This article written by John Alexander, was published in the Sept/Oct 2003, #165 issue of the Fouling Shot.
The day after writing the first draft of this article I found the January/February issue of the Fouling Shot in my mailbox containing Major R.B. Gilpin's interesting article about hunting squirrels with cast bullets in 03-A3 and 03 Springf1elds. Although there is some similarity in our experiences I decided to send this in anyway and risk a reader overdose of squirrel loads.
Like a lot of other people I started shooting cast bullets in a thirty-caliber rifle. When I decided to try cast bullet shooting in rifles the only centerfire rifles I owned were a restocked '03-A3 Springfield I had gotten through the DCM and a .348 Model 71 Winchester I had bought to hunt brown bears while working in Alaska. The Springfield shot Jacketed bullets well and had acquitted itself admirably at several turkey shoots. The .348 would shoot well enough to hit a bear. To be fair, the accuracy of the .348 may have had something to do with the abuse it administered to my cheekbone every time I fired 1t. The Springfield was an easy choice. Since I was interested in light loads for targets and small game, I chose a Lyman U311316 mould that casts blunt 106-gram bullets probably intended for the 32-20.
I first tried plain-based bullets without having a clue about what might make them work. My notes from that time are filled with such comments as: "wouldn't stay on paper at 25 yards" and "four shots into 6.8 MOA and one flier off paper". I eventually found that a load using linotype bullets, beeswax lube, and 8 to 1 O grains of H240 (No longer listed but similar to, and slightly faster burning than, Alliant 2400) would shoot five shot groups averaging about 3.5 MOA. In hindsight I think I was very lucky to have done even that well. When I tried gas checks, getting reasonable results got easier. I soon found 8 to 16 grains of H240 behind an unsized 0.31 O" diameter linotype bullet lubricated with beeswax would average a little under 2.5 MOA for five shot groups and with 22 grains of Ball C the average was less than 2.0 MOA. Although not ideal, these loads were accurate enough for hitting squirrels at the usual distances although the Ball C load is definitely not a squirrel load if squirrel meat is the objective.
The day after writing the first draft of this article I found the January/February issue of the Fouling Shot in my mailbox containing Major R.B. Gilpin's interesting article about hunting squirrels with cast bullets in 03-A3 and 03 Springf1elds. Although there is some similarity in our experiences I decided to send this in anyway and risk a reader overdose of squirrel loads.
Like a lot of other people I started shooting cast bullets in a thirty-caliber rifle. When I decided to try cast bullet shooting in rifles the only centerfire rifles I owned were a restocked '03-A3 Springfield I had gotten through the DCM and a .348 Model 71 Winchester I had bought to hunt brown bears while working in Alaska. The Springfield shot Jacketed bullets well and had acquitted itself admirably at several turkey shoots. The .348 would shoot well enough to hit a bear. To be fair, the accuracy of the .348 may have had something to do with the abuse it administered to my cheekbone every time I fired 1t. The Springfield was an easy choice. Since I was interested in light loads for targets and small game, I chose a Lyman U311316 mould that casts blunt 106-gram bullets probably intended for the 32-20.
I first tried plain-based bullets without having a clue about what might make them work. My notes from that time are filled with such comments as: "wouldn't stay on paper at 25 yards" and "four shots into 6.8 MOA and one flier off paper". I eventually found that a load using linotype bullets, beeswax lube, and 8 to 1 O grains of H240 (No longer listed but similar to, and slightly faster burning than, Alliant 2400) would shoot five shot groups averaging about 3.5 MOA. In hindsight I think I was very lucky to have done even that well. When I tried gas checks, getting reasonable results got easier. I soon found 8 to 16 grains of H240 behind an unsized 0.31 O" diameter linotype bullet lubricated with beeswax would average a little under 2.5 MOA for five shot groups and with 22 grains of Ball C the average was less than 2.0 MOA. Although not ideal, these loads were accurate enough for hitting squirrels at the usual distances although the Ball C load is definitely not a squirrel load if squirrel meat is the objective.
Several years later I decided to try to develop a squirrel load for a .22 caliber centerfire. I reasoned that a smaller caliber would make less noise and maybe have a flatter trajectory. A side benefit would be less powder and lead required, advantages always of interest to a frugal cast bullet shooter. It would also eliminate the awkwardness of having to occasionally admit I was hunting squirrels with a 30-06.
