Shooting cast through 22

[hafod]

Hi anyone shooting the lee 55 grain cast bullets for a cheap reduced load plinking round in 222 or 223 only I.ve been watching YouTube again a lot of yanks seem to be shooting them and seem to be having soon success with them cheap plinking rounds I thought 

Edited July 12, 2020 by hafod
Just expanding my thoughts

[lancer425]

Work fine just run reduced loads keep speeds under 2200fps. Cheap to load and ideal for table rabbits or even foxing if your wanting the pelts perhaps.

 buy the RCBS cast bullet manual, i have a copy here somewhere if you need any loads. Most cast loads run pistol / shotgun powders i used various in .22250 over the years. use Lino type if you can get it. lead might be harder to get these days with wheel weights getting scarcer. but you should be able to make a hard enough melt. Its another aspect of the sport should you want to take it up.

I just had a quick look book i have is number 1  RCBs cast bullets. Few different powders, which get the .223 to 2200ish FPS.  Green dot / unique / 4756 Red dot. All should be easy enough to get dispite REACH restrictions. The unique load as an example is 1900s FPs for 7.5 grain to 2158 for 8.5 grain. to give you an idea on what your talking typical loads. If you want any more details just ask. .222 is in there too and a full book of other bullets and calibres.

Edited July 12, 2020 by lancer425

[hafod]

Thanks i have Got plenty of lead and antimony if I need to harden it from my shot making days 

I was thinking of using cast bullets as a cheaper alternative to jacketed bullets I ordered the lee 55 grain mould . sizing die and gas checks last night 

Got plenty of shotgun powders to experiment with punching paper and whacking steel plates with the hornady v max bullets is too expensive for me i.ll save them for the fox 

I would like to find a nice Spitzer type 55 grain mould if anyone knows of one as my weihrauch loves 55 grain pills 

[Modafinale]

Shell house bullet company are probably cheaper than making cast bullets yourself, my .32 are 9p each and are lubed ready to load

 

[hafod]

14 hours ago, Modafinale said:

Shell house bullet company are probably cheaper than making cast bullets yourself, my .32 are 9p each and are lubed ready to load

 

Well yes maybe but i do like to have the hands on approach plus I have all casting equipment and all the lead for a lifetime of shooting so i.ll use what I've got 

[hafod]

Had my mould and sizing dies today from kranks and i.ve got to say it that the lee mould casts some nice looking bullets fair play 

they are dropping out of the mould over weight at a consistent 55.6 grains but thats down to a casting metal that was using for shot making with an unknown amount of antimony in

Any how its produced very nice hard quality bullets just waiting for gas checks now and its a go 

[Imperfection]

Try adding some solder (plumbers/electrical) to the mix too. It helps make the mix flow better.

[hafod]

On 24/07/2020 at 18:09, Imperfection said:

Try adding some solder (plumbers/electrical) to the mix too. It helps make the mix flow better.

The Lead flowed pretty good with the unknown metal i can't remember for the life of me how much antimony now I put in it but it cast beautiful bullets anyhow 

[hafod]

On 12/07/2020 at 23:33, lancer425 said:

Work fine just run reduced loads keep speeds under 2200fps. Cheap to load and ideal for table rabbits or even foxing if your wanting the pelts perhaps.

 buy the RCBS cast bullet manual, i have a copy here somewhere if you need any loads. Most cast loads run pistol / shotgun powders i used various in .22250 over the years. use Lino type if you can get it. lead might be harder to get these days with wheel weights getting scarcer. but you should be able to make a hard enough melt. Its another aspect of the sport should you want to take it up.

I just had a quick look book i have is number 1  RCBs cast bullets. Few different powders, which get the .223 to 2200ish FPS.  Green dot / unique / 4756 Red dot. All should be easy enough to get dispite REACH restrictions. The unique load as an example is 1900s FPs for 7.5 grain to 2158 for 8.5 grain. to give you an idea on what your talking typical loads. If you want any more details just ask. .222 is in there too and a full book of other bullets and calibres.

