Why Grown men Cry
Cast Bullets in the .223
I’ve been shooting cast in the .223 for about 10 years now. The first rifle was a Model 700 Remington with the heavy barrel and wooden stock. It had been prairie dog hunting once too often and the throat was about gone so I traded it off for a Ruger 1-V in .223 as I had the Ruger Number 1 sickness at the time.
The Remington, even with a worn throat, would outshoot the Number 1 for consistency every time, but I was ready for a change so I broke out the cash and put a Keplinger single set trigger in it, a speed hammer, and bedded the forend. I then loaded it down with a Weaver 6-24X scope. It’s very accurate with jacketed stuff but I wanted to shoot cast.
I see posts all of the time asking about cast in the .223 and I usually respond.
Casting .22s is no different than casting any other bullet. I’d prefer to use a harder alloy but usually settle for WWs enriched with some antimony and let it go at that.
One thing that is a must with .22 cast is that you must be ruthless in sorting and that means using a 3X glass for inspection. Throw out anything with any defect.
.22s bullets, being fragile, required special attention when sizing. Even the force of seating and sizing down a gas check that hasn’t been annealed will bend the bullet. For this reason, I size nose first and then come back and lube in a separate operation.
Weighing is worth it with .22s. Get a set of electronic scales, 10 plastic .22 cartridge boxes and label them in .1 grain increments and start weighing. I do this after sizing and lubing.
Good .223 brass abounds at every
firing range for the picking up. Think I have two .50 caliber ammunition
cans full of commercial brass now. I usually size, tumble and then neck
turn before loading. Neck turning does well on .223 brass
and gave me maybe ¼” tighter groups. My favorite brass is IMI and then
Federal.
Seating is critical and I use a .223 RCBS Competition Seater die and it works very well. I bought a .223 taper crimp die several years ago and it seems to give more consistent accuracy also. It kind of irons out the bell where we use an M die for neck expansion and allows better chambering.
The sizing diameter is another matter. Most companies recommend .225 as the sizing diameter. I’ve had better luck with .224” and that’s what Lyman recommends. I was reading an article by H. Guy Louverin (father of the Louverin designs) the other night and he recommends .226”. I have a .226 sizer so I’ll break it out and try some .226s as well before I finish this article.
Most of my loads run from 1,600-2,400 FPS. After 2,400 FPS during testing, accuracy went completely south as I believe I was exceeding the strength of my alloy and the bullets were stripping.
Groups from the .223 will usually run about 1 ½” with many flyers. I have never broken the code on making one hole groups. I have almost got there but then the obligatory flyer steps in.
This is what makes grown men cry….
Many bullet designs are available and suitable for the .223. Lyman makes the #225438, the #225415 and the #225646.
Discontinued moulds available on E-Bay are the #22596, #225462 and #225450.
RCBS makes the 22-55-SP and I recommend this one if you’re starting out.
NEI makes many good designs as well.
L-R: 22596, 225450, 225415, 225462, 22-55-SP, 225646
For those of you playing with cast in the .22 Hornet, the following table is included so that you can compare lengths.
Bullet Number
|
Length
|
Weight
w/lube/
check
|
|
22596 Lyman |
.584 |
51.8 |
|
225450 Lyman |
.680 |
53.9 |
|
225415 Lyman |
.553 |
50.6 |
|
225462 Lyman |
.617 |
58.5 |
|
22-55-SP RCBS |
.652 |
58.5 |
|
225646 Lyman |
.678 |
60.4 |
Almost any of the fast to medium burning powders can be used in the .223 for one application or another. Listed below are the loads that I’ve used and tested in the last 5 years or so. Most of my shooting is plinking at about 2,000 FPS and these work well for me in that application. I am not attempting to list a load that will shoot one hole groups in your rifle. These are only representative loads based on my shooting experiences that will enable you to obtain a starting place in your quest for accuracy.
