Lee 225-55-RF

[orerancher]

Just sent off for a 6 Cavity 225-55 RF Mold... Gonna turn My .223 Handi-Rifle into a Cast Shooter...
Anyone got any Advice on workin with Dem itty bitty Bullets?

[Ohio3Wheels]

Patience

Make smoke,

[RBHarter]

Everything that makes any difference on a bullet 35 cal or less is about 800% more important to a 22 cal bullet than a 30 Cal .
The checks are tiny , weigh lots can be helpful in getting your best groups , long barrels beg for more or better lube .
3 gr of the fast shotgun powders will be supersonic , Unique will get you well above 2400fps .
It's really hard to get little enough powder to in the 222/223 families to get subs but it's pretty easy to get 22 Mag mags .

[farmerjim]

I powder coat or Hi-Tek mine. They don't do well without the check.
They are cheep and fun to shoot. I like them with 700x.

[Ranch Dog]

Yeah, everything matters with a 22 caliber bullet, especially, patience (O3W nailed it!).

I shoot my TLC225-50-RF out of my 218 Bee. It shoots excellent at moderate velocities (2K FPS). I do think it crosses a line pretty quick after than that temperatures near melt it. No doubt a gas check helps it out. Not a lot of tater between the skin.

Honestly, a world of difference between it and my 25 caliber bullet, the TLC258-80-RF. Things really must tighten up as the bullet gets smaller.

[orerancher]

Patience

Make smoke,

Good Advice for Most Things in Life!

[orerancher]

I powder coat or Hi-Tek mine. They don't do well without the check.
They are cheep and fun to shoot. I like them with 700x.

I Powder Coat Everything!!
Gonna use an Alum. GC.
Just got a Chronograph, Want to see how fast I can accurately push Em...
This Rifle is a Tack Driver with 55g Jacketed....

It's all Fun!!

[Macd]

Before I started casting for rifle and shooting the results I read and reread the chapters of the Lee 2nd Ed.that cover powder selection and cast lead bullet ultimate compressive strength. I believe Richard Lee was correct in his conclusions. My practise is to water quench any bullet for rifle use, always use a gas check and choose the slowest powder I can to keep peak pressures down and lasting longer. Probably one of the best powders for small cast bullets like the .224 is H4895. It fills a .223 case nicely at 22.0 grains and will give about 2,650 fps out of my 22" barrel. The quenched and checked bullets left no leading that I could see. It wasn't as accurate as my best jacketed load but decent enough. I stopped casting for the .223 as jacketed bullets are so cheap and I couldn't find a source for small checks this side of the border. I can buy commercial cast but never bothered.

[Ohio3Wheels]

In the past I cast for both the 224 bores and the 256 bore, both with Lyman iron molds. The 22 mold was sensitive to just about everything including the phase of the moon. When it was right it cast a nice gas checked bullet that done with straight WW checked and lubed went about 57 grains as I recall. Kept under 2K it shot well in our 22/250 (Rem 788). Before the local farm got cut up into "ranchettes" I manged to take a few ground hogs out to about 150 yards. The 25 mold was a whole different story once up to temp it would throw nice bullets until the pot ran dry, Lyman lists it at 65 grains cast in WW with a little tin added checked and lubed it went about 67 for me. Shot it from a 10" Contender in 256 Mag, with factory iron sights it was a decent varmit gun out to 75 yards or so and always shot better than I could even then. I shot it a couple times in IHMSA as a production gun, it simply couldn't handle the rams.

Like I said earlier, patience and casting little bullets - it'll get the job done.

Make smoke,

[Chickenthief]

.17 is when it get's small ;-)

Thats a 45 ACP and a 17HH