TC Contender 10'' 22 Hornet

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  • Last Post 19 March 2021
Richard Pickering posted this 18 March 2021

Hello all. A friend wants to cast the Lyman 225438 for IHMSA field pistol. Are there any tips for getting good bullets from this mould ? We mostly use old W W metal but I do have some lino to add. 

Thanks for any assistance. RP

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Ross Smith posted this 19 March 2021

How fast do you intend to shoot the bullet. My 30 cal bullets( most definitly not a 22 hornet) that I shoot over 2000fps I mix 3 linotype to 1 ww. In my normal plinkers and fun shooters it's 1 linotype to 3 ww. I do it this way rather than specific alloys because it's easy and cheap.

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RicinYakima posted this 19 March 2021

My single cavity mould has to be HOT to cast good bullets. I set it on a hot plate as soon as I turn on the lead pot, as cast as fast as I can. HTH

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 19 March 2021

Ditto on Ric's comment on having to work to keep the mold hot with those teensy cavities ..

you are not pouring much hot lead in there per pour ...  

with my single cavity, i kept the blocks hot by pouring molten lead across the side of the mold after filling in the cavity ...  as well as my usual habit of pouring a large puddle over the sprue holes to keep the sprue plates hot ...

i might mention that i shot a lot of the 438 in my 222 ... and they were a little more accurate than my beautiful 462 castings ...  another cb mystery to me ... hah ...

oh, my 438 was the hollowpoint mold ... real important to keep that center pin hot ...

ken

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Larry Gibson posted this 19 March 2021

Don't add the lino to the WWs.  Add 2% tin (from solder, pewter of buy pure).  adding lino will only exacerbate the the antimony content by increasing it.  Adding just tin might seem expensive but 2% of 10 lbs WWs is only 3.2 ounces of tin.  The WW + tin alloy will be close to 95/2.5/2.5 and will cast much better bullets that way.  

Also keep the mould hot.  I do that by casting with a faster tempo using one mould.  I pour and cut sprue as soon as it hardens 9turns completely mottled grey) drop the bullets and pour again not giving the mould any more time to cool.  I also keep the alloy at 725 +/- degrees (using thermometer).  

I shoot three different cast bullets in my 10" Contender barrel; the 225438, the 225462 and the 225415.  

For 22 RF Magnum performance I load the 225438  and 225462 over 4.5 gr Unique for 1800 +/- fps.  For standard 22LR velocity I use the 225438 over 2 gr of Bullseye.

The 225415 I use for a sub-sonic load over 1.8 gr Bullseye for 1050 fps.  The terminal effect on ground squirrels is far and above that of subsonic 22LR.  The terminal effect is similar to hyper velocity 22LRs.  

Concealment is not cover.........

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Richard Pickering posted this 19 March 2021

Ross I believe a MV of 1400 or so will do for our FP targets. At times a .22LR will take the Rams at 100yd. 

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Richard Pickering posted this 19 March 2021

Larry, thank you for the in depth report. I agree with Ken and Rick on casting quickly. We havent had time to check performance. I'll report when that happens.  RP

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Lee Guthrie posted this 19 March 2021

Larry:  curious how the "can" and lubed cast bullets get along.  I wouldn't they they would work and play well together.

 

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Larry Gibson posted this 19 March 2021

The barrel has a Gemtech AR flash suppressor on it so I readily switch the suppressor to a 223 Contender barrel and my AR with a milspec M16A1 barrel with 12" twist in which I also use the M261 device to shoot 22LR.  I mostly shoot copper clad 22LRs through it. 

No real problem with the lubed bullets because at 1050 fps a lot of lube isn't needed.  I put Hornady GCs on the bases then lightly spray with lanolin/alcohol sizing lube.  Then run them through the .227 H&I die which barely sizes if any and crimps on the GC.  Then a very, very light coat of LLA is applied and they are thoroughly dried before loading.  Actually the sub-sonic 22 Hornet and 223 Rem cast loads seems to leave less fouling in the suppressor than does the 22LR.

LMG

Concealment is not cover.........

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