Might have to start casting .223

[migrant hunter]

So I cast for a bunch of calibers, just never did .223. I have a Norinco 105 on the way which should have a 1 in 12 twist.
I'm thinking of hornet performance with the Lee .225, but don't know if I should powder coat (never done it) or but a lubesizer die and GC them.
I want 2500 fps or thereabouts, as cheap as possible. Thoughts? Where do you guys buy lubesizer dies? Not interested in a Lee push through.

 

[ponymusic]

If you find yourself in the Vernon, BC area, stop in at Del Selin's (or call) - I traded off my .223 Saeco bullet mould, an RCBS Lube-A-Matic and sizing die with top punch last year. I can't imagine there is a lot of demand for these items.

 

[Johnnyjeepster]

Powder coating is super easy. Just need a decent dedicated oven and the inter web for some lite reading...
And then You are off to the races. Biggest thing I have found is temp to high kills the batch.

 

[migrant hunter]

I spend a lot of time loading and casting already, or at least what time I have available.
I like the simplicity of powder coat without gas checks, but can I get 2500 fps without a gas check?
It would be nice to buy a Lee mold, powder coat and shoot as cast.
If I'm going to have to gas check, I might as well just lube and check in my Lyman.

 

[yomomma]

I spend a lot of time loading and casting already, or at least what time I have available.
I like the simplicity of powder coat without gas checks, but can I get 2500 fps without a gas check?
It would be nice to buy a Lee mold, powder coat and shoot as cast.
If I'm going to have to gas check, I might as well just lube and check in my Lyman.

If you have a gas check bullet you will need gas checks to have aany hopes of hitting that velocity

 

[slug]

You'll find that casting .22 is almost an exercise in futility.
2500 f/s is virtually impossible, at least if you want to hit something.
I shot lots of prairie gophers in the seventies with a Brno Hornet and cast bullets.
I could do one inch at 50 yards with careful loading, but at 100 yards they were all over creation.

According to Beagle, an American guru, you need a hollow point bullet to get one inch at 100 yards with a .22.
He is very knowledgeable on the subject.
I gave up playing with .22 cast bullets a few years back because they were too awkward to handle with arthritic fingers.
I even sold all my rifles in that calibre.
However, I was seduced by a very pretty Martini Hornet a few months back and even bought a box of condom bullets for it.

Keep in mind that powder coating will add two or three thou to the bullets dimensions and prehaps make it unusable.
While the diameter can be reduced, the ogive will still be enlarged, making seating difficult.
The bullet might have to be seated deeper, reducing powder room a bit.

 

[fingers284]

If you have a gas check bullet you will need gas checks to have aany hopes of hitting that velocity

How did you come to this conclusion. I have shot a lot of GC shanked slugs (altho bigger than the .224 the op wants info on) with Powder coating and no GC.. The second difference between my testing & what the OP wants to accomplish is in velocity, I haven't pushed any faster than 1700 fps but I have shot a lot of boat-tail slugs at over 3000 fps and getting back to your comment, cant see any reason to think that a naked GC shanked slug wont do the same with PC coating.

 

[yomomma]

How did you come to this conclusion. I have shot a lot of GC shanked slugs (altho bigger than the .224 the op wants info on) with Powder coating and no GC.. The second difference between my testing & what the OP wants to accomplish is in velocity, I haven't pushed any faster than 1700 fps but I have shot a lot of boat-tail slugs at over 3000 fps and getting back to your comment, cant see any reason to think that a naked GC shanked slug wont do the same with PC coating.

My comment is based on the findings of some of the people over at Castboolits.

at the stated velocity, if you want a hope of accuracy, gas checks is the way to go

 

[Alberta Separatist 11]

.22 cast boolits

I agree with Slug and Yomma, that getting 2500 fps is almost impossible.
Ive been casting the lyman 225 mould for about 25 years and even though its hollow pointed, the best I could get was 1" - 1/14 @ 100 yards, which is okay for my intended purposes of shooting adult gophers, badgers and the occasional yote.
most of my shooting was under 150 yards and the nice thing was that I did not have to wait long to shoot as compared to copper bullets, had to put the rifle away for 25 minutes after 3 - 4 shots.

I have not experimented with powder coated boolits ; you might be able to increase your velocity and you might get away without a gas check; a lot of testing seems to be immemient.

 

[oldrodder]

A few years back, Slug & I tried powder coating .224" cast boolits and they deformed so badly as to be unusable! These were cast of pure linotype and cooked at 375 deg for 20 mins.