22 Hornet Heavy Bullets

[Crooked Creek]

Does anyone else out there have a Magnum Research BFR revolver in 22 Hornet ?
It appears that mine has a rifling twist of 7 1/2" to 8" as best I have "measured". I would think that should stabilize a pretty heavy bullet even at the lower velocities I would get out of that small case and 7 1/2" barrel. I have a two cavity NEI mold that throws a 70 gr. .224 G.C. from one and a 182 gr. .308 G.C. from the other (interesting combination, huh ?). It's this 70 gr. flat nose that I want to try in the 22 Hornet. It's a pretty long bullet and will probably look a little unusual in the Hornet case, but the cylinder is plenty long, as it is the same frame as my BFR 454 Casull. Obviously, load data for this combo would be scarce or non-existant, hence my questions here. I welcome any and all comments, suggestions or actual experience along these lines. It seems like this would make a heck of a squirrel gun , although the pistol weighs about as much as a small rifle......lotsa steel there !

[StarMetal]

I have a NEI mould that cast two different 22 caliber bullets. One is that 70 grain you speak of. Have you shot that 70 gr in anything? I think you should mike the nose and I believe you will find that it's very undersized for a 22 centerfire bore. For example a 223 has a .224 groove, but the bore is around .219. That 70 grain bullet has bore riding nose that is something like .214. You will never get the accuracy from it no matter what your twist is. I made a steel lap and lapped the nose portion of my mould out and it improved the accuracy of it immencely.

Joe

[Crooked Creek]

Joe,
I have not yet cast any bullets from that 70 gr. mold, so I don't know the nose diameter. Thanks for the heads up, I will now check the nose after I cast a few and see what happens before I spend the time casting a large quantity. On second thought, I may just try a quick Cerro-Safe casting of that cavity first.
Roger

[StarMetal]

Joe,
I have not yet cast any bullets from that 70 gr. mold, so I don't know the nose diameter. Thanks for the heads up, I will now check the nose after I cast a few and see what happens before I spend the time casting a large quantity. On second thought, I may just try a quick Cerro-Safe casting of that cavity first.
Roger

No cast using your alloy. Cerro-Safe does have the same shrink properties as you alloy. We're only talking thousandths of inch here.
Another way to find out too is to stick the nose of that bullet in your muzzle. If it slips in loose, it's not going to be good.

Joe

[Crooked Creek]

Joe,
I agree, but Cerro-Safe should give a "true" diameter of the cavity for a quick point of reference (right?). I should then be able to adjust my alloy to accomodate for some (at least a little) of the difference. If the Cerro-Safe cast is under your indicated .219 (I might go ahead and do a cast of my barrel dimensions too, just to know my particular situation), it would seem I would be dead in the water right away, short of lapping it larger as you did. What do you think ?
Roger

[StarMetal]

Joe,
I agree, but Cerro-Safe should give a "true" diameter of the cavity for a quick point of reference (right?). I should then be able to adjust my alloy to accomodate for some (at least a little) of the difference. If the Cerro-Safe cast is under your indicated .219 (I might go ahead and do a cast of my barrel dimensions too, just to know my particular situation), it would seem I would be dead in the water right away, short of lapping it larger as you did. What do you think ?
Roger

When you make moulds you have to know how much larger to cut the cavities for the alloy you plan on casting with. That's because like I said alloy's shrinks back. An example is cutting your mould .002 over the bullet diameter you want. Say you want .226 dropped from the mould you cut the mould to .228. This is just an example and not representive of actual sizes or conditions. Just cast up a few after your mould is hot.

Joe

[Crooked Creek]

Joe,
Here are the results of the casts, and while they were not "perfect" bullets (because I rushed the process and used a torch and small melt in a ladle, as I didn't want to melt 20 pounds), they provide useful enough information:
1) Cerro-Safe; nose = .222" - .223" , bands = .227" - .228"
2) Alloy (50/50 lino/ww); nose = .220" - .221" , bands = .225" - .226"
I measured with a dial caliper. When I cast some good bullets in quantity I will check with a mic.
Niether nose would fit into the muzzle of the BFR. It looks like they are going to cast closer to 75 gr., with the 50/50 alloy (w/o lube or GC), than the 70 gr. marking on the mold.
Roger

[StarMetal]

Joe,
Here are the results of the casts, and while they were not "perfect" bullets (because I rushed the process and used a torch and small melt in a ladle, as I didn't want to melt 20 pounds), they provide useful enough information:
1) Cerro-Safe; nose = .222" - .223" , bands = .227" - .228"
2) Alloy (50/50 lino/ww); nose = .220" - .221" , bands = .225" - .226"
I measured with a dial caliper. When I cast some good bullets in quatity I will check with a mic.
Niether nose would fit into the muzzle of the BFR. It looks like they are going to cast closer to 75 gr., with the 50/50 alloy (w/o lube or GC), than the 70 gr. marking on the mold.
Roger

#2 sounds about right for fit. If you have a .224 groove in your revolver you may be able to shoot them as cast. .225 band sounds good. The nose is definitely larger then mine was.

Joe

[Crooked Creek]

Joe,
Thanks for the interest and info. I'll come back later with a post after I've had a chance to cast a few and work up a load. Hopefully, someone will still come forward with some experience with the 22 Hornet BFR and share some load experience.
Roger