Casting for AR

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Ironman0731

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Does anyone cast for a AR without gas checks and PC or hytek the bullets? Ive read its possible. I know velocities will be lower than standard. Itll be for tac rifle matches, just to keep my costs down in practice.
 
I do cast for a 300 blk in both subsonic and supersonic loads. I found PC'ing them and gas checking provides greater accuracy. I have just ordered a 55 grain 223 mold. I will also be PC'ing them and gas checking them also.
 
Snider I have the same mould. Not having great success with it in my Bolt 223. Have not tried it in my 22 Hornet yet. Would you care to PM me details and recipes? Not want to hijack. Thanks.
 
NOE (Night Owl Enterprises) makes excellent molds in 0.224"
Cast bullets with gas checks operate at lower pressures and lower velocities than jacketed bullets. Usually a load can be found that will cycle a semi auto action reliably.
Cast bullets without gas checks operate at even lower pressures and velocities. - it will be difficult to find a load generating enough pressure to cycle a semiauto without sacrificing accuracy.


Powder coating is not a substitute for a gas check on a gas check bullet.
Powder coating will allow slightly higher velocities in both gas check and plain base bullets, along with much less smoke and only the smell of powder.

It has been my experience with 22 cast bullets that powder coating gives smaller groups at slightly higher velocities - in 222, 22 Hornet, and 223 Remington bolt actions.

FOr the cost of the molds, lead pots, bullet size (NOE has a very nice and inexpensive sizing system) and the rising cost of lead it may be less expensive to buy 22 jacketed in bulk.


There is a myth about casting bullets saving you money. A lead pot is over $100, a good 5 cavity mold is about $130, powder coat costs about $20 to set up or more.
And then there is finding lead, determining the alloy, getting mold temperature right, and getting alloy temperature right.

and learning the quirks your mold likes so it gives good bullets.


I have a 37 grain 0.225" ten cavity mold, I have cast several thousand bullets with it. but there was a learning curve where the first batch of 500 were rejects

The other issue is that sometimes casting the bullet and powder coating is just as rewarding as shooting the bullet.


Do your research before you start casting to save money.
The first cast bullet is one too many,
10,000 are not enough...
 
I too am curious about casting bullets for rifle. PC is probably the best option with a gas check as noted above. Perhaps someone can post pictures of their cast rifle bullet before & after firing.

Casting your own bullets will save shooters a ton of money. Of course new casters must amortize the one time costs of a suitable smelter, melting pot, molds & sizer and PC. Here's the best example: a LEE 6 cavity 9mm mold will cost about C$90.00 tax in & delivered. The very first 1000 bullets you cast is about a buck cheaper than commercial lead bullets @91.00 or C$114.00 for plated.
Your first 1000 cast just bought you the mold. The second 1000 cost you only your lead because you mold is now paid for.

Cast 5000 bullets using that mold is C$455.00 minus $91.00 startup cost, but the remaining $364.00 you saved bought you your casting pot and all the rest. Cast 10,000 bullets.....save a bundle over buying. Casting your own is proven money saver...
 
10x said:
There is a myth about casting bullets saving you money. A lead pot is over $100, a good 5 cavity mold is about $130, powder coat costs about $20 to set up or more.
Click to expand...

True, casting won't save you money, BUT it lets you shoot a ton more for the same amount of money, which is really what people mean as the cost per bang is dramatically reduced. I definitely don't have the discipline to shoot only cast only as much as I'd shoot bought bullets and thus reap any savings. What I do get is centre fire ammo that costs about as much as premium .22 LR.

Compared to buying even commercial cast, my pot, moulds and other gear was paid for in a single casting session. I don't spend less though, I just get a ton more shooting for the dollar. I could throw out my NOE moulds after every session and still be ahead compared to the cost of buying bullets.
 
flashman2 said:
True, casting won't save you money, BUT it lets you shoot a ton more for the same amount of money, which is really what people mean as the cost per bang is dramatically reduced. I definitely don't have the discipline to shoot only cast only as much as I'd shoot bought bullets and thus reap any savings. What I do get is centre fire ammo that costs about as much as premium .22 LR.

Compared to buying even commercial cast, my pot, moulds and other gear was paid for in a single casting session. I don't spend less though, I just get a ton more shooting for the dollar. I could throw out my NOE moulds after every session and still be ahead compared to the cost of buying bullets.
Click to expand...

Blasphemy!!!!! No one ever "throws out an NOE Mold"....

I paid for my 10 cavity 37 grain mold in less than 2 hours, but then I have the additional cost of burning up Dupont Bulk and a 3 cent primer to shoot them.


Dupont bulk is likely the same powder used in Whiz-Bang® 22 rimfire ammo as it smells exactly the same
 
Well ive shot 200 rounds so far, cast approx 17bhn bullets, PC no gas checks, sized to .224. 200 rounds through the barrel and zero leading and no type of fouling in the gas tube. Average velocity was 2250fps from 20 rounds. Probably not submoa accuracy as i was shooting at 100 yards and hitting a 10” plate while standing. Good enough for me. Plus at .15/per round, its a trade off im happy with.
 
Its a 8 step program
1 buy 22, see someone with big rifle
2 buy center fire, cant afford to shot it too much
3 start reloading, buy more guns, cant afford to shoot them all
4 start casting, buy odd ball guns becuase u r a castaholic
5 bought really odd ball gun, start paper patching and forming brass
6 start thinking what else u can cast, cast shotgun shot
7 buy guns u dont have molds for, and buy molds u dont have guns for yet
8 tell the wife your out for the evening so u can buy more guns and mold. Or take an hour off work so u can beat her home so she does not see the postman
 
I would look at noe moulds. All I will buy now after starting with lee moulds. Lee is complete garbage compared to Al's moulds imho. Al's sizing system is also better as well as his neck expanding system.

I cast for 9mm, 30-30 and 30-06. 9mm is 4-5 cents a round, 30-30 is 11 cents, 30-06 is 12 cents. Very easy to pay for itself. I will be getting a mould for 223 from Al in the future.
 
I use the Lee .225" 55gr bullets in a Norinco 10.5" AR once. Tumble lubed with Lee Alox, copper gas checks applied in a Lee .225" push-through sizer. I used H4198 and looked at data from the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook as well as conventional load data for 55gr jacketed bullets with the same powder. Ended up loading a bunch of loads between the two. I found two loads that cycled the action, locked the bolt back, and kept somewhat acceptable groups. If memory serves it was 2-3" at 50yds but the groups opened up to shotgun-sized patterns real quick above a certain load. I tested the lower of the two loads when it was 10'C cooler and the rifle would not cycle. I was looking at experimenting with powder coating or testing the higher of the two loads but never got around to it and have sold that rifle since. I still have the mold and have some other AR's I could try them in but kind of stopped casting for a while; looking at getting back into it soon now that I have a garage with power again.
 
I haven't loaded .22 cast bullets for a decade or more. They are a bit fiddly to handle with arthritic hands.
I've had no trouble getting 1 inch groups at 50 yards, but 1 foot groups at 100 yards are were the norm.
Powder coating would certainly help here.
Beagle, an American guru, says that a hollow point bullet is the secret to 100 yard .22 cast bullet shooting.

Casting really doesn't save you money. It's another outflow of funds for an ever expanding hobby (like the universe).
As I tell Her Ladyship, it keeps me off the streets and out of the beer halls, and I have no money left for the blonde floozies.

Of course, YMMV.
 
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