Need help choosing a mould for .223

[Thecyberguy]

Hi all,

I am kind of new to casting.
I have a Savage in .223 and would like to cast for it.
What would you recommend for a mould (brand and model number) to shoot out of this 1 in 9 twist?
Thanks in advance for your help with this.
Have a good 'un, Guy

[andrew375]

I've been useing the NEI .224-71-gc for the past couple of years. Cast from ww and quenched from the mould I get sub moa accuracy at up to 2600 fps. Present load is 12gr. VV N110 for 2400 fps and .7 moa. This is from a Savage M12 FLVSS. I shoot over two thousand of these bullets per year. Barrel gets cleaned once every two monthes; whether it needs it or not.

I've now settled on 10gr. of VV N320.

if you do a search of my posts you will find more loads with this bullet.

[Thecyberguy]

Thanks

[Doc Highwall]

Check out the open group buys for the N.O.E. 60 grain bullet, I am in on this myself.

[dromia]

I've now settled on 10gr. of VV N320.

if you do a search of my posts you will find more loads with this bullet.


Do you get any pressure sign with 10gr. of VV N320. Just seems a tad hot.

[JIMinPHX]

I'm a pretty big fan of the Lyman 225415, now that I got it to shoot well by setting it out far enough to touch the lands in my rifle. Before that, the Bator was my best performer. It was much easier to get that boolit to shoot well in the .223.

Unfortunately, the Bator is a special order mold from Midsouth & if you want one, you need to get on a waiting list & probably wait several months.

Since, you have a 1:9, you can probably go to somewhat heavier boolits than the 55-grain ones that I just listed.

That Lyman boolit is listed at 45 grains in some of the older books, but the newer versions of that mold have a longer heel on them & they drop a little heavier.

[Thecyberguy]

Thanks Jim.

After talking to Lee they told me that they just shipped some to MId South , but I have had an order in there for some time now and I am thinking they were already sold out when I put in my order.

Someone here sent me a few of the bator and I am loading them in a light load using Trail boss.

The wife is having a ball with the light TB loads so I thought I would try casting for it , even though you can buy bulk 223 j-stuff pretty cheap.

Thanks for the input, I read go light, then I read go long. Some say don't even bother in a 1 in 9 twist, that you need 12-14.
It can confuse a guy....LOL

Have a good 'un, Guy

[JIMinPHX]

Historically, Midsouth has usually ordered 1 or 2 extra molds when they've brought in the Bators in the past. They don't last long, but if you get your order in quickly, you might get lucky.

You say that you have a good lite load. I've got a few questions about that. How much TB are you using & are you useing gas checks?

[Thecyberguy]

Jim,

I have been using 6 gr. of Trail Boss .

I have used that same charge with 69 gr Sierra match, midway generic 55 gr, fmj, Remington 55 gr. fmj and a few (only 6) of the Bator.

The bator were checked and looks like LLA. I am not sure of the alloy since they were given to me. I know they were soft enough that when i seated them with my Lee dies it put a slight ring around the nose so they cut the paper like a WC...perfect round clean holes.

Like I said somewhere, I had 3 in a tight cloverleaf at the 40 yd distance my wife was shooting the jacketed. I didn't want to move it out because she was going to shoot more and that was far enough for her. She had been shooting a couple of times.

If you follow the formula spelled out here
http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf

you can't go wrong. You can go even lower than what it says at 70 percent. But the 6 gr is like a 22LR as it is. LOL

Have a good 'un, Guy

[wistlepig1]

Jim, said "Unfortunately, the Bator is a special order mold from Midsouth & if you want one, you need to get on a waiting list & probably wait several months."

I ordered my Bator 12/7/09 and am still waiting----Xmas isn't far off, so maybe!:holysheep

[Thecyberguy]

When I emailed Lee a while back they said they had just sent Midsouth some a little while ago. I am thinking they had more orders than they had molds to fill. The Midsouth site says the Bator is "over due".
I emailed Midsouth , but have not heard back from them.

Still looking for input on what you all think might shoot well in my 1-9 Savage.

Have a good 'un, Guy