Hey Lancer a bit of an update for you 

I spent an interesting 2 hours today trying out 40 of those 222 rem reduced loads i wanted to know about using the lee 55 grain cast gas checked bullets sized to 225 diameter  

Fired them through the chronograph in batches of 5 at half a grain increments in powder charge for velocity just to see what numbers I was getting so wasn't interested in accuracy today 

What intrigued me was the velocities I was getting with my powder choice  I was using in the load

so far I.ve got the  r/f velocities which is great and I think I.ve got the hornet velocities sorted as well i.m hovering between the 2000 to 2350 fps range 

the powder I'm using is a revelation its the old Nobel Glasgow 80 shotgun powder i was given 4 sealed cans of this back about 3 or 4 years ago and has been sat in the magazine ever since 

its dense its bulky and as floating chamber once said it was designed to be idiot proof to prevent double charging which it certainly does in 222 rem cases

for example 7.5 grain charge has so far half filled a 222 case so no need for any fillers whatsoever and with a similar burn rate to alliant unique if im not mistaken 

all 40 rounds fired no problem no extraction issues . No signs of pressure no primer bulging issues etc nice muzzle report not that loud crack when you squeeze off that full power load all In all a very pleasant cartridge to shoot 

no leading and most importantly full powder combustion bores as clean as a pin so i think ive got a blank canvas with which to work with here and fine tune some loads 

 

[saddler]

Like the old Nobel powders - got some of the 60 series too, as well as the 80 series & their usual Rifle and Revolver/Pistol offerings

I'll be doing similar shortly with cast .223 & 5.56 loaded to subsonic speeds, as well as cast loads for classic military calibers; these will be in an indoor only format, again likely subsonic & an outdoor load version for 100 yard - 200 yard practice

Lots to be said for such customised ammunition - as well as being fun to develop it also works out a lot cheaper than full power factory options & is more suitable for shorter distances.

[hafod]

Just now, saddler said:

Like the old Nobel powders - got some of the 60 series too, as well as the 80 series & their usual Rifle and Revolver/Pistol offerings

I'll be doing similar shortly with cast .223 & 5.56 loaded to subsonic speeds, as well as cast loads for classic military calibers; these will be in an indoor only format, again likely subsonic & an outdoor load version for 100 yard - 200 yard practice

Lots to be said for such customised ammunition - as well as being fun to develop it also works out a lot cheaper than full power factory options & is more suitable for shorter distances.

I dont think You.ll  won't go far wrong with that lee 55 grain .225 mould

don't get me wrong full power loads for foxing are fine but using them for paper punching or ringing steel is waaay to expensive for me

8.5 grains of powder and a cast bullet and you.ve just slashed the cost of your shooting no contest is it 

[hafod]

54 minutes ago, hafod said:

I dont think You.ll  won't go far wrong with that lee 55 grain .225 mould

don't get me wrong full power loads for foxing are fine but using them for paper punching or ringing steel is waaay to expensive for me

8.5 grains of powder and a cast bullet and you.ve just slashed the cost of your shooting no contest is it 

 Well not untill you see the price of 22 gas checks

fxxk me o Riley that's stroke material that is lol

waiting patiently now for my pat marlin gas check maker to turn up

I saw them advertized hornady and rcbs 22 gas checks at £52 a 1000 the other day  a pound dearer than 1 of pats marlins gas check makers 

Edited August 22, 2020 by hafod
Just expanding my thoughts

[saddler]

2 hours ago, hafod said:

 Well not untill you see the price of 22 gas checks

fxxk me o Riley that's stroke material that is lol

waiting patiently now for my pat marlin gas check maker to turn up

I saw them advertized hornady and rcbs 22 gas checks at £52 a 1000 the other day  a pound dearer than 1 of pats marlins gas check makers 

Not going to gas check - just powder coat - likely use green for lower power bullets and red for outdoor bullets

Already have the Lee .22 Bator mold - just need to turn a few out

I reckon I can easily match the cost per round (for most cast bullet reloads) with average .22lr ammo prices, esp. the indoor/subsonic stuff

[hafod]

6 hours ago, saddler said:

Not going to gas check - just powder coat - likely use green for lower power bullets and red for outdoor bullets

Already have the Lee .22 Bator mold - just need to turn a few out

I reckon I can easily match the cost per round (for most cast bullet reloads) with average .22lr ammo prices, esp. the indoor/subsonic stuff

Good luck with the powder coating I found I couldn't get the powder to stick to the bullets

frustration wasn't the word for it lol 

[hafod]

On 23/08/2020 at 01:02, saddler said:

Not going to gas check - just powder coat - likely use green for lower power bullets and red for outdoor bullets

Already have the Lee .22 Bator mold - just need to turn a few out

I reckon I can easily match the cost per round (for most cast bullet reloads) with average .22lr ammo prices, esp. the indoor/subsonic stuff

I dont think you.ll be disappointed with that mould I think lee is on a winner with that one casts beautifully bullets straight out of the box after cleaning and smoking the mould of course

drops very consistently too with lyman # 2 metal waiting patiently now for my pat marlin 22 gas check maker to turn up 

I found a box of lyman 22 checks in a pile is stuff I bought a few years back but i.m a bit reluctant to use em now especially when i seen how much they are to buy now lol