cast in 223 remington ctg

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  • Last Post 17 February 2012
mike morrison posted this 06 September 2011

H&R Handi Rifle in 223 shoots j-bullets well but not so good with cast. have lyman 225??? 50gr flat point gc. does this chamber need the throat angle recut to a gentler angle? OR. anyone got any secrets to share to get the handi to shoot cast. bullet load info. looking for info, suggestions. thanks m

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tturner53 posted this 06 September 2011

How good is “not so good"? There is a pretty thorough article on shooting cbs in a .223 over on the boolits site, I think it's in the CastPics section. Maybe someone here with computer skills can give you the link.

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mike morrison posted this 06 September 2011

2.5 in. at 50yds. m

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JeffinNZ posted this 06 September 2011

I have a Rem 700 in .223 and get great results with cast bullets. I run both Lyman 225415 (old version) and 225462 (RN and HP version).

415 likes 7.0gr Green Dot for 2100fps. 462 likes 13gr H4227 for 2300fps.

Accuracy for both is 1.5 MOA.

I like to use small pistol primers these days. Alloy is air cooled wheel weight and I shoot them as cast by gas checking and lubing in a die that is .2255-.226 diameter.

Be sure to really clean the rifle prior to shooting cast. Make sure the copper fouling is gone. Seat to touch the lands or even engrave a bit.

Cheers from New Zealand

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nimrod posted this 06 September 2011

Mike, do you know which twist that you have? If it's the 9” twist you will have a up-hill battle getting it to shoot. It can be done but will take some time and effort. A 12” twist is a lot more cast friendly the bullet you are shooting is a good one at least it has shot well for me in several different rifles but don't have any experience with the Handy.

Good Luck,

Richard

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mike morrison posted this 06 September 2011

Jeff, Richard, thanks for the info. will cast some more and give it a try. do not know the twist. all i can find out is that it could be 9 or 12. will use a tight patch and check the rotation of the cleaning rod for accurate info. the loads i shot were 9 and 10 gr unique. may be too hot for the alloy. the chrony said just below and just above 2400fps. thanks mike

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nimrod posted this 06 September 2011

I would first try to slow it down some maybe 1800 fps. If you have some 2400 that has always worked well for me with that bullet. Start about 9 grains and work up slowly. Around 10 to 10.5 has worked for me giving 2100 to 2200 fps.

Richard

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curator posted this 06 September 2011

I struggled with My Handi-Rifle .223 for several years to get it to shoot cast accurately. I even got Veral Smith (LBT) to cut a 60 grain GC mould that fit the throat with little improvement. After reading a couple of encyclopedias worth of others' experience with .22 center fire cast bullets, I began to use a magnifying glass to sort my bullets. These little B@$&%&@#s have to be nearly perfect to shoot well. A slightly rounded base or band is all it takes to open up the group. I began cast hotter, add a bit of tin (wheel weight alloy can always use another 1% tin) and keep my mould hot in between pours. Finally I got about 90% “perfect” bullets that weighed in at + or - 0.1 grain. Inspected under magnification I culled a couple of possible suspects. Loaded over 7 grains of Unique I began to shoot nice round 5-shot 1 inch groups at 100 yards. Air-cooled wheel weight alloy + 1% tin, sized (nose first) to .225 lubed with LBT blue. Seated to just “kiss” the lands in once fired (collet die sized) commercial R-P brass.

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mike morrison posted this 07 September 2011

thanks for the info. today i cast hot 50/50 range lead-lino. cast a 45 cal so i could check hardness. bhn 14 just after casting. sized 50 nose first and lubed with lbt blue. will load and shoot some tomorrow. did check the twist and it is 9. will see what i get. m

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CB posted this 07 September 2011

Jeff, Does the Green Dot burn clean? Like everyone else looking for a good clean burning powder for the 223. Tried some 3031 on recomendation and was disapointed.

Jim

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JeffinNZ posted this 07 September 2011

Yes, and so does the H4227. 

