Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles .224 Cast Bullets

I am reloading for a 218 Bee and are having a hard time locating a reasonably price .224 cast bullents for a plinking load.

Anyone share a source?

D

That might bee (sorry) because that little bore will lead up like a bandit at Bee velocities. I don't know of anybody who sells tiny little gaschecks, either.

I plan to load light, just above a 22 LR velocity.
I have found several "custom" casters who offer .224 cast bullets but they are higher than good jacketed varmite bullets. I am looking for sometime inexpensive.

D

Don--I guess the cost is because those little suckers are so hard to cast, and the tiniest anomaly will ruin any chance of decent accuracy.

Don

I have a marlin 1894 CL in .218 Bee i will be getting a Lyman 55 gn Fn bullet mould in the new future. I have two buddys who have ndone alot of load testing with cast in .218 Bee some pretty impresive stuff to !
Penetration on even pigs ! can be amazing !

I suggest you start casting hornady .22 gas checks will do the job and Lyman moulds are well priced on midsouth shooters.

As of yet ive not doen it myself ......I will ask one of my buddys to take a look at this post they can help you bettert than i can at present.

Englander

Don,
I have been shooting cast in the Hornet and Bee with varying results for quite some time. .22 caliber cast bullets will make you talk to yourself in a rude manner. I have about broken the code though (with help from others) and I may be able to save you a little time.
I cast my own bullets and have found the NEI #1 39 grain and the Lyman 225415 48 grain bullets give the best results in my Marlin 1894CL.
I shoot both bullets as cast, with and without gas checks. I lube them with Javalina Alox or tumble lube them with Lee liquid Alox. I can detect no difference between lube methods for low velocity loads.
I believe that Western Bullet Company used to sell .22 caliber cast bullets. they are not listed now but here is a link to them;
http://missoula.bigsky.net/western/

Lyman .22 caliber gas checks work fine for me. With low velocity loads I have been achieving the same result without a gas check.
You did not mention what type of rifle you are using?

Here a few low velocity loads that have worked for me.
Lyman 225415 using Winchester brass and Winchester small rifle primers. I seat these to the crimp groove and just straighten the case. I have not had a problem with the bullets being pushed into the case by the magazine spring.
Accurate Arms No.2 2.5 gr. 1231 fps, 3.0 gr. gives 1351 fps, 3.5 gr. gives 1467 fps, 4.0 gr. gives 1578 fps.
These loads (except the 4.0 gr. load) give head shooting accuracy for cottontail rabbits at 50 yards. Beyond that bullet drop comes into play and certain hits are difficult.
Do not start off with Alliant Unique, 2400 or either of the 4227 powders. These powders will give good accuracy with reduced loads but the loading technique is more difficult and they are position sensitive. A.A. No. 2 is also position sensitive but to a lesser degree.
Here is a link to Greg Mushial's web site;
http://www.gmdr.com/
Greg has turned my thinking around on fast powders for light loads. I am currently shooting Hodgdon Titewad and Alliant Bullseye in the .30-30 and the .30-30 Improved with superior results. These powders show no tendency toward position problems. Read Greg's forward carefully before starting.

Keep us posted on your results. If you insist we can discuss 4227, 4198, Unique and 800X, but you are better off starting with more modern, less position sensitive powders.

Slim:
Great stuff! Thanks for your post. I am shooting a Martini Cadet I built. It really like Hodgdon Lil Gun for reg. loads using jacketed 35, 40 & 45 gr. bullets. It dosen't like IMR 4227 as well. I do want to play around with some cast bullets; your post will be a big help.

Don
I have had very good results from Hodgdon Lil' Gun too.
10.2 grains of Lil' Gun is THE load with almost any bullet for my Marlin 1894.
With 45 or 46-grain bullets the JRN Winchester bulk bullet gives excellent accuracy and 2784 fps.
The bulk 45-grain Remington JHP gets 2804 fps.
The flat nose JHP from Hornady gets 2856 fps.
The 46-gr. JFN from Speer gets 2811 fps.
These loads do well on Dr. Howells efficiency formula, give low extreme spreads and are accurate in my rifle.
I have had a Cadet with a bad bore setting in the closet for years. I had thoughts of someday having it lined to .25-20 WCF. Greg Mushial's recent excellent results with cast bullets and fast powders in the .256 Winchester have me looking in that direction.
I'll hunt for my cast bullet information with Titewad and Bullseye and post that for you.

Don,
I shot the Bee again this weekend with cast bullets. My previous results have been very encouraging. Nothing is learned without a few setbacks and I had some small ones. I made two mistakes this weekend. I changed two load parameters at once, primers and crimp. I probably could have gotten away with the primer change but the crimp was a genuine mistake. I load these in the tube magazine of my Marlin. I think I need a crimp, even if light, just to be sure I don’t set back a bullet. My accuracy went from 1.5" at 50 yards to 2.5" with Alliant Bullseye and 4" with Hodgdon Titewad.
I shot three ten shot strings with 2.8 gr. of Bullseye, Lyman 225415 with no gas check. These are unsized and tumble lubed with Lee liquid Alox. I switched to primers from Winchester small rifle to Winchester small pistol primers.
First string-1315 fps with an E of 32 and SD of 12 fps.
Second string-1319 fps with an E of 21 and a SD of 8 fps.
Third string-1331 fps with an E of 19 fps and a E of 7 fps.
I assume that the crimp held the bullet and let gas escape around the base and up the side of the bullet. There was no leading.
These loads are just a little faster than we had discussed. I shot my Browning 22 Auto for comparison. Federal Lightning .22 Lr. Chronographed at 1184 fps with an E of 52 fps and a SD of 19 fps.
Switching to the pistol primer seemed like a good idea….. I got smaller extreme spreads with small rifle primers. The crimp was not very successful.