Couple of thoughts on 22 ammo and a pellet gun.

[kevin c]

I shoot a lot of .22 LR, about 250 rounds 3 or 4 times a week. Various little medical issues had put me on hiatus from loading and shooting centerfire action pistol, though that's changing and I'm hoping to get back into it. In the meantime I can do accuracy and basic drills with the .22.

Fortunately I had stocked up way back when. Same with centerfire components and lead.

I suppose I could sell some of the extra stock at an impressive mark up, but I'm planning on shooting just about all of it. Some of it will help new local casters get started.

[FISH4BUGS]

Walmart was out of any kind of pellets today. I may check the other one tomorrow.

Is there such a thing as a pellet mould?
I would think casting out of pure lead would do the trick, no?

[richhodg66]

Is there such a thing as a pellet mould?
I would think casting out of pure lead would do the trick, no?

I have seen a few on Ebay and NOE has some. I can't help but wonder if some kind of swaging arrangement might be better.

I was given a .25 caliber air rifle, it's quite powerful, but haven't used it much. I missed a chance at a round ball .25 mold thinking that might work. Keeping my eyes open for another. A guy would be self sufficient forever with a springer and a mold.

[Mal Paso]

Is there such a thing as a pellet mould?
I would think casting out of pure lead would do the trick, no?

Yep. NOE has molds but very little in stock. I sent an email but no response.

The little I found was they are hard to cast because they are pure lead and tiny. Pressure casting and preheating were recommended. Also air rifle's accuracy vary with the brand and style of pellet. There is the possibility that the cast pellets won't be accurate in my gun.

I just bought another 2,000 as they are $.02 and the unavailable mold I want is over $100.

I had a Ruger 10-22 that was lost in a fire. I finally replaced it a couple months ago with a German springer. The RWS 48 has plenty of punch for rodents and is accurate.

[country gent]

I can see where casting a hollow pellet with skirt would be a problem. The this cross section and wasp waist then even leaving a solid head would be a hard job to keep hot and filling well. Thinking out of the box ( Per say), instead of letting bullet mass maintain temps a heavy sprue plate maybe 1/2" thick with a extra deep spure cavity and let that mass maintain temps. Yes you would pour 5-6 or more pellets into each sprue but that can be remelted as you go. Make the sprue top a trough so it fills completely and transfers heat along the entire top of mould. The short pellets would be i the range of this radiant heating. Might make them much easier to cast. ALso a brass mould might be a good idea as brass hold heat better and longer. Blocks would only need to be deep enough for screw threads and handles. with the extra deep sprue I thing you could maintain block temps and cast pretty good.

Sort of reversing the way t works normally but you need mass to maintain temps and when the casting dosnt have it then it has to come from somewhere else. The sprue is the logical place. And brass will hold heat Much better with the size these blocks will be, I dont think weight will be an issue.

They could be made from 1/2" X 3/4 flat brass stock 2-3" long, Using the modern style hollow point pins yhese blocks would make a 7-10 cavity mould. Could even possibly cut cavities top and bottom with 2 sprue plates and fill flip and fill then cut sprues making 14-20 cavity or 2 different designs a light target and a heavy hunting.

The sprue plate would need to be cut with the 1/2" wide trough then the standard sprue hole thru the last 1/8-3/16. the 1/2" trough would be best cut with a 5*-10* cutter so sprues release easy.

If this workes then trying new shapes might be easier. Think about a straight sided wadcutter with hollow base about .200 - .250 long Or a scaled down minne ball. Or a Thompson center style maxi scaled down (solid) in 15-18 grn maybe even 20 grn range for hunting. With good shot placement might make that 1000 fps+ 177 effective on wood chuck sized game.

[frkelly74]

Well the other WalMart had no 22 pellets. Cabellas had none and also no 22 ammo. Dunhams had some 177 pointed pellets, some .20 pellets , no 22 pellets, and quite a bit of assorted 22 ammo, ( don't tell any one ) I have to go check the Meijers though I suspect there will be none. I will just have to get out the crossman 177gas pellet gun.

[Mal Paso]

I got my pellets at Midway. They shipped within 1 1/2 hours for free and it was here in 5 days flat UPS Ground. I bought air gun oil and a cheap soft case so I don't ruin the stock too.

Amazon sells them too.

[frkelly74]

Today, Dunhams had 22 pellets in. A 500 round tin was about $16. And 22 long rifle, Federal copper plated $22.99 per 525 round box.

[dverna]

Today, Dunhams had 22 pellets in. A 500 round tin was about $16. And 22 long rifle, Federal copper plated $22.99 per 525 round box.

What I find astounding is people will buy an air gun to save money. Using your numbers, cost of a pellet is $.032...cost of a 22 is $.044. With a springer there is no other cost; but would anyone want to cock one 100 times to save $1.20?

I rarely shoot my RWS for that reason. Too much effort and NOT fun. One good thing about using a springer....your kids/grandkids will not burn though 200 rounds of ammo very often.

[frkelly74]

Well, I can shoot the springer out in the garage and the neighbors don't call the cops. That is another good thing. I was kind of surprised that the price of the pellets had gone up to the $16 mark. That is about double what I would have guessed.

[daengmei]

anyone want to cock one 100 times to save $1.20?

I grew up with a BB gun at 5yo that had a push in barrel and then a Daisy...next were Crossmans. Last ammo shortage I bought a Ruger Air Hawk, .177.At the range I didn't shoot it one round. Seeing the hinges I tried all I knew as a teenager to cock the rifle, it was just too darn tough. I didn't know to set it on my lap and grunt. It has set in box since bummer years. Very dusty but I still plan to one day use it.

[Mal Paso]

My RWS 48 has a side lever which is no trouble to cock. Ammo is 2 cents and I can shoot without bothering anyone. I have a 44 if I need attention.

[fcvan]

I have a .177 Chinese training rifle bought over 30 years ago for $20 at the time. Side cocker with SKS style stock and sights, but a horrible trigger. The thing was so high pressure/power I noticed 2 things. One, I shot a tin can and the BB ripped through the top rim and ripped out the back side of the can. Two, any oil in the bore 'dieseled' and ignited creating an interesting smoke.

The sights were ladder type and turned up/elevated, I could hit tin cans at 100 yards. I usually kept my shooting to 25 yards or so with either pellets or BBs. That rifle got its most use when I was over run by timber rats due to them finding a way to the feed in the chicken/rabbit hutch. Hardware cloth fixed that but I killed 5 to 7 rats a night for over 4 months. One night at dusk, I told my visiting Dad I had to go to work and grabbed the rifle. He followed and watched me pop a few before he said 'my turn.'

I mounted a mini mag light on the barrel and would shield the light until I heard scurrying on the tree limbs, then uncovered the light and shot for the reflecting red eyes. Bingo! Before the air rifle, I was using #9 shot in a .357, at least until the neighbors complained. After that, the snakeshot was reserved for possum and raccoons, the neighbors didn't complain about that. Everyone had 1 to 4 acres of redwood trees and of course a lot of chicken, duck, goose killing vermin. I helped thin that problem.