Anyone ever slug a 22LR barrel

[stimpylu32]

I looked through the FAQ's and could not find the bore dia. of the 22 lr , I know idealy it should be a .221 or .222 , but we all know H&R has done some odd things over the years , like keep all their 22 cal @ .224
 
Just got another wild axx idea running around in my head 
 
stimpy

[Defoe]

I have a couple that I would like to rechamber to 22mag so an easy way to slug would help me.

[geezerbiker]

I've slugged all the .22's that passed though my hands up until a few years ago.  Almost all were oversize but shot well.  They were mostly .224 to .226".

The only one I've seen that was a perfect .223 was a German parlor rifle I bought for my daughter's first gun.  It was originally .22 BB cap but I had it rechambered to .22 short.

Tony

[gcrank1]

Slugged some, was kind of a pain, but doable if the rifling isnt mostly gone.
Now I pretty much just shoot 'em with the different ammo I have and usually find one that works fine.
Now, for your project that may not be helpful. Im afraid you are going to have to tell us more.
BTW, as a 'heads-up for you: I had one Winchester '85 that had been CF breech-blocked and rechambered 22Hornet by Sedgley, way back. I imagine that it had a lot of jacketed ammo shot through that soft barrel 'cause the rifling was touchy about shooting cast bullets well. Better barrel steel is better for long life if you intend to use a fast jacketed bullet cartridge.

[Defoe]

What do you use for a slug and what do you push it with??
could someone explain the process?

[gcrank1]

Ya gotta start with a clean bore, then swab it well with light body oil.
Regardless of caliber you dont often do well with a bullet, they are too long and create too much resistance (ie, hard to drive through). A 'round ball' (a buckshot size or sinker, or for larger calibers, a real muzzleloader RB) works well.
Lube it too, set on the muzzle, tap in with a clean soft face hammer and from there down a short ways a 'short starter' rod, then the full rod.
Regarding rods, You should use a rod that is about bore dia. for strength, and with a 'soft surface' to keep from bonking the rifling. I have a number of steel rods Ive collected; I wrap the rod with tape to soften it. The drive end needs to be solid, not threaded as a cleaning rod has. If you are using a cleaning rod you need a (preferably) brass button screwed in there. Many rods are 8x32, but 22 cal. rods may be slightly different. Thing is you need a brass screw to put in there and spin the head to be a clearance fit in the bore. Just chuck the screw up in an electric drill and use a file to reduce dia. and if needed, flatten the head. As you can imagine, this rod will not damage your bore while driving a slug through.
DO NOT use a wooden dowel. They flex and are not solid enough, the absorb too much of the impact needed.
Keep the rod pressure on the slug (ie, dont 'slide hammer' with the rod) and tap it through. Be sure to have a clean soft cloth to catch it when it comes out.

[Defoe]

gcrank1,  thanks, that made the process seem pretty simple if I'm careful.

[stimpylu32]

Slugged some, was kind of a pain, but doable if the rifling isnt mostly gone.
Now I pretty much just shoot 'em with the different ammo I have and usually find one that works fine.
Now, for your project that may not be helpful. Im afraid you are going to have to tell us more.
BTW, as a 'heads-up for you: I had one Winchester '85 that had been CF breech-blocked and rechambered 22Hornet by Sedgley, way back. I imagine that it had a lot of jacketed ammo shot through that soft barrel 'cause the rifling was touchy about shooting cast bullets well. Better barrel steel is better for long life if you intend to use a fast jacketed bullet cartridge.

I'm thinking across the pond , a 5.6x35R Vierling
 
http://stevespages.com/jpg/cd56x35rvierling.jpg
 
Just an idea I've been toying with , something in a .222 Dia.
 
stimpy

[gcrank1]

Stimpy, I campaigned a German Stalking Rifle in the (22 Hornet equiv.) Vierling for some years. My cast bullet loads were fun and pretty accurate, the jacketed moreso, but honestly my 22M Handi has the same or better exterior ballistics. A 22Hornet loaded down becomes it. I cant see the advantage over a 22H for the messing about to do it, but hey, its your notion!
BTW, my 1930's vintage rifle had the 1:16 twist .223 bore so I used (IIRC) the Sierra 'Hornet' .223 bullets (they also had .224 for more modern rifles based on the industry std. CF bore).

