First .223 boolits

[snaggdit]

OK, I got around to casting with my new .223 mold tonight! I used 9:1 WW/Foundry type and water dropped. First I heated the mold and had the alloy pretty hot (8 in my Lee pot, usually I cast at 7, I know, I need a thermometer...). After casting a few, I used some bullplate lube then went to town water dropping. I didn't have more than a couple rejects. I did cast hot and fast, though. Here they are:

[Echo]

Wow, those are good looking boolits! Let us know how your trials work out.

[captain-03]

Can't seem to get the picture to load -- what are you going to use them in?

[snaggdit]

I'm using them in an AR-15. Checked size and they dropped at .2235 one way and .225 across the part line. Just finished gas checking 200 of them at .225. Then checked hardness and fresh from the water dropping they are around 20bhn. Weighed 10 and they are 52.3-52.5gr, average of 52.36gr. With checks they weigh 53.4-53.6gr. Plan to get to the range 4th of July weekend and see how some loads work.

[Bad Karma]

I like shooting my 22 caliber cast boolits in my 22 Hornet. Tricky little round to get load tuned though.

[leadman]

Don't you just love putting those little gas checks on? Wait until you start putting the boolits in the case.
Took me about 5 hours to check and size 300 one night.

[snaggdit]

Yeah, my fingers got a little sore pushing the bases into those checks. Took me an hour to cast 300 and about a half hour to check 200. Figured I would only check 200 and see how they work before wasting more checks. Might want to change alloy.

[DAFzipper]

What mold are you using?

[Calamity Jake]

If your are using a Lyman/RCBS luber get a GC seater then put that little GC in the size die then set that little 22 boolit on top and seat the GC, it's a little easer that way.
I seat GC's then remove the GC seater and size/lube.

[snaggdit]

I don't have a lube sizer yet. I will be looking for one this fall, pending a return to availability of course.
DAFZipper, Based on recommendations from a thread a few weeks ago I went with the Lyman 225415 GC FP. It was my first steel mold and the smallest mold. I was very happy with the results. I had apprehensions since many have posted that .223 molds are hard to get good boolits from. I can only attribute my success to incorporating all the tips I have acquired here in the last 6 months. Thanks all!

[72coupe]

I cast 10 pounds of those little jewels last Sunday.

Shot some today and was very pleased with the results. I shot them out of my Model 70 Heavy Varmint 1/9 twist barrel with aperture sights.

6 grains of Rex1 gives me a velocity of 1853 and a good (at least for me) 2 inch group.

The bullet is cast from wheel weights and water quenched and sized to .225.

It was 94° degrees at the range when I fired these at 10:30 AM.

[dpaqu]

any luck snaggdit?

[JeffinNZ]

I now see why my older 225415 is only 48gr in WW metal. My gas check shank is half that length. Still shoots great and levels small game.

[snaggdit]

Well, I did sneak off to the range briefly on the 4th. I tried three different powders. I have lots of surplus 4198 so I was hoping I could find a load with that. Tried 17-19 grains in 1 grain increments. At 25 yards, 17gr had 2" groups and up from there it got worse. I was checking for leading (none!) and cleaning between groups. Next up was 20-23 gr IMR3031. Again, 20 was the best, but still 2" at 25 yards. The H4895 was terrible at 22-25gr. I am going to try again with the next 4 grains down for each. I wasn't sure they would cycle lower than that but they rocked just fine. I know they were a tad fast, being 2200-2800fps. Wish my chrono was working... Oh well, time to order a new one. Still, nothing leaded and a day at the range is a good day any way the targets come out, right?

[DLCTEX]

I cast some Lyman 225438 with my single cavity mold today and was surprised to get keeper boolits form the first cast from a cold mold without preheating. I was so surprised I burned my fingers looking it over. I only cast 50 as I had a short while to cast before picking my wife up at work. After the first five I water dropped them, was using straight WW. Going to load them up for my Raging Hornet Pistol on top of 4.7 gr. SR7625.

[JIMinPHX]

That Lyman 225415 GC FP was the first .22 cal mold that I tried. It sure is a pretty looking little boolit & I had really high hopes for it. I was able to get up over 3,000fps with no leading using Lyman Super Moly lube in a 1:12 twist barrel, but my accuracy was awful. I was off the paper at 50 yards. I later tried the Bator & had similar results at very high speeds.