Cheers from New Zealand

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mike morrison posted this 08 September 2011

loaded green dot 7.5gr today and loaded 12.0gr 4227 green dot shot pretty well but not great. by the way it was clean. moved to 4227 and wow the group opened up to 4.5 in. deciced maybe the bbl had leaded so cleaned it. no lead. shot the last of the 4227. this time i did not use the rear bag under the butt. instead i used my left hand to steer the gun. now i have a group that i can hide behind a quarter. back to the range tomorrow to see if most of my problem is an operator error. looks like shooting with bags may be something i have not learned. maybe i will find out. going back with the green dot loads tomorrow.will see. by the way the groups are 10 shots. m

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corerf posted this 08 September 2011

are they 100yd groups? I ask as I would like to run my 225438 with a TC super 14 factory barrel in 223. The 4227 and the green dot would be great.

Also advise on velocities if you have them.

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tturner53 posted this 08 September 2011

Two more Handi tricks for BR shooting; put the front of the frame on the front rest or bags, not way out on the forend. Also, try it without the forend on at all, once it's closed the forend isn't necessary for firing, only opening and closing. If it shoots better without the forend on then you have a clue, maybe put an o-ring in there between the forend screw base and the wood or inlet the wood a bit. Not my inventions, all learned from Greybeard Outdoors, the Handi Rifle mecca.

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mike morrison posted this 08 September 2011

corerf shooting at 50yds. as that is what i have with a bench. have not chronyed. will shoot some green dot today. will chrony them and let you know. 9gr unique works pretty well out of my super 14 contender. only shot it plinking though. tturner53 have spent some time on greybeards and have relieved the pressure on the forend by sanding the backside of the plastic piece on the end of the forend that meets the frame. tried the front rest on the hingepin. this did not work well for me. may try it again. the articles section of castpics has some info on the 223. worth looking at. mike

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mike morrison posted this 17 February 2012

tried this on quick reply and then realized i could not post a pic so will try again. long time since sept. now have a noe mould that is a clone of the seaco 60 gr. 22 bullet. cast from lino and size .225 lubed with lbt blue. have spent a lot of time trying the low velocity loads with only soso results. decided to go the other way and today loaded 12.0 2400 with the bullet mentioned and they looked promising and then loaded some with 12.5 of 2400. went to my friend house to shoot at a distance longer than the 50 at home. he has a buffalo at 200 meters with a hanger that he hangs clay targets on that gives a 200 yd target. the buff is about the size of a yearling calf. it is painted black and allows you to tell wher your hits are so you can make sight adjustments by knowing wher the shots go. the 223 with the seaco clone bullet and the load mentioned seems to work well. if it works for me the attached pic is of four clay targets 4". five shots. missed one a smig and the other four shots punched a hole in the tgt and one shattered. went to the tgt took a pic and returned to the bench and cleande the three with three shots. think i have found my load now to tweak it. this from a shotgun type rifle with a 5.5lb trigger seems to be promising hope the pic ataches. m

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mike morrison posted this 17 February 2012

tried this on quick reply and then realized i could not post a pic so will try again. long time since sept. now have a noe mould that is a clone of the seaco 60 gr. 22 bullet. cast from lino and size .225 lubed with lbt blue. have spent a lot of time trying the low velocity loads with only soso results. decided to go the other way and today loaded 12.0 2400 with the bullet mentioned and they looked promising and then loaded some with 12.5 of 2400. went to my friend house to shoot at a distance longer than the 50 at home. he has a buffalo at 200 meters with a hanger that he hangs clay targets on that gives a 200 yd target. the buff is about the size of a yearling calf. it is painted black and allows you to tell wher your hits are so you can make sight adjustments by knowing wher the shots go. the 223 with the seaco clone bullet and the load mentioned seems to work well. if it works for me the attached pic is of four clay targets 4". five shots. missed one a smig and the other four shots punched a hole in the tgt and one shattered. went to the tgt took a pic and returned to the bench and cleande the three with three shots. think i have found my load now to tweak it. this from a shotgun type rifle with a 5.5lb trigger seems to be promising hope the pic ataches. m

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mike morrison posted this 17 February 2012

sorry for the double post looks like i tickled the mouse a little much.

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nimrod posted this 17 February 2012

Glad to see that you got that Handi rifle shooting I always had real good luck with 2400 especially in the smaller bores. If that was at 200 yards that that was really good shooting thinking about benchrest matches?

Richard

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mike morrison posted this 17 February 2012

well, it is 200yds measured with a rangefinder. we shoot it a lot. 45-70 lever off hand to thump the buff. and 22lr low wall from a bench for the clay tgts. guess it sounds like a stretch to some. many a doubting thomas has been surprised. no benchrest is not my game. m

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