[stimpylu32]

I've just got this hang-up on 22 CF rounds , not sure why either , but I do .    and something that could replace the 22 mag and still be re-loadable sounds fun .
 
stimpy

[gcrank1]

IIRC, the Euro 22 Vierling (cartridge, not the rife form) evolved from the 22WCF and had more velo/better performance before the 1930ish development here of the commercial 22Hornet (also should mention that there were some earlier wildcats call the Hornet) because the Europeans began smokeless development earlier than us . After the USA 22Hornet, which was a pretty high stepper, the Euro guns were often chambered in it unless the design wasnt suitable for the higher pressures.
Mine was a pre WWII sgl. shot German Stalking Rifle to our Hornet chamber specs, or so close I could never detect any difference. At the same time I acquired an H&R 22H (1:12?) to see if I could load heavier/longer (better BC) cast bullets for 'schuetzen', followed by the NEF UV 22Mag. The others are gone now and the 22M has stayed; it does as well as the best of my cast handloads in the others and Im not shooting 200yd. schuetzen any more.
Do you have the 222Handi? I think that one would be right up your alley.

[geezerbiker]

The Vierling is certainly as oddball as you can get.  It had 4 bores in one barrel with a rotating firing pin.  I also heard of converting the .22 rim fire version to shoot all 4 at once for goose hunting.

As far as I know the center fire Vierling shot the .22 WCF cartridge but sometimes loaded with smokeless powder.

Tony

[stimpylu32]

Do you have the 222Handi? I think that one would be right up your alley.

Unfortunately no , I drug my feet and now H&R / Rem will not fit any barrel that is not listed on their website .  Guess I'll just have to keep looking for a factory rifle to come up for sale somewere .
 
stimpy

[mechanic]

Now you've done it Stimpy!  I was fine and my guns were fine until you brought this up.  I have a mold for my .223 that drops a bullet at about .226.  I cast a few of pure lead and cut them in two and slugged my guns.  My Versa Pack barrel that will almost one hole with factory ammo, slugs at about the same thing my mold drops....barely cut the slug.....I pushed it through with little effort.  Now my head will hurt trying to figure how factory ammo bumps up enough to grab the rifling, and why this thing shoots so well with a bore that large.....
 
Ben

[gcrank1]

You can squeeze that little slug in a pliers or bigger ones on a vise to get an overgroove dia. to drive through and fully engrave.
If you ever pull a bullet out of a 22 case you will see it has a concave base on that healed end. Compare that pull with a recovered from soft medium one you shoot and see how it has foreshortened and filled the barrel. I believe that soft lead 22 tends to bump up from the powder blow behind and the intertial reluctance to move before it gets out of the first little bit of barrel. Your cast bullet of anything other than dead soft lead may not do that, but if it fits the chamber throat and then the groove dia. you have a shooter.

[Couger]

I've just got this hang-up on 22 CF rounds , not sure why either , but I do .    and something that could replace the 22 mag and still be re-loadable sounds fun .  stimpy

Can't remember  if you've ever done anything with ...... the .218 Bee?
 
 
Was reading Ken Water's "Pet Loads" about the .218, and how its brass is at least twice as resilient as the Hornet's!
 
I have a .218 in the Handi and my interest was to be able to duplicate .22WMR's.     But I'm still in the experimental stages.
 
Quite interesting about slugging what may be overbore Handi (Sportster) barrels.
 
Methought Stimpy, when you said you were brainstorming again you might be contemplating rechambering a .22LR barrel to Winchester's new super dooper .22! 

[Couger]

Now you've done it Stimpy!  I was fine and my guns were fine until you brought this up.  I have a mold for my .223 that drops a bullet at about .226.  I cast a few of pure lead and cut them in two and slugged my guns.  My Versa Pack barrel that will almost one hole with factory ammo, slugs at about the same thing my mold drops....barely cut the slug.....I pushed it through with little effort.  Now my head will hurt trying to figure how factory ammo bumps up enough to grab the rifling, and why this thing shoots so well with a bore that large.....     Ben

How interesting!  Not going to slug my VersaPack barrel, but the possibility of rechambering to 'WMR' could be a nice fall-back possibility.  (when or if a WMR is needed and getting an extra factory barrel is no longer possible or there's not enough time to.  )

[gcrank1]

SAAMI barrel spec. for bore/groove of 22LR is: .2170 / .222
                                                     22WMR is: .219 / .224
You barrel may vary from spec.