Once I got down around 2200-2500 fps, I started to actually hit a few things that I was aiming at. When I got the Bator seated out far enough to touch the lands when I chambered the round, my accuracy started to become semi-respectable. I wasn't able to seat the Lymans out far enough to touch because the nose on that thing is so long. Even with the Bator, I had to seat it out so far that only one lube groove was still covered by the neck of the brass. The Lyman just didn't have enough length on the full diameter section to make that an option. I was able to shoot the Bator with lube in just the rear lube groove & the little bit of extra space at the top of the gas check. Leaving the lube out of the top groove didn't seem to cause any problems for me.

I tried alloys from 13 to 23 BNH. The harder ones shot a little better, but not much. I hollow pointed a few of them in a lathe. The HPs shot a little better, but not much.

If you look in the older books, you will see that Lyman 225415 GC FP listed as 45-grains. Back then, they made them shorter. The newer molds produce a boolit with a longer gas check heal that weighs a little more.

Since the Bator shot better for me in my single shot, I've mostly stayed with it, but I still have a handful of those Lymans kicking around that I should probably do some more trials with. I'll be interested to find out what load works best for you. I had pretty good luck with 2400 powder, but I wasn't trying to cycle an autoloader. I also didn't go as far down with the velocity as you did. Maybe I should give that a try.

Beagle has posted a very informative 3-part series of articles on loading cast .22s over on the cast pics board. I highly recommend it.

Thanks for posting your results.

Jim

[snaggdit]

I was in a hurry when I first loaded them. I had a post going for OAL but loaded them before I discovered I could load out to 2.120. I loaded them all at 2.090 so the next trials might improve based on that alone. Also, I was using LLA. If the next batch is still poor in accuracy, I will try speed green (but would love to find accuracy with LLA, sooo much easier without a lube sizer...). I have a few sticks of that around. Just checked hardness now that it has been a week and a half. My alloy is now 24bhn. I know, Bret4257 and Runfiverun, I should have started with straight WW water dropped. I didn't know better before. I will try that next time. One change at a time, right?

[runfiverun]

i am working on the rcbs 55 sp right now and i need a star sizer to load up.
but i went directly to lino waterdropped for the 22's i am also going to pick and choose and weigh mine before even loading, with just a preliminary glance i threw about 10% back right off the bat for minor thngs i would have been able to get an inch with in my other rifles.
look at john's [beagles] post,write-up in the cast pic's section.
i think the 22's are gonna be super [aggravating] and a huge reward when finished.
i ain't ever gonna get to the 375 win,8 mauser, at this rate.

[1Shirt]

I have sort of a fascination with the 22 cal cast blt. Have 225415 HP, and also a double cav regular nose. Both shoot reasonably well in 223 and 22-250, but the regular nose in my K-hornet shoots poorly. The HP version however shoots well in the hornet, and I can stay under 2" on a calm day at 100 for 5 shots, and on rare occaisions get close to an inch. Just sent a 225438 off to Buckshot for HP'ing, and have great hopes for it. Think that there is just something about HP's in Cast that relates to balance, or rotation, or whatever, that tends to make them a bit more accurate than their plain nose relatives. The regular nose 438 shoots well in hornet and 223, but isn't that great in 22-250. Need to spend time with the 222 as well, as it has been sort of neglected in the past few years. I am also quite fond of Lymans 225646, and the old sharp pointed 225450. Both odd looking blts, but they shoot well particularly out of my 22-250 (#1 Ruger), at around the 2250-2300 fps bracket with no leading. I prefer about 22 BH, and water drop everything. I also check and size with a lee push thru die, and then lube on a Lyman. It is an extra step, but I have no nose deformation that way which is what I am looking for by this method. I have learned much from Beagle's article(s), and believe that anyone casting for any of the 22's would be more than well advised to read and heed what John writes. The Old Sgt.Maj. has his stuff together. Lastly Snaggdit, good luck!
1Shirt!

[snaggdit]

I finally had the time to go read Beagle's articles. Thanks to John for such diligence and fine write ups! I have more things to check on now. It seems if I want to use 4198, I am way over loaded. He found 12 grains to be good, I was at 17-19! I won't know until I try if 12 will cycle an AR, but hopefully somewhere in the 12-16gr range will with acceptable accuracy.