Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .22 RF alternatives

Time has passed and a new/old frontier is before us. The .22 GTC has barked in a 10/22.

Yes, things were learned today, but that was no surprise. The CF firing pin was a bit off center and shy, yet it worked.


The action cycled normally. Load for the top wad of bullets was a CCI SPP and .9 grains of Red Dot. Two different shooters began the fracas with a clean barrel, modified bolt and ran thru about 20 rounds at 20 yards. The two wads, lower left and right, were fired by the same two gentlemen using 1.0 grains of WW231. We did not chrony the loads today, but they have both averaged 1035 fps from my Contender in the past.


Following that the firing pin was changed to RF in the same bolt. Federal HV ammo for the top group and CCI SV for the lower.


A look at the brass after the RF shoot suggests a couple of options. 1) trade bolts, not firing pins, and 2) have a stroke of design genius and do it with one bolt and two pins. I prefer the former, at least with the 10/22.

The Cartridge:






https://i.imgur.com/ciVX3Ld.mp4


Sorry about the focus, but you'll get it, more vids to follow as they upload......

Here are three short vids, the 10-22 bolt has been modified and new firing pin was made to produce a centerfire strike. NO other changes made to the 10-22............

https://i.imgur.com/ciVX3Ld.mp4

https://i.imgur.com/vtdYd0c.mp4

https://i.imgur.com/GZ83eKq.mp4

Double checked the regs today and guess what! The.22 GTC is a legal deer cartridge here in Floriduh.

OMG, what have I done?!?!?

You've got some hella neat rifles Dan, and most certainly think outside the box when it comes to these things.

I just drink cheap beer and shoot factory rifles.

Nothing wrong with factory rifles, but I go for whiskey rather than beer. Boxes annoy me. For the record, the modified bolt belongs to Muffin, but the bolt was in a gun owned by the machining magician who modified the bolt. I loaded the ammo.

It was a 3 way affair?

I like threesomes.

I haven't read this entire thread, so didn't know the rifle was such a slut, getting around with so many different guy's parts and all.

I like sluts too.

Carry on.

Well, well well......I got a package in the mail yesterday. A swage die. Already shot some of the bullets it spits out and they work just dandy. I'll have to try it in Muffin's gun since I sold all mine.

DD

All mine went up in the shed fire, I'll borrow one from the neighbor.............

do I need to start making some slugs for the die????

Might just order one of those kits for my 22 magnum.

No, but thanks. Wanker I sold the gun to couldn’t wrap his little mind around the hand loading thing. Showed him the bullets I’d cast and he said “Wow, those look like bullets! You get those at Walmart? Lead is poisonous, I won’t touch it. “ Asked where he was from and he said California. Then he asked if the gun was good out to 1,000 yds. I asked if he was related to Pelosi and it was like I’d slapped him. “Please don’t tell anyone, my neighbors would kill me if they knew. How’d you know?” Told him to take a look at his driver’s license.

Just ran some bullets thru the swage. They are FLAWLESS. Time to get drunk. 😋

Ooh Ooh Ooh,

I haven't been following this one lately, shame on me. And now it's time for beddy bye.

It will give me something to look forward to tomorrow besides complaints about MidwayUSA raising prices.

Good work fellas.

Latest visit to DDs range with the 22 Center Fire.... I acquired my own mould and cases a while back

20 yards,

this mould



10 rounds of SK Standard + to set the stage and then 13 rounds of the CF with .7grain of Red Dot

A pound of powder and couple of pounds of lead and you can live off squirrels and rabbits.... that's 10,000 rounds to the pound of powder by the way................

That is so darn cool and a rabbit hole I could see myself going down...

The 22 moulds for the Rimfire to Centerfire project certainly 'work'..... nice bullets, but there is always a little deformation of the bullet base when cutting the sprue, which with the base being every so slightly off center can only have a negative effect on accuracy... so

DD had commissioned a bullet swage, and the last time i was over sent it home with me to 'play around with it, see what you can come up with'

Well here it is:



1) Bullet far left as it falls out of the mould that is pictured a couple of posts up..

2) That bullet after it comes out of the swage

3) The Flash that is cut off

4) Bullet with flash removed

5) And bullet knurled with a BASTARD file!!!

Next trip to DDs' and we will see how they shoot

An observation - most of us go from casting the bullet to size/lube and then case............... but now!!!!

Cast bullet, place bullet in swage, two pumps on the press handle, two raps with a plastic hammer to extricate bullet, place bullet in die to remove flash, two raps with the plastic hammer to cut of flash, knurl with file(although i suspect this step is likely unnecessary), lube and case!!! Good thing I have nothing to do!

I remember an article years ago (maybe Handloader or Rifle) about problems and techniques associated with casting small bullets. The author mentioned the size of the sprue relative to the size of the bullet base as being one of the factors in accuracy. The author solved the problem by positioning the sprue cutter off center where only a small part of the bullet cavity was visible through the hole in the sprue cutter. In other words the sprue would be a small and football shaped on the edge of the bullet base.

I seem to remember that the author was using gas checks so the tiny deformity being on the edge of the base didn’t cause a problem with the bullet “release” at the muzzle.

Wiregrabber, I have actually noticed that myself, there is less deformity............. need to experiment a little, see just how much or how little hole is necessary to cast a bullet........... but the swage makes much better bullets. Did a little experimenting and put a few of the bullets in the swage base first, you can't tell the difference..................

Now I need a swage for my 300 Blackout.....

What kind of alloy are y'all making these bullets out of?

I started with 30:1 and after several months added some wheel weight. BHN is in the neighborhood of 7-8. Accuracy improved significantly.