casting 22 cal.

[kevan]

Curiosity has got the better of me and I'd like to try casting 22 cal. boolits.
My casting experience thus far has been limited to 30 cal. and larger mainly the big 45s for BPCR.
But having past 65 yrs. of age and seeing how pitiful my Old Age Pension cheque is I thought casting for my 22 cfs would be a good idea.
Could any one suggest a good mould for a 222 Rem., or my 219 Zipper Imp. ?
I also have a couple 223s, but the first two are the ones I play with most and also a friend's 22 K Hornet.
Any suggestions or tips will be most appreciated.

Wishing Everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year from rainy BC ! :-)

[canyon-ghost]

I use the Lyman #225438 gas checked in my 22 Hornet. I have pretty big hands and the little bullets and gas checks don't really cause much of a problem. The mold usually ends up at 45 grains. The smaller bullets are closer in weight than the large ones so, it's easier than it sounds.

[felix]

Your best bet as a beginner with 22s is to pick a short, somewhat fat, boolit with gas check. Pick out 10 cases which weigh the same. Turn their necks just enough for a 50 percent visual scrape. Size the boolits to expand the necks of the cases for 0.001 TOTAL neck clearance. Use pistol primers. Use BlueDot for starters, at about 9 grains to start in the 222, and drop the powder a half-grain ONLY if the group is not satisfactory for intent. It might not be any more accurate, but provide more shots before barrel defogging becomes necessary. All boolits MUST be weighed, and sorted into groups with ZERO deviation BEFORE checking and lubing. With a target gun, you can expect a group in the 2's at 50 yards. ... felix

[felix]

Yes, the 438 is an excellent starting boolit design. ... felix

[MT Chambers]

I dunno if you have to look further then the NOE #225107, which I do up in fp gc and hollow pt gc for my .218 Mashburn Bee from CPA.

[kevan]

I dunno if you have to look further then the NOE #225107, which I do up in fp gc and hollow pt gc for my .218 Mashburn Bee from CPA.

What would the weights be as cast on those ?
I would probably use my Star lube-sizer and I wonder if sizing them to .225 would be ok.
At this point in time I have yet to slug the barrels in question, and I intend on doing so as one rifle, my Hi-Wall wears a Hervy Lovell barrel.

[stubshaft]

The 438 is good, the 225107 is great in my K-hornet but for the two cartridges listed I would use the 225415.

[felix]

Barrel size is not the problem. It is the throat clearance. ... felix

[DLCTEX]

I have good results with the 225438 also. The Bator mould (225-55gr.) is more problematic in some of my guns.

[sisiphunter]

225415 gc works great for me so far.....in a savage edge 223. Neck sized only seated and crimped to crimp groove. My best group was. 87" @ 100m. I get good results with 14gr of imr4227 and a standard small rifle powder...i also had good results using imr 4198 i believe...dont remember the recipie for this load though off hand.

[1Shirt]

The 438 works very well in my K-Hor (#3 ruger) over 8 gr. of 2400. Also shoots well out of my 222 (722 Rem w/Saeco bbl). My 223's with 1-9 twist shoot just about all of the 22's well including the 2241646 at 60 gr. I cast hard for 22's between 25-28 BH, and look for vols in the 2250-2350 bracket. I have 438 and 225415 in HP as well as regular, and find that I get a bit better accuracy with good qual HP's over standards. Also with 22's, I seperate them into exact weight groups on an electronic scale after checking and sizing. I consider that essential for 22's and 6 mm's. Good luck!
1Shirt.:coffee:

[quilbilly]

The 22 bator from Lee (via Midsouth SS) shoots well in my 222 but seems to vary by the day in my 223. Since my casting bench is not in a heated area, I have to wait for a warmer day to cast them. I can't seem to manage those tiny gas checks in cold weather with my arthritic hands.

[DLCTEX]

I gas check 22's by scattering the checks on the bench top cup up. Then seat the boolit into the check, pressing firmly, then on to the sizer.

[Jack Stanley]

I have a RCBS 22-55-FN that works very well and have used the RCBS22-55-SP which for targets work very well also . To very old Lyman molds I use is a 225438 single cavity and a 225462 four cavity . Both seem to cast without any real problems , of all I have I think the RCBS is easiest to cast with . I try to use an alloy near half and half lino-lead and it works well .

Jack

[Alberta Separatist]

Kevan; I had Buckshot hollow point a lyman 225415 and I 'm quite happy with my cast out to about 140 yards.
A .223 C Z 527 shoots about 1 - 1 - 1/2 " with pistol primers and 6 grs. of 231.

[cbrick]

I have the Lyman 438, RCBS 55 FN, RCBS 55 SP and an early RCBS 60 grain. All shoot well from my 10" Contender Hornet but the edge goes to my newest RCBS mold, the 55 FN. Not only does this bullet shoot very well but it is the easiest casting mold I have. Open the mold and two perfect bullets jump out of the cavities. RCBS has really stepped up the quality lately and this mold is a joy to cast with.

Now if RCBS would only start producing 4 cavs, life would truly be good. :mrgreen:

Rick

[white eagle]

get your glasses polished up

[cbrick]

Got a PM asking about these early RCBS 22 cal designs so I'll show'em here, maybe someone else has an interest in them. I don't think either of these are made any more but I guess I could be wrong.

On the left is the early RCBS 55 gr FP and on the right is is the 60 gr FP.

Rick

[Bad Water Bill]

Looks like I am going to heat the pot up again.:bigsmyl2: