Noe 225-70

[Shakey Jakey]

Finally was able to assemble some rounds from a mould I picked up last month from NOE. I had put off casting for my Stevens 200 223 on account of all the horror stories involving the 22 caliber. I contacted Larry Gibson as he seems to have a good working knowledge of the 22 cals and he suggested Blue Dot, 2400 and 5744 from the powders I have available. He also suggested a target FPS range of 17-19 hundred. I loaded up Blue Dot first, 5 each of 7, 8 and 9 grains. The boolits are straight ACWW sized 225 and lubed with Carnauba Red. It was quite windy today here in MI so I shot at 50 yds over my chronograph. 7 gr gave me 1546,1552,1555,1566 and 1571 with no pressure signs. 8 gr gave 1738,1770,1731,1741 and 1763 with again zero pressure signs. 9 gr gave 1902, 1935, 1932, 1929, and 1915 with some flattening of the primers. The good news is none of the 3 groups measured over 3/4" and no signs of leading. The bullet has a long, bore riding nose and although I did not measure for AOL I can tell you the nose was pushed well into the lands. I shoot the gun with a single shot follower so I also dont know if they were to long for the magazine. I'll try the 2400 next and give a breakdown.

[Shakey Jakey]

Back to the range today with 5 each 9, 10 and 11 grain loads of 2400. The 9 gr clocked 1742, 1713, 1727, 1724 and 1724 fps. 10 gr gave 1915, 1877, 1867, 1893 and 1907 fps. 11 gr was 1996, 2020, 2014, 2008, and 1987 fps. The 9 gr grouped at 7/8", the 10 at 9/16" and the 11 went .5 with a flyer at 7/8". All loads were crimped with a Lee FCD. I was encouraged with the groups today and again they were at 50 yds. Larry had suggested that I use Dacron in the 2400 loads and that might be the ticket to tightening up the speeds a bit. I think I'll climb the ladder a couple more rungs with the 2400 until accuracy falls off or I see pressure signs. I am open to suggestions as were I should start with the 5744 to get about 1700 fps. I was ask what the nose diameter is on my mould and it will just push down my bore at .218.

[Shakey Jakey]

Went back to the range today with 5 each 12, 13, and 14 gr of 5744. 12 gr went 1891-1926 fps, 13 gr went 1981-2008 fps and 14 gr 2119-2154 fps. Groups were not bad, 1 bad flyer in the fastest group. I need to sort my boolits for weight. No pressure signs, all brass lake city 05.

[Wayne S]

Are these groups at 100 yds ? and what is the twist in the Bbl ??

[Shakey Jakey]

50 yds, its been quite windy here the last week. 1 in 9".

[Shakey Jakey]

11 gr of 5744 landed multiple 7/8" groups at 100 yds. Things are looking up.

[Blammer]

very nice!

[Shakey Jakey]

Thanks. I had been a bit disappointed so far. Last night I read the Bullshop postal shoot thread he did several years ago in its entirety. I now think I could have at least gotten an honorable mention with this boolit! I know why Goins called his write ups "why grown men cry", I could have 3 touching with 2 flyers. My rifle will shoot jacketed sub 1/2 moa all day long so having to settle for just under moa kinda sucks. I am curious as to whether the noe 225-55 would do better, any input? Would H4895 perform at these velocities? A 1 in 12 barrel might be better but the 1 in 9 shoots the 65-75 gr jacketed so nice I wouldnt give it up. I'm open for suggestions.

[Wayne S]

Got up early to beat the heat/rain Yada,yada,yada Left out, 10 shot group, next time might try either "poly" or "PSB" filler.

[TheCelt]

Nice shootin and great range report Shakey. You should change your moniker to "steady jakey"!!! I'd going to test some 225415HP bullets as soon as we get some tolerable weather down here. I'm shooting them in a 1-12 barrel and believe I'll start with the 2400 based on your results.

[Shakey Jakey]

I've had a break thru with the accuracy but haven't had time to put it all together. Been painting my house the last week and a half. Just before I started the painting project I was getting consistent MOA groups, but I want to put a little more into it before I go to press.

[TheCelt]

I've had a break thru with the accuracy but haven't had time to put it all together. Been painting my house the last week and a half. Just before I started the painting project I was getting consistent MOA groups, but I want to put a little more into it before I go to press.

Looking forward to seeing your results!!! Appreciate you sharing with us.

[cstrickland]

Got up early to beat the heat/rain Yada,yada,yada Left out, 10 shot group, next time might try either "poly" or "PSB" filler.

Wayne do you know appx what velocity you were with this load ?? I have been looking for a 223 mold for a little while, and this NOE mold is the one I keep coming back to. Any possible way I could convince you to sell me a few ?? I am getting ready to powder coat some and would love to try these as well

[Shakey Jakey]

Made it back out finally. Had a water incident in my basement so I had no choice but to clean the barrel. Nothing was submerged but the humidity is the silent killer. It took about 10 shots to settle it in but once we got on track I was quite happy. This is with 9gr 2400 @ 100 yards. I included a pic of my 22 cal test mule adorned with some new Christmas trinkets. I'll go over all of the load specs when I'm feeling more wordy. Would have liked another 25 to put downrange.

[TheCelt]

#2 and #3 look good, #4 and #5 look GREAT!!! Was this at 100 yards? What velocity were you getting with 9 gr of 2400?

[Shakey Jakey]

100 yards. When I clocked the load back in the beginning we were seeing mid 1700's. See post #2.

[TheCelt]

I believe you have reached Nirvana!!! A sub MOA Cast 22 Boolit is quite an accomplishment, I'm still climbing the curve!! I've been working with a modified 225415 (bands opened up to .226 and HP'd by Eric). I am getting about 1490 fps in a Rem700 SPS with a 1-12 barrel using 9.1gr of 5744 but not getting quite as good accuracy. Think I'll ladder up a few grains to see if it tightens up some. Congrats to ya!!

[Shakey Jakey]

Thanks. The 1 in 9 twist of the barrel is probably a detriment to cast bullet shooting. However, I love the quarter inch groups and great BC the Sierra 65gr GK's give. That both mandates and justifies the faster twist.

[Shakey Jakey]

Recipe: The batch of brass I am currently using is LC 05. I neck size with a Lee collet die and keep them trimmed with the new quick trim from the same. The boolits are cast from WW with a bit of Lino added, air cooled and poured from a Lee pro pot. I weigh each one and only keep the heaviest group. I chamfer the base with the NOE hand tool, and seat the Hornady gas checks with the Lee nose first sizer opened up to .226. Lubing is done with a RCBS LAM I and Carnauba red, final sizing is about .2255. A light crimp is applied with a Lee FCD. The COL stuffs the boolit into the rifling just enough to engrave it and I single load them.
The rifle is a factory 1 in 9 barreled Stevens 200, the SSS trigger breaks at 2 lbs. I fire lapped the barrel with the same 70gr slug, 12 with 320 grit and 12 with 600, over 1gr of red dot for about 500 fps. I shot them unsized, without gas checks, and cleaned only between grit changes and swabbed the bore lightly with compound, full length, before firing the 12 shot string. The bore is smooth and cleans nicely. I have one of those red plastic shooting rests and used it until the last time out and had the bipod on for the last shoot.
I talked to Al about the boolit and he told me it is a direct copy of the 311299. It was also his suggestion that I pour from a ladle for more consistent weights as the long slender boolits tend to get a slight hollow spot at the base of the nose. I tried pressure casting with the bottom pour and its just to much of a good thing. Looks like a Waage is in the works. Nothing really special here, just a very careful attention to detail that I hadn't found necessary with larger boolits. The experience definitely upped my game.