Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting 22 cast bullet question

Lets assume a guy was going to cast heavy 22's for a fast twist short barreled AR with a can as a possibility.

Plain base or Gas checked?

Check it.

A check will help the balance and prevent stripping with rotational torque of the fast twist and keep the gas gun clean and happy.....

I also suggest heat treating.

chrome barrel or no? or no matter?

No on the chrome lined.

That pretty well sums it up!

yep

I have been thinking about casting for my REBut powder coating. Anybody tried it?

Are these intended for sub-sonic? If so then a gas check won't be necessary but will help accuracy, but either way I wouldn't send bullets down my ARs that are not powder coated and heat treated.

My rule of thumb is any time twist rate is faster than 1-10, you should use a gas check.

If a suppressor is a possibility, I would NOT shoot cast through it unless they are powder coated.

If they are subsonic loads and powder coated, you can get away without gas checks.

If they are full power loads, you definitely want to use copper gas checks; even powder coating won't prevent gas cutting at the gas port.

FWIW I've had trouble with aluminum gas checks in AR barrels; they are prone to gas cutting just like lead.

I'd use a plain base bullet, water dropped.

With a can, you'll likely want to shoot subsonic anyway.

Thanks, you answered all my questions.

Mine too.

Seemed like a poignant thread for once.

And it remained on topic for a page.

Huzzah!

I don't know how or where we went wrong.

Seems like time for a thread drift...



I can say for myself, in a 22 centerfire, I pretty much never shoot subsonic through my cans. If I want subsonic 22, the 22LR gets it done better.

A suppressor on full power 223 or other centerfire rounds doesn't sound like the movies, but is still very worthwhile. It will make your day in the ground squirrel fields much more pleasant, in my experience.

i was digging through a bunch of old ideal molds and found a couple for .224 caliber, really sharp nosed spitzers. Given they were ideal, suspect originally used for 22hornet and .222. One of them was a gas check design. I have never cast pills that small, but geez that must be a dink gas check.
I am tempted to cast some of them just to jack around with.

Buy a can of lil'Gun and have fun. You'll need a magnifying glass to sort cull's.

I have good copper 22 cal GC's for sale for cheap if interested.

http://gaschecks.castpics.net/

FWIW, I'm shooting plain base cast 30:1 alloy thru a can, Alox lubed, 12 twist. Not a gas gun but it works quite well, this at 50 yards.





A friend just used some of the same thru a single shot .300 BO, 8 twist suppressed, zero problems. Another project of his, also suppressed is a 77/44. 50 yards, 3 on the left part of adjusting zero, 3-in-1 on the X is the final result. Plain base Lyman 429244 also 30:1 at about the same velocity, same lube.



.22 cal cast bullets aren't much of a mystery.



They shoot OK.