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Posted: 11/7/2009 4:28:08 PM EDT
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Hope this is the proper place to ask this question ?
I am going to borrow a mold for .22 caliber 55 grain flat nose bullets . Any one tried cast bullets in an AR ( I also have a .223 bolt gun ) . I have a 4227 load listed in a 1970's Lyman book that is claimed to cycle the action . I realize I will not get max velocity with cast bullets . I realize there may or may not be an issue with lead in the gas system . I realize FN bullets may or may not feed in an AR . Thanks , God bless Wyr |
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If the bullet is a good fit to your barrel, you'll be fine with water quenched wheel weights up to about 2200fps or 40000 psi. From my experiences, after that, you'll have issues with leading.
.223 isn't a good round to shoot cast bullets from. 7.62x39 works great for casting. Good luck. |
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Are you going to put on a gas check? I got a bunch of cast .223 w/ gas checks as part of a large lot of .223 bullets I purchased at an auction. Please post your results. I figured I would have to use gas checks . But I will wait on buying some , untill the mold gets here & I can verify . God bless Wyr |
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Fast twists are very hard on cast bullets. If you have a 1:7 or 1:9, it is difficult to get much velocity before the bullets fail. 1:12 works much better. Can not remember for sure , but I think most of my AR's have 1-9 twist ? No idea on the bolt gun . It is a Ruger . God bless Wyr |
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When you consider what you can buy Brand X 55 gn FMJBT projectiles for, lubing and gas checking tiny, lead,.22 bullets seems a little tedious. I believe the fellow a few months back had about the same sentiments. Yes , but you have no idea how cheap I am . :-) I already cast for several calibers . And the lead would go a LONG way . :-) Plus , you never know about the ammo / component supply . The Libs have yet to rev up on the anti-gun issue , it may be next , after " health care reform " ? Good to be able to make your own . God bless Wyr |
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Received a 4 cavity Lyman mold , on loan , in the mail , last week .
Received gas checks , in the mail , yesterday . Installed a few . Need to lube some and test fire thin this week end , I hope . Thinking about trying Unique and try them in the Ruger bolt gun . God bless Wyr |
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There's some guys that cast some pretty impressive bullets from wheel weights.
I personally don't see the sense in doing this. Bulk jacketed bullets are cheap and hastle free. The econmics of it don't offset the effort. I guess some guys like the challenge of it. 
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There's some guys that cast some pretty impressive bullets from wheel weights. I personally don't see the sense in doing this. Bulk jacketed bullets are cheap and hastle free. The econmics of it don't offset the effort. I guess some guys like the challenge of it. Each to his / her own , but my reasons are about 3 posts up . God bless wyr |
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There's some guys that cast some pretty impressive bullets from wheel weights. I personally don't see the sense in doing this. Bulk jacketed bullets are cheap and hastle free. The econmics of it don't offset the effort. I guess some guys like the challenge of it. It all depends on where one is coming from. 1000 gas checks for .22 cal are about $20. 1000 .224 cal FMJs are running $80+ per k. I have three kids and my wife got laid off from her job several months ago. I have the time to cast bullets, I don't have the money to buy jacketed ones. $60 buys a lot of groceries. I have just started experimenting with casting for .223. My options are shoot home cast or don't shoot at all. I haven't been shooting .223 at all, so its time to try casting for it. |
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Money is tight for me too. The UPS truck hasn't stopped at my house in MONTHS! And I've had to totally put a freeze on all gun related purchases until I pay down some bills.
What I did was load up a thousand or two rounds of rifle ammo when the cash flow was a bit better. So I could realistically go a few years without loading a single .223 round and even a few years after that with the bullets I have in my components inventory. |
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From what I understand there will be an issue with lead. i have not experienced any issues using 8 to 9 grains of unique with the rcbs cast bullet. you can use a gas check up to about 2200 fps or you can paperpatch them for full speed. paper patching may not work well in an ar. but will be fine in the bolt. paper patching adds no expense as the appropriate paper is every where. you don't need to add lube. .22 cal bullets will give your fingers a workout too. |
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[/quote]
i have not experienced any issues using 8 to 9 grains of unique with the rcbs cast bullet. you can use a gas check up to about 2200 fps or you can paperpatch them for full speed. paper patching may not work well in an ar. but will be fine in the bolt. paper patching adds no expense as the appropriate paper is every where. you don't need to add lube. .22 cal bullets will give your fingers a workout too.[/quote] I have paper patched some undersized .45-70 bullets , with cigarette paper , for a Marlin . Time consuming and a little tedious . I would think it would be even more tedious for .224" ( these things are small ) ? What does the bullet need to be sized to ? How many wraps and what kind of paper ? God bless Wyr |
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Quoted: i have not experienced any issues using 8 to 9 grains of unique with the rcbs cast bullet. you can use a gas check up to about 2200 fps or you can paperpatch them for full speed. paper patching may not work well in an ar. but will be fine in the bolt. paper patching adds no expense as the appropriate paper is every where. you don't need to add lube. .22 cal bullets will give your fingers a workout too. I have paper patched some undersized .45-70 bullets , with cigarette paper , for a Marlin . Time consuming and a little tedious . I would think it would be even more tedious for .224" ( these things are small ) ? What does the bullet need to be sized to ? How many wraps and what kind of paper ? God bless Wyr [/quote] The bullet sizing will depend on the actual size of your bore, the thickness of your paper, and how many wraps you intend to use. Personally, even attempting paper patching with something smaller than a .30 cal is crazy. It is hard enough to get a gas check on the .224's. Hope the thread linked above is helpful. As already mentioned, barrel twist rate is the limiting on velocity before bullet failure occurs. |
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Quoted:
i have not experienced any issues using 8 to 9 grains of unique with the rcbs cast bullet. you can use a gas check up to about 2200 fps or you can paperpatch them for full speed. paper patching may not work well in an ar. but will be fine in the bolt. paper patching adds no expense as the appropriate paper is every where. you don't need to add lube. .22 cal bullets will give your fingers a workout too.[/quote] I have paper patched some undersized .45-70 bullets , with cigarette paper , for a Marlin . Time consuming and a little tedious . I would think it would be even more tedious for .224" ( these things are small ) ? What does the bullet need to be sized to ? How many wraps and what kind of paper ? God bless Wyr [/quote] i size the twice wrapped bullet to .225 for my guns. i use tracing paper from an art supply store. yes it requires a little more manual dexterity than a 458 bullet, but with a little practice it is easily done. remember with a paper patched bullet there is no leading nor do you need a gas check. time consuming? i think not. it is part of the shooting hobby. there is a whole sub-forum dedicated to paper patching on castboolits. com. |
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