Small caliber Casting

[tn_junk]

The only guns I own that I do not cast for are my .223 and .270.
Anybody out there messing with these smaller caliber guns?
Most interested in casting for my .223.
Any ideas or experience appreciated.

alan

[jhalcott]

  What little casting I've done for sub 7mm bullets says that it is frustrating. The bullets are so much more subject to minor faults that make good shooting a rare occurence it's unbelievable. A minor defect on a .44 caliber bullet will NOT cause the problems the same defect will do to a .22 bullet. You almost have to examine the bullets under a microscope! A one grain variance in weight with a ,250 grain bullet is not a big deal. For a plinking bullet. That same weight variance in a 55 to 60 grain bullet is a LARGE difference. It is possible to get success with the .22 thru .25 caliber guns, AND get great accuracy to boot. You just have to pay closer attention to the small details. Harder alloys like linotype will USUALLY give better results.

[Nobade]

I cast and shoot huge numbers of .22 bullets. The moulds I use are the RCBS 55gr. for most rifles, and the Lyman 45gr. roundnose for the 1:16 twist Hornet. I don't see that they are any harder than anything else, in fact it's easier because the moulds don't overheat. I just run the pot pretty hot, use mostly wheelweights with a touch of tin, and water drop them to make 'em hard.

Depending on the twist rate of your rifle, you may be able to get very good performance with cast bullets. The 1:16 Hornet can be run at full throttle, 2600 fps,  the 1:14 twist .223 can go to 2400 fps and the 1:8 .223 goes to 1750 fps with good accuracy.

[Tencubed]

I do agree that minor imperfections make a bigger difference in the accuracy of the smaller bullets but have found them to be fun and plenty accurate for plinking and varmint hunting.

Shooting the 223 and 257 bullets in various rifles saves a lot of money and, using wheel weight metal, the 1800 to 2200 FPS velocities are plenty fast enough.

Mike

[jhalcott]

 With the rising cost of jacketed bullets in every caliber, I MAY  go to casting the small calibers again. I am retired now and have MUCH more time than money.  All it would take is an inexpensive mold and a sizer die (if needed)!

[jhalcott]

  My wife is MAD at you guys! I bought a 225415 mold ,handles gas checks and Lee sizing kit. It came yesterday. I have a couple hundred LLA lubed bullets on my bench right now. They drop from the mold at 49 grains not the 55 I was expecting. They are a bit OOR also, being .225x.229". The sizer is the .224" one. I'm planning on working up a load for a 14" .223 TC barrel and MAY use Teflon tape for added velocity! Wish me luck!

[jhalcott]

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  Posted July 08, 2008 08:25 PM  Hide Post
Well 8.5 grains was good for 2" groups(3 shots) at 50 yards. NO leading. I tried some with OUT sizing,just clamping the checks on using pliers. The groups average was not better than the sized ones. I rolled 2 wraps of teflon on 10 of them. THAT is a chore.! Loaded with 26 grains of 748,Hornady GC's and Rem 71/2BR primers. The report and recoil was definately higher than the other loads. 3 shot groups were still in the 1 1/2 to 2" range. My brother and I took turns shooting groups. So I am NOT sure which way to go with this. There appears to be NO LEADING but I haven't cleaned the bore yet. MY groups were much more circular than my brother's. He's a lefty,I'm right handed
  14" Tc contender barrel and 7x scope off sand bags.