|
Bullet |
Weight |
Powder |
Weight |
Av Velocity |
SD |
Sized |
Primer |
Seating Depth (OAL) |
Comments
|
|
225415 |
50.6 |
Green Dot |
7.5 |
2102 |
32.6 |
.225 |
RSR |
|
Acc |
|
225415 |
50.6 |
Red Dot |
7.5 |
2045 |
63.2 |
.225 |
RSR |
|
Not Acc |
|
225415 |
50.6 |
Unique |
7.5 |
2022 |
14.4 |
.225 |
RSR |
|
Acc |
|
225415 |
50.6 |
2400 |
10.1 |
1988 |
8.7 |
.225 |
RSR |
|
Very Acc |
|
225415 |
50.6 |
2400 |
11.7 |
2258 |
23.2 |
.225 |
RSR |
|
Acc |
|
225415 |
50.6 |
4198 |
12.0 |
1848 |
59.9 |
.225 |
RSR |
|
Very Acc |
|
225415 |
50.6 |
WC820 |
11.8 |
2330 |
68.4 |
.2255 |
WSR |
2.149 |
1.5” |
|
225450 |
53.9 |
N110 |
10.5 |
2104 |
26.7 |
.224 |
WSR |
2.293 |
1.0” |
|
225450 |
53.9 |
N110 |
11.5 |
2308 |
11.6 |
.224 |
WSR |
2.293 |
1.0” |
|
225450 |
53.9 |
Blue Dot |
9.0 |
2239 |
9.2 |
.224 |
WSR |
2.335 |
1.0” |
|
225462 |
58.5 |
N110 |
10.0 |
1962 |
35.3 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.161 |
2.0” |
|
225462 |
58.5 |
WC820 |
11.5 |
2273 |
12.9 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.111 |
2.0” |
|
225462 |
58.5 |
Blue Dot |
9.0 |
2150 |
11.3 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.170 |
2.0” |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
N110 |
10.0 |
1955 |
30.8 |
.224 |
WSR |
2.176 |
2.0” |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
N110 |
12.0 |
2338 |
29.1 |
.224 |
WSR |
2.176 |
1.0-1.25” |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
N110 |
14.0 |
2573(1) |
42.9 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.176 |
4.0” |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
WC820 |
11.2 |
2173 |
24.4 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.176 |
1.0-1.5” |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
WC820 |
12.5 |
2418 |
12.5 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.176 |
Not Acc |
|
Bullet |
Weight |
Powder |
Weight |
Av Velocity |
SD |
Sized |
Primer |
Seating Depth (OAL) |
Comments
|
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
2015 |
15.2 |
2163 |
34.3 |
.225 |
CCISR |
2.176 |
2.0” |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
2400 |
11.2 |
2161 |
48.8 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.176 |
1.0 Consistent |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
2400 |
11.8 |
2234 |
37.3 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.176 |
1.0” Consistent |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
4198 |
12.0 |
1848 |
25.0 |
.225 |
CCISR |
2.176 |
1.0” |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
4759 |
11.2 |
2191 |
36.2 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.176 |
1.0-1.25” |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
4759 |
11.8 |
2236 |
22.1 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.176 |
1.5” |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
5744 |
11.2 |
1804 |
21.9 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.176 |
1.25” Unburned Granules |
|
2255SP |
58.5 |
5744 |
11.8 |
1895 |
23.3 |
.225 |
WSR |
2.176 |
1.5”Unburned Granules |
|
225646 |
60.4 |
Blue Dot |
9.0 |
2082 |
15.8 |
.224 |
WSR |
2.201 |
1.25” |
|
225646 |
60.4 |
N110 |
10.5 |
1990 |
39.8 |
.224 |
WSR |
2.231 |
1.5” |
|
225646 |
60.4 |
N110 |
11.5 |
2216 |
12.7 |
.224 |
WSR |
2.231 |
1.0” |
|
22596 |
51.8 |
Blue Dot |
9.0 |
2124 |
21.1 |
.224 |
WSR |
2.236 |
1.0” |
|
22596 |
51.8 |
N110 |
11.5 |
2231 |
28.0 |
.224 |
WSR |
2.240 |
Not Acc |
|
22596 |
51.8 |
N110 |
10.0 |
2058 |
28.9 |
.2255 |
WSR |
2.166 |
1.0” |
Note 1 – The data for N110 was developed by increasing the powder charge in .5 grain increments. As soon as 2400 FPS was exceeded, accuracy went to pot. This was with my alloy that was antimony enriched WW metal. The use of linotype may allow accuracy with higher velocities. The “sweet spot” occurred at 12.0 grains with N110.
Since starting this article, we hollow pointed a Ideal #225415 mould. This is a task as it has a .070” cavity pin and the mould must be drilled from the bottom with a .125” drill and then the cavity drilled for a short distance with a .070” drill or drift will occur when drilling. At any rate, it turned out well and the proof will be in the shooting.
|
Bullet |
Weight |
Powder |
Weight |
Av Velocity |
SD |
Sized |
Primer |
Seating Depth (OAL) |
Comments
|
|
225415HP |
47.5 |
N110 |
10.0 |
1869 |
56.2 |
2255 |
HSR |
2.110 |
.5”@100 |
The initial test results with the 225415HP were beyond my expectations. The velocity I obtained was lower than my expectations due, no doubt to the lighter HP weight and the standard deviation for the string was higher. I haven’t attempted to work up a load and find a “sweet spot” yet but the new hollow point version seems to be more accurate than the solid version.
The sizing diameter of .2255” seems to do better also and that’s what my RCBS .226” Sizing die sizes them to. I’ll be working more with that diameter here in the future.
Idea #225415 Hollow Point
A black bird sacrificed himself/herself for research and the small bullet definitely opens taking the opposite side wing clear off. It is definitely a cast bullet made for varmint use.
I have never had good accuracy from the 225462 design for some reason. I’m tending to blame the bullet length and barrel twist.
A further experiment will be to hollow point this design and see if that increases its accuracy potential. But, this is another story as the saying goes.
As I stated at the beginning of this article, many queries are received on shooting cast bullets in the .223 Remington cartridge. This article has been the results of my experiences and lessons learned in shooting cast bullets in the .223.
It may not be the best cast rifle but brass is readily available, it is cheap to feed and has sufficient accuracy for shooting with cast up to 150 yards or so and it is so easy on the shoulder.
Good luck with your .223 cast shooting. My quest for the “bugholes” with the .223 continues.
John Goins/akabeagle
This
article continued in Part 2
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