New LEE .22 cal mold
- Thread starter kjohn
- Start date
OP,
Grind a small dish shape in the push pin of your lube/size dies to assist seating gas checks squarely.
If there is a slight burr or imperfection at the bullet base when seating a gas check it will seat cockeyed & won't shoot to its potential.
Grind a small dish shape in the push pin of your lube/size dies to assist seating gas checks squarely.
If there is a slight burr or imperfection at the bullet base when seating a gas check it will seat cockeyed & won't shoot to its potential.
If you don't value your time, definitely cast, if you do, it's way cheaper to buy bullets.
Or if you have a free/cheap source of lead, it's also worth while.
kjohn:
Have you tried checking & lubing your bullets without sizing, presuming, of course, that an unsized bullet seated in a case can be chambered?
I've found that unsized bullets, at least from my NOE & Accurate Moulds moulds, shoot better without sizing.
Have you tried checking & lubing your bullets without sizing, presuming, of course, that an unsized bullet seated in a case can be chambered?
I've found that unsized bullets, at least from my NOE & Accurate Moulds moulds, shoot better without sizing.
So far, I am just casting, gas checking and powder coating .22 bullets for the fun of doing it. I shot a few .223 rounds with my bullets, but it was a rock killing safari, so no deep investigation into accuracy. The only .223 I have at the moment is a Norinco clone of a CZ 527. Nice little rifle, but it desperately needs the feed ramp polished/smoothed out. I have a really nice old G.B. Crandall-built "22-3000" or more commonly called nowadays 22-250 target rifle with a Unertl scope I'd like to shoot a bit.
I could probably get away with powder coating without gas checking/sizing. Once I get that little Norinco tuned up, I'll likely try both ways.
That is understatement.
I size 303 bullets (powder coated) to a diameter where they will chamber freely. I do not worry about bore diameter and let the throat of the Lee Enfield size the bullet to the bore diameter. My groups got smaller when i went this route.
I do the same with my 9.3x57 with the same improvement in accuracy.
I have found similar results with 30-30, 308 and 30/06
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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I'm curious as to how you crimp your checks on to a desired dia without using a size die ??
I size all my cast before powder coating, not to achieve a desired dia but to more or less make sure every slug is as concentrically round as I can make them before coating. I also size to the specific dia I desire after coating to assure me that the coating is as round and even as possible.
With an NOE gas check seater
I cast a few more today, but forgot to add Lino. The wee bullets seemed to be ok. The heat is cranked up. I’ll GC, size and PC them anyway. Someone above said they water quench right after GCing. Hmmm. May have to try that.
Brassman66
CGN frequent flyer
Both my moulds use gas checks. Lyman 45 gr and Lee 55 gr. I have pushed them up to 2500 fps in my 221 Fireball with good results.
Made up a bunch more small muffin size ingots yesterday and this morning. Mostly WW with some print press pieces of Lino. Got the pot down to approx. half full, heated the mold up, cranked the heat up on the pot (10 lb. LEE bottom pour). Plopped in a pure Lino and Presto! Way, way better looking bullets, somewhat frosty, but no ugly marks. Powder coating will cover the frost, and I will fiddle a bit with the heat. I have been making a few gas checks every now and again with my new little maker, BFB .22 cal.
These are gas checked (.012 flashing) and sized. Next - clean in acetone, dry, powder coat.
View attachment 843665
Those look too pretty to shoot...
I have a 10 cavity NOE 0.225" 37 grain mold. The alloy has to be run hot. The pour has to be fast, the sprue has to be 3x to 4x the volume of the bullet, and the distance from the bottom pour spout to the sprue plate less than 1 Cm
Once the mold is heated up a 10 Lb pot of 60% wheel weight/20% linotype gives very nice bullets with zero rejects.
I have to sort out the GC bullets from the PB bullets but i do a visual inspection on all bullets cast.
These bullets get powder coated and then sized to 0.225" in an NOE size die. The GC bullets are very accurate up to 2250 fps.
The PB bullets are powder coated, sized to 0.225" and kept under 1800 fps. - also very accurate.
Used in 222 remington, 223 remington, 22 Hornet. and 22/250
Once the mold is heated up a 10 Lb pot of 60% wheel weight/20% linotype gives very nice bullets with zero rejects.
