How to Pound Cast a .22 Centerfire

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  • Last Post 03 July 2025
Wm Cook posted this 08 June 2025

What rod should be used to pound cast a .22?  Round stock mild steel is available in .1875.  That and some plastic tape would keep it centered but that tiny .187 steel footprint on the lead slug might not mush it without cratering.  Brass rod is available in .219.  I use the fiber carbon .219 that they use for drones and stuff and use that as a suppressor bore guide so it should be a slip fit in the lands. Just wondering if the brass could take the tap tap tap it takes to form the pound cast.  Would the brass deform at the point of contact on the lead slug?  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Bill. 

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Shopdog posted this 08 June 2025

5.5mm round steel stock is available.

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pat i posted this 08 June 2025

I can't really see brass deforming knocking lead around.

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Mike H posted this 09 June 2025

  • Another way would be to slug from the chamber end,using an oversized lead projectile,I got this idea from Ed Harris,using a pure lead 158 grain ,38 caliber to measure the chamber neck and lead into my 303 British rifle.
         Personally I can’t see why a good stainless cleaning rod wouldn’t work,you would need to replace the jag with a small nut so as not to fill the threads with lead.

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Boschloper posted this 09 June 2025

McMaster Carr has drill rod 36” long, 13 sizes between .1875 and .219.

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Wm Cook posted this 09 June 2025

McMaster Carr is the way to go. I have to sluch through whether I can avoid the +$20 shipping fee by picking it up from a local source. I’m going to try both the .219 brass and the tool steel rod. At .204 a couple wraps of electrician tape should bring it to .214. Super cheap for the rods themselves. $16 for both. Thanks for the help. Bill.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 09 June 2025

i use aluminum rod ... 6061 alloy or better ...  in my good barrels ... i think brass will also work just fine ... i think the rod should be softer than your barrel 

remember to use a hundred little taps ... give the lead time to upset ... you can tell by the change in the sound of the tap when the lead is upset ...

ken

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Premod70 posted this 10 June 2025

I'd go with flower if sulphur poured into the chamber for peace of mind and in my opinion a more precise reading.

Dale Flinchum

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gnoahhh posted this 10 June 2025

Are you sure a .219 rod will clear the bore diameter (lands) of your barrel? My gut says it won't.

I've done so many Cerrosafe castings that its become second nature for me. Just sayin....

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MP1886 posted this 10 June 2025

I think a .219 rod would be very close, very close!  I think too that many think because the bore/groove of a 22 centerfire is so small that the rod being even slightly smaller isn't going to have enough ass to compress and expand the lead slug.  Remember that we're talking about a very small piece of lead. You just have to take your time and give small little taps. If you've done this type of precedure before you will know by the sound of tapping the rod when it has compacted the slug. It will work. 

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Wm Cook posted this 10 June 2025

I’ve got a .21875 (7/32) brass rod coming from McMaster Car. I’ll leave some feedback after I try things out. I bought a short (12”) 7/32 on Amazon Monday and it slides in. As I said in the OP I’ve been using a 7/32 fiber carbon (drone material off of Amazon) as a suppressor alignment dowel and that works. I needed the 12” anyway as a chamber end rod to get a quick check on free-bore diameter/free-bore length on .22’s. I use unsized bullets and tap them in bullet base first.

I also ordered a.2902 tool steel rod for my .30 cal’s from McMaster Carr while I was at it. That’s the closest that made sense. One wrap of electrician tape will bring it to .300 and will keep the rod away from the lands. I’m still staying busy here at home with medical care so just killing time. Bill.

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OU812 posted this 10 June 2025

I used different size steel rod purchased from Home Depot or Tractor Supply. Wrapped with simple blue painters tape or any other.

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OU812 posted this 10 June 2025

I also use a fired case filled with epoxy before slipping bullet in case.

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MP1886 posted this 10 June 2025

I drill a correct size hole in a piece of oak and make cylindrical slug of correct size and then turn it down in my lathe for my pound cast slug. Why? I don't want lines from collapsed lube groove on the pound cast. This my pound cast when finished shows nothing except what I'm measuring. 

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MP1886 posted this 10 June 2025

One more thing, lightly oil your chamber especially where the pound cast slug is going to be. 

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 11 June 2025

good tip about not using grooved bullets for the pounding sample ... especially with lube still in grooves ...

about 40 years ago i bot a spool of bullet swaging lead wire ... close to pure lead ...  works a treat ...

oh, keep and label your pound samples ...  especially those that you form in a cartridge case ...  amazing how useful they are for future uses you hadn't thought about right away ...

ken

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MP1886 posted this 11 June 2025

good tip about not using grooved bullets for the pounding sample ... especially with lube still in grooves ...

about 40 years ago i bot a spool of bullet swaging lead wire ... close to pure lead ...  works a treat ...

oh, keep and label your pound samples ...  especially those that you form in a cartridge case ...  amazing how useful they are for future uses you hadn't thought about right away ...

ken

Ken when I machined the lead cylinder in my lateh I cut the tolerance as large as I could so I wouldn't have to pound as much.  The part that went in the case neck was the largest diameter.  I had this pound cast system down pat. 

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Wm Cook posted this 11 June 2025

Here’s another option. I bought one of Lee’s long blank molds and drilled undersized holes for each caliber. One each. Bill.

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Wm Cook posted this 03 July 2025

I finished up pound casting my .222 Rem with a brass 7/32 (.21875) rod.  I had two that I had bought.  Both fit my K Hornet but only one fit the new Shilen select barrel on my .222.  After a light polishing it fit fine as well. 

Nothing out of the ordinary to get it done.  I filled cases to the base of the neck with alloy from my pot, cast the slugs in a new hole I drilled in one of those blank Lee 6 cavity sized molds and used the lead my wife uses for stained glass for the slugs.  I ran a couple of patches through the bore after I was finished. Damage to the striking end of the brass rod was minimal since it was subject to just taps not hammer blows.  

For me the biggest reason to pound cast was to find out the diameter of the free-bore and to get a starting point for the life of the barrel on the .222.  With heavy for caliber bullets the .222 Rem will be limited to bore riders which is ok since its a  1 in 9 twist.  Both rifles have a short free-bore length, but the K Hornet is happy with the Lyman 225438. Thanks for the support.  Bill C.

  

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