Would some one help out a new 22 cal caster?

[Sharps-Nut]

I really feel terrible asking for this and will not judge for a heck no.  I have on loan to me a 49 grain 22 cal lyman mould and sizing die.  I would like to cast up a few and try them in a hornet.  My problem is in  the mould is for a gas checked bullet. I would guess my results would likely be mixed without and that would likely scare me out, and the round seems like a natural for cast bullets. Could I coax someone into selling me a small batch to see if it will work well eneogh to justify the 50 bucks he wants for the mould sizing die and punch. I would trade 30 cals if you prefer and pay postage on both ends.   I just cant see buying a box  to see if my gun will shoot them, and if I am smart eneogh to cast that tiny little bullet.    Thanks for considering it, SN

[Badnews Bob]

You don't need to use the GCs if you don't want to and keep the velocity down some.

[jhalcott]

In the regular hornet you MIGHT get by with out the checks. I have the 225415 that is SUPPOSED TO BE 49 GRAINS.  They changed the specs and mine drops a 55 grain gcfn bullet.It does well in my .223 tc14" and .223 bolt rifle.When you cast these small bullets you HAVE to cull any damaged bullets. It is best to use a magnifying glass to better see the flaws. Your first loads MAY give bad results. Lube and velocity can affect accuracy a lot. I use either Lyman #2 alloy or Linotype because I want to shoot them above 2000 fps. For that $50 you are going to get a LOT of fun. ONCE you work out the kinks! What do you intend using the thing for.paper or small game? IF you have the mold altered to a flat based design, it will be a couple grains heavier and wont need the checks. That is having the check area reamed out. Another method is to cut the mold shorter,and replace sprue cutter.

[Sharps-Nut]

I was not sure how it would perform without since it is a gas checked bullet.  I guessed it would lead up more due to lack of a flat base to seal the bullet.  I am not sure how well my gun will like lead.  I shot it last night for the first time.  Sorta neat blip rather  than bang, but that was with 45 grain copper jacket and 10 grains of 4227.  I think it will be for small game and paper,and just fun stuff, nothing serious.  I got a little bad news last night the gun has a rough spot in the bore just ahead of the chamber in the low part of the riflings about the size of a match head.  Some one has treated it to black powder is my guess, as the guy I bought from was black powder nut.  This may not effect accuracy in jackets but I fear lead will be more of a problem.  SN

[WayneS]

If it shoot's jacketed well it should shoot cast, If you are concerned about the "rough spot" you might look into fire lapping the bore. The bottom driving band along with the lube should form a good seal as long as you keep the pressures low.
 Size them .225 if that's the H&I die you have, if it's .224 then look into hand lubing or pan lubing and shooting them unsized.
also consider a pinch of "dacron" AKS poly filler, the stuff thats in stuffed toys, or some dryer lint , just something to seperate the powder from the bullet base which might have some lube on it
I tried three 55 + gn boolits in my T/C Contender Hornet, 5.0 gn of Unique was just a stouter that a simular equipped 22 LR

[Sharps-Nut]

    Not sure what to expect from a hornet.  I shot it last night in 15-25 mph wind at 30 yrds to get on paper, then a final group at 50 yards.  The 50 yard group was .650 outside to outside counting only 4 of the five shots fired as I forgot to return the scope to battery on one shot and it flew high. I thought for the first time out it was pretty good, 10 grains of 4227 and a 45 grain hollow point.  The cute factor was way high.  The lead load really is begging for play time, maybe this weekend. 

[Larry Gibson]

Sharps-Nut

If you expect any accuracy then you'll really want to use GCs.  Shooting a GC designed cast bullet without GCs is not very often condusive to any kind of accuracy.  What twist is your Hornet?  I have 12, 14 and 16" twist hornets.  All shoot 225415 (a 55 gr bullet) well at 50 yards but the 16" twist rifle goes south really quick after that.  Stability being the problem.  The 12 and 14" twist rifles shoot that bullet quite well.  The Lyman 225438 (a 45 gr bullet) shoots well in all 3 twists.  A harder alloy such as the #2 or lino is needed for higher velocity loads.  As mentioned sizing at .225 minimum is best.  I use a .228 H die to just seat the GC and lube the bullet.  Also the inspection for flws with the magnifying glass is a good suggestion.  The Hornet is a very good cast bullet rifle but requires some effort to shoot well.

Larry Gibson

[Tallwalker]

If you just want to try the cast bullets without the gas checks, you might try 3, or 3.5 grains of Unique. That should give you about 22lr velocity. I'm having a lot of fun with my .22 Hornet, and cast bullets, but it sure teaches one to pay attention to details.

[Sharps-Nut]

Thanks for all the positive help.   I cast some up last friday and loaded them last night with 2.0 grains red dot, starting load from my lyman book.  They it is a older 49 grain lyman gc style bullet.  I am not against buying the checks just hate to buy a box of a thousand and find out my gun does not shoot lead very well.   Casted some friday and loaded them last night without checks with a starting load of red dot.  Will see if it shoots even semi decent if it does I will bite the bullet and buy a box of checks , and the mold is fairly priced.  Sure is a cute little bullet. SN 

[mechanic]

Sharps Nut

You have some gas checks en-route.

Ben

[Sharps-Nut]

Thank you  Ben, thank you very much for your help.  I tried some lead last night w/o checks and at the starting load of 2 grains of red dot it was 22 long rifle noise level and accuracy was decent.  Hard to get grip on accuracy as they were shot from a sitting position, but five shots that a quarter would cover at 30 yards.    Thanks again, SN