I have to sort out the GC bullets from the PB bullets but i do a visual inspection on all bullets cast.
These bullets get powder coated and then sized to 0.225" in an NOE size die. The GC bullets are very accurate up to 2250 fps.
The PB bullets are powder coated, sized to 0.225" and kept under 1800 fps. - also very accurate.
Used in 222 remington, 223 remington, 22 Hornet. and 22/250
Brassman66
CGN frequent flyer
At 100 meters, muzzle velocity of 1750, they will usually group about 1.5" and if i do better sometimes under an inch
They are powder coated, sized to 0.225" after powder coating, and give the similar groups no matter which rifle i shoot them out of.
The gas check bullets will have fewer fliers, and usually smaller groups.
At 50 meters both gas check and PB bullets go into groups that are usually 1" or under.
I have mostly shot these out of 222 Remington from a Model 600.
Powders used were Unique, 700x, and 4227 , the sweet spot for accuracy was 1725 to 1750 fps
I used a very light charge of 90 year old Dupont Bulk in the Hornet, - about 1020 fps , very consistent and 10 GC shot - 50 meter groups averaged 1/2 inch or less. I have a limited supply of Bulk. Plain base bullets would give the odd flier , about 1/2" to 1" or so out of the group. Never tried these at 100 meters.
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Brassman66
CGN frequent flyer
sssss
Remember too that the faster smokeless powder burns, the faster it builds pressure, and the faster it builds pressure the faster it burns. It is important that all of the powder be burnt before maximum pressure is reached, as just a wee bit more powder can take a load well over maximum pressures quickly.
1750 fps works well in my model 40 Savage in 22 hornet and in my Savage 340.
In any cast bullet having a good base with sharp edges will give better accuracy. The plain base bullets I cast that do not have a even sharp base edge get tossed back in the the remelt pile. i use a large magnifying glass with a light to inspect the base.
Any cast bullet with a properly filled out base will not have wrinkles anywhere on the bullet.
I also use synthetic 2 stroke oil to lube the hinge pins on the molds and lube the sprue plate screw...
A "Q tip" (saturated but not dripping) is adequate.
I built a P.I.D. temperature regulator (REX C100, with SSR output) and use a 6" K thermocouple in the pot.
The P.I.D. is set to on/off thermostat rather than P.I.D. micro (anal retentive) control. Cost was under $20 with parts direct from China.
If you order parts from China, make sure the P.I.D. is ssr (Solid state relay) compatible. I had to remove the relay from a batch of 10 and convert them to SSR output.
The REX C100 display is usually in C but some can be made to read F
Work up a load. I use Gordons reloading tool to select a powder and load that gives me 1700 to 1800 fps velocity with acceptable pressures. Depending on powder volume I will start at least 5% lower and work up a load, comparing actual velocities with predicted velocity. Much depends on if i can get a specific powder locally. I have a first generation Lab Radar and suffer Garmin envy....
Remember too that the faster smokeless powder burns, the faster it builds pressure, and the faster it builds pressure the faster it burns. It is important that all of the powder be burnt before maximum pressure is reached, as just a wee bit more powder can take a load well over maximum pressures quickly.
1750 fps works well in my model 40 Savage in 22 hornet and in my Savage 340.
In any cast bullet having a good base with sharp edges will give better accuracy. The plain base bullets I cast that do not have a even sharp base edge get tossed back in the the remelt pile. i use a large magnifying glass with a light to inspect the base.
Any cast bullet with a properly filled out base will not have wrinkles anywhere on the bullet.
I also use synthetic 2 stroke oil to lube the hinge pins on the molds and lube the sprue plate screw...
A "Q tip" (saturated but not dripping) is adequate.
I built a P.I.D. temperature regulator (REX C100, with SSR output) and use a 6" K thermocouple in the pot.
The P.I.D. is set to on/off thermostat rather than P.I.D. micro (anal retentive) control. Cost was under $20 with parts direct from China.
If you order parts from China, make sure the P.I.D. is ssr (Solid state relay) compatible. I had to remove the relay from a batch of 10 and convert them to SSR output.
The REX C100 display is usually in C but some can be made to read F
