Never been so stumped!!!

[mainiac]

Been shooting cast for a few years now, and i thought i had a grasp of this hobby. In a previous post about a .22 hornet, I alluded to a load with 2400 and 225415 bullet. At the time my most accurate load was 7 grs of 2400, and this load does around an inch @ 50. Once i got the 2400 load to around 2000 f.p.s. accuracy went sour. Anyways, i thought i needed linotype,and i went out and procured some. They are buetiful 225415,s with lino, and i weighed out some and started working up from 7 grains of 2400. Didnt matter what the charge, never shot a group less than 8 inches!!!!!!!! Thats right,,,,,8 friggin inches,,, at best!!!! I had 25 loaded with wheel weights from previous shooting , and these all shot 1.25 average groups. QUESTIONS, what is wrong with these linotype bullets? (there pure lino,by the way) Bore is nice and shiny, so it aint leadind issues. I beleave it has to be the lino bullets, because i could go back and shoot acceptable groups with wheel weight boolits at any time. Have you fellers ever run into this before? I just cant beleave that a gun could go from shooting acceptable, to down right pitiful, just by a alloy change!!! AINT NO WONDER I DRINK!

[Powderpacker]

I feel your pain! Just when I think I'm sneakin' up on a cast .22 load that groups instead of patterns I get blind-sided. That will lead a person to the demon rum. Getting back to your situation - you didn't mention sizing. Are you sizing or shooting as cast ? If shooting as cast, have you compared the sizes of the WW bullets and the lino bullets ? Could be the lino bullets are a bit smaller than the WW bullets and not making full use of the rifling. Also, the lino bullets may be too hard to expand with the presure 2400 is creating and therefore not engaging the rifling completely.

[VTDW]

Powderpacker,

Those are two excellent posts you made for sure. I put them in my notes.:drinks: I am about to up my Lino/WW mix to 75 Lino/25 WW for one certain boolit and it will be interesting.

Dave

[mainiac]

I feel your pain! Just when I think I'm sneakin' up on a cast .22 load that groups instead of patterns I get blind-sided. That will lead a person to the demon rum. Getting back to your situation - you didn't mention sizing. Are you sizing or shooting as cast ? If shooting as cast, have you compared the sizes of the WW bullets and the lino bullets ? Could be the lino bullets are a bit smaller than the WW bullets and not making full use of the rifling. Also, the lino bullets may be too hard to expand with the presure 2400 is creating and therefore not engaging the rifling completely.

I am using a .225 sizer die, with felix lube. Bullet just barely sizes in the die. I guess that i can with with it shooting around 1800 f.p.s., but i want to boost her up there,, just because i think i can !!! Crono all loads today also,,, stopped at 9.2 grs-2400, 2420 av velocity, with E.S. of 32 f. p.s. Think i might go back to ww alloy, and try a different powder, to get her speed up. B.T.W. every lino load shot at least 8 inch groups! Anywhere between 1800-2450 f.p.s. Holes looked real nice in target paper.

[IcerUSA]

Did you try water dropping the WW bollits ? Might help to get a few more FPS out of them .

Just a thought .

Keith

[shooter93]

You might want to get away from 2400 too. I have never been convinced it was the powder for the Hornet. IMR 4227 and AA 1680 have always done much better for me giving much more of a consistent velocity and pressures. This has been mostly with j bullets but that I doubt would matter. My thoughts on 22 caliber cast bullets...and hopefully I have the rifles done for Spring.....is heavier bullets. Most Hornets are to slow sadly but since I'm barreling it won't matter for me. I'd like to try 50 to 55 grainers in a Hornet and 70 to 80's in a shortned case on a 22/250 with a long neck...maybe a 225 with a long neck.

[mainiac]

Did you try water dropping the WW bollits ? Might help to get a few more FPS out of them .

Just a thought .

Keith

the ww bullets were water-dropped. Made up a new batch today,and these are air-cooled. Got new loads made for the next range trip,hopefully tommorow. Going to use h-4227,and lilgun for high speed, and made up some 22lr speed using 700x. Even if i have good luck with the new loads, i am certain im going to have to go back to the lino boolits and figure it out! Have a sweet rem 700 sporter in 222 that i want to shoot cast in, IF I can graduate from this little hornet!

[Bret4207]

Betcha the WW boolits are just enough bigger that it makes the difference. Even when sizing there's a certain amount of springback to the alloy, however small, plus the alloys are different and I'll bet with accurate enough measuring equipment you'd see the difference.

Sorry to say, I've basically no 22 cast experience.

[shooting on a shoestring]

Maniac,

Is your 225415 the 55 gr or 45 gr version? Also is your Hornet the 16 or 14 twist?

I've tried the 225415 in the 55 gr version in a Ruger 3# with 16 twist. I could not get it to stabilize. I was using WW WQ'd, pushed them from 1300 to 1900. Funny just tonight I was contemplating pushing them up to about 2300.

I can shoot the 225438 45 gr at 2500 to 2600 and get 2 to 3 inch groups at 100 yds, 8 inches at 200 yds (9.5 to 9.3 gr of H110 and a small rifle primer).

I get the most velocity with H110 and Lil'Gun. 2400 starts stretching cases when I get over 2100 or so.

[mainiac]

my gun has a 16 twist, and my 225415 weighs 46.4 grs naked, and 48.2 lubed and checked. If you run this bullet around 1000 f.p.s., it will key -hole. The gun also shows a real preference for the .223 sierra,instead of the .224 45 gr hornet bullet. Would like to stay with cast though, have shot nothing but cast in it for some while.