minute of angle or less, with no leading. I use heat treated wheel weights at this velocity.

Greg

Greg,

Are you saying that your .224415 is casting that big that you can size .2265? You have me jealous. A friend of mine is using that RCBS 22-60-FN in his .223 and said his bolt goes kerflop on .228s, but that he can soften his bullets now and still push 2700 also. Many here have had problems with the .223. Maybe we now know why.

Thanks

[Greg]

When I first started casting for my Contender, factory 22 k-Hornet 10" octagon, I made a chamber cast and had a sizer die honed out by Stillwell in Texas to fit. A few years later I had Walt cut me a single cavity 22-54 GC to cast WW at .228

When I tried cast in my 222 Remington rifle, I loaded with what I had been using. It worked great. If I size to .225, my only other (22 caliber) H&I die I get dismal results.

Impact slug your barrel, then size .0005 less than your ball seat. Adjust your bullets out to lightly seat in the leade. Match the load pressure to the alloy that you have. Use a Lyman ‘M’ die, adjust it sos that the gascheck slides into the case mouth, no more. That way you should be able to start the bullet straight by hand, and then the die can seat it with out shaving lead.

God Bless ya’ll.
Greg

[beagle]

Shooting cast .22s is the most fun you can have with your pants on....after you get a set of magnifying visors and your fingers make the quantum leap from regular size bullets to those itty bitty bullets and checks.

1-1.5" seems to be about the best you can acheive at 100 yards and be prepared for flyers. I'm convinced that a lot of these come fron shedding gas checks.

Try slower powders. I've had good luck with Blue Dot, 4198, 4227 and WC820 in the .223.

Try to select the shortest bullet you can find. The 225415 is about the shortest production bullet available.

"Beagle" the mould until you get bullets that will size about .226" as most production moulds will run .224-225". You'll probably have to get a special sizer from Stillwell.

Be heartless in culling your bullets.

In my experience, 2400 FPS is tops you can get with regular alloy but I've been messing with some of Felix's special babbitt alloy and have shot 1.5" groups at 2600 from the .223.

So get set up and enjoy. They are so cheap on powder and lead./beagle

[carpetman]

I use the 58 grain RCBS which is a gas check design. Just made another post that even at 2000-2200 fps it seems to work as well without the check as it does with it. In 22-250 or .222 it seems to work with about any load or any powder I have tried. .223 I tried several powders and went from bottom to top and never found one that worked. I use bottom pour pot and hold the mold against the nipple. Sprue is pen head sized and more often than not one of them will stick to the plate and I use a piece of coat hanger with a pointed end to pick it off. If I back off from the nozzle and overpour to make a larger sprue it comes off,but that seems more trouble than picking off the pen head size one.

[9.3X62AL]

I have Carpetman The Cat Fancier to thank for the intro to little bitty boolits. A while back, he shipped some of his 22 and 24 caliber RCBS castings my way, and I gave them a test drive in bolt rifles of 223, 22-250, and 243 persuasions. The 243 did VERY well, and I bought a copy of the RCBS mold in that caliber--much to the consternation of the local rat populations.

Alas, the 22's did not fare so well. Clearly, there is something I'm doing or not doing correctly, because a number of folks--including The Cat Man--do very well with the 22's. This will be stored on the shelf with the other retirement projects pending, and the way the kids and spouse are filling that shelf--I might get to it around 2012 or so.

[26Charlie]

As to using Red Dot, it is a very fast powder like Bullseye, and I have not had good results with any but .22 LR duplicate loads in the Hornet. I have been using 4227 in the Hornet with loads equivalent to jacketed loads less about 1.5 grains, with OK results - don't have my records handy at the moment - somewhere about 9 grs 4227.
In the .220 Swift, which should approximate your .225 Winchester, I have been using between 8 and 10 grains of Blue Dot with a 62 gr. 225646 Lyman GC. 10 gr. gives 1925 fps, and about 2 inches at 100 yd.

[drinks]

I am casting the 83gr Lyman .243gc, actually comes out 90gr with gc, with ww's and 14gr IMR 4227, I got a 3 shot .3" group at 50 yds, 1500fps, 16gr IMR 4227 gave a 3 shot group of 1/4x3/4" 1700fps, 50 yds.
With IMR 4198, 24gr, got a 3/4x 1/4" group , 2300fps, 50 yds, then with 26gr, 2550fps, all 3 missed the paper.
Am going back with some water dropped and see if I can beat 2300.
Next step will be heat treating or getting some linotype.
Don

[35remington]

I shoot the RCBS 55 FN, the Lyman 225438 (44 grn RNGC) and the Lyman 225415, which they advertise as weighing 55 grains but it is actually closer to 49 grains. In my Savage .22-250, I have had very good groups with all three as long as I do not use pistol/shotgun powders. Good results have been had with 2400, RL7, 5744, 4729, 4227, and a host of others. I kinda like the 225415 for its slightly larger meplat, and I'm probably fooling myself by thinking it adds to the killing power, but it doesn't hurt it, for sure.

Most appropriate and accurate tree squirrel rifle I own, but not the deadliest, as that title goes to my 25-20.

I've even gone cast bullet only on varmint hunts, shooting out to 200 yards with good results. I cannot say a .22 caliber hardcast (linotype) bullet at 22-2400 fps has much killing power on prairie dogs at that range, and it works better at 150 and under. It is fine on the smaller digger squirrels though.

Second the advice on culling and weight segregating. I segregate by cavity on my Lyman moulds. It's the reason I bought an electronic scale.

I have so much fun shooting lead through my .22 CF's at the range, and even in the field, that I rarely shoot jacketed through them any more.

Of course, my friends think I'm nuts, but what do they know about the satisfaction of shooting lead in a .22?

[drinks]

I am shooting a .243, not .22, but I just got some 1/2" at 50yd groups with the Lyman 83gr[ is 91gr with gc from the mold I got], sized .2435, LBT soft blue lube, at 2300 fps with 24gr IMR 4198, went to 26gr IMR 4198 at 2550fps, and all 3 shots missed the paper.
I was using ww's with 2% Tin , air cooled, I am going back next week with water dropped and see if I can do better than the 2300fps and hit the paper.
Don

[swheeler]

35 Rem; who makes a powder #4729? IMR Sporting Rifle 4759?
Scooter