I received my 6cav yesterday & cast today. It is not easy to cast those itty bitty bulits in that big mold.
Although I got good bullets right away my discard rate was about 10%
with 22 cal boolits, the importance of culling out boolits with even the tinyest flaws is crucial for accuracy. I bet when you get to looking them over more closely, you'll find that you'll reject more than 10%. I know I do. Oh, and don't forget the weight sorting.
after I learned how to regulate the flow rate & heat. Being so small it was easy to get a little error if the pour wasn't just right.
I wonder if I will be able to actually be able to seat checks on that little thing. I had trouble with 7mm & 6.5 with my big hands & I'm shaky with little stuff.
Any idea what hardness should be used on this?
I was just using COWWs with a little tin water quenched. This was mainly to try out the new mold & melter plus I needed some 300gr .454s.
I guess this is for another thread but have any of you noticed that the Lee 20# heats very hot? I had mine down to 0 trying to get the temp down under 700.
WHAT ? something sounds wrong !
It also was my first time using my new Lee 20#. It is not a caster friendly unit, especially with a 6cav. I also cast a Lyman 2cav & RCBS 2cav which were easier but still not as easy as the Lee10#.
Any suggestions on loads for this 22?
Do you have a copy of the Lyman cast bullet handbook ? If your copy has the caliber you want to load for, they will list load data.
BTW it dropped at 51gr w/o GC so should be right at 55 with.
22 GC's are not that heavy
I am going to start off with Rem 22-250 & Sav .223. I have heard this is not the bullet for an AR.
I think 1 is a 9 twist & the other a 14.
Lee's version of the Bator 'might' be stable flying out of your 1:9 barrel, But that short fat nosed boolit will truely love being pushed through the 1:14 barrel. I'd start with loads that acheive a MV of around 1600fps, then work up til accuracy goes south. You may have issues with chambering (ie:seating depth), if your rifle has a tight chamber.
Also, I did contact the perfessor & he is not doing any work due to his medical problems.
Any ideas on a proper bunch for this?
since this have a flat nose, you could look for a flat 22 cal punch, or make one if you're handy? I know Accurate Molds offers flat nose punches with his molds, but maybe not for 22 cal. But if you ask him, he could probably make one special for you.
Thanks
Tom