Cutting down the Lee c225-55-rf Mold

[S.E.G]

I have a Handi Rifle in .22 Hornet with the 1 in 16 twist barrel which won't stabilize the Lee c225-55-rf bullet.

Has anyone machined the Lee c225-55-rf mold down to remove the gas check, to get a bullet weighing about 45 grains and in theory this should stabilize in the slow twist barrel.

Keen to hear your thought before I start the milling machine.

[earlmck]

Are you sure it won't stabilize? It stabilizes fine in both my hornet and k-hornet which are 16" twists. I'm not shooting them real slow -- my 8.5 grains Lil' Gun gives that boolit about 2300 fps. Killed a batch of sage rats the last couple of years with this boolit in the hornet.

[stubshaft]

I did it to my Lee Bator mold in 22 cal. It works great in my K-Hornet.

[S.E.G]

Are you sure it won't stabilize? It stabilizes fine in both my hornet and k-hornet which are 16" twists. I'm not shooting them real slow -- my 8.5 grains Lil' Gun gives that boolit about 2300 fps. Killed a batch of sage rats the last couple of years with this boolit in the hornet.

My quest is to get it shooting slow, as a 22 rimfire replacement. To date no luck with the 55 grain Lee.

[country gent]

It can be done. And while not hard to do, it requires attention to the set up. Tram up the head in your mill to square X and Y, make sure the vise is also square and true. A good set of parallels and check the mold to ensure its sitting square and flat. Your working with a existing cavity here so it has to be right. You might consider a snug fitting gage pin in the cavity and check square up and down it also. If the cavity isn't square the base wont be either. As far as the milling it can be done with a end mill and stepping over each pass or a fly cutter and stepping up to depth. If you do the fly cutter, when milling is finished vent lines can easily be cut. steep over 3/4"-1" and turn the fly cutter by hand with .005 deep cut and threading tool in it. Do this the full di on and off the blocks. A 60* threading tool gives a nice vent line and will help hold the sprue plate lube, also breaks up the large surface allowing the plate to sit better. The big part of this project is the set up.
Another way is to indicate in the 4 jaw on the lathe and face off the amount needed. This works well also and gives power feed if your mill dosnt have it.