My first experience shooting lead bullets in a .22 centerfire rifle had actually come several years earlier when I had found myself trapped for several months in inner Washington D.C. near DuPont Circle (long before 11 was fashionable to live there). Not having a suitable air rifle, I had been forced to develop a powderless load using .22 air rifle pellets in my .222 to defend
My first experience shooting lead bullets in a .22 centerfire rifle had actually come several years earlier when I had found myself trapped for several months in inner Washington D.C. near DuPont Circle (long before 11 was fashionable to live there). Not having a suitable air rifle, I had been forced to develop a powderless load using .22 air rifle pellets in my .222 to defend
Squirrel cartridges. From left to right: .30-06 with #311316 for those giant, thick skinned, Wabash Valley fox squirrels, .222 with #225415, #225462 and #225107, the hyper-velocity .220 Maine Black Fly with #225107 (to be featured in a future article) and the .22 long rifle.
myself from starlings. The back window of our seventh floor apartment overlooked a lower. starling infested, roof and I felt a moral obligation to help with the local game management. I don't know what the legal authorities would have had to say about this assistance since I never had occasion to ask. Now I would probably be considered an enemy combatant and never be seen or heard from again. Although this primer-powered load seemed to work fine on starlings, it was no squirrel load. My lightweight .222 L-46 Sako seemed like a logical candidate for a cast bullet squirrel rifle. The Sako will average less than 0.7 MOA for five shot groups with the right jacketed bullet load so its fundamental accuracy wasn't in question. All I had to do was find a suitable cast bullet load. This rifle did have a 12 groove barrel similar to Marlin's microgroove, which some people say won't shoot cast bullets well, but I was blissfully ignorant of this possible problem.
My first attempts at a suitable squirrel load for the Sako had involved 40 and 45 grain Sierra ''Hornet" bullets. Either of these bullets over five or six grains of Unique gave near minute of angle accuracy and killed humanly but they had an annoyingly sharp report, which, although quieter than the Springfield wasn't ideal. When I tried to reduce the load behind the Hornet bullets much further they would occasionally stick in the bore and I was afraid I would eventually ring the bore. I assumed that the softer lead bullets would be more likely to make it to the muzzle with light loads.
Since I had been able to get reasonable accuracy out of the Springfield with short blunt cast bullets, I decided to try short blunt cast bullets in the Sako. Lyman's #225107 fit that description, a blunt bullet of about 36 grains. This turned out to be a mistake. Try as I might, I never managed to get that little gem to shoot well enough to seriously endanger a squirrel more than forty feet away. My best load would put four out of five shots into a squirrel head sized group at 30 yards but the flier was always the first shot which sometimes missed the paper. This is a serious disadvantage since squirrels get impatient while you fire fouling shots.
After wasting quite a bit of time with #225107, I went on to try Lyman #225438, #225415, and #225462 which cast bullets of 45, 50 and 52 grains respectively. I immediately began to have better luck. Powders tried included Hercules Bullseye, Unique and 2400 as well as Balle and 680. I also tried IMR powders 4227, 3031 and 4759. For lube I started out with pure beeswax, using a pan and "cookie cutter'' but eventually switched to Alox and beeswax, which didn't seem to improve accuracy but worked in a lubrisizer. Although I came to like using the lubrisizer I used an oversized die for all my successful loads since any sizing seemed to degrade accuracy. Like many others, I experimented with Dacron fillers, seating depths, wads, indexing bullets and cases. every primer brand I could get my hands on, and various other things. All these variables kept me amused but none, with the exception of seating depth. seemed to affect accuracy much.
I stumbled on various combinations using either #225415 or #225462 and light charges of either 2400 or 4759 that would average less than 2.5 MOA. Eventually I found that six grains of 2400 behind the #225415 bullet cast of 15 parts old lead pipe and one part tin would average 1.5 MOA for five shot groups. A load of seven grains of 4759 behind a linotype #225462 bullet would duplicate this level of accuracy. These loads involved unsized bullets of .225" and .226" diameters respectively, Hornady gas checks and NRA formula Alox and beeswax lube.
Six grains of 2400 gave a muzzle velocity of 1,360 f.p.s. and seven grains of 4759 pushed the #225462 bullet at 1,500 f.p.s. These velocities were only a little more that the 1,230 f.p.s. of a high-speed .22 long rifle out of my Ruger 77/22 but they seemed to make it a bit easier to connect when the shot was longer than usual.
Not only will these two loads shoot more accurately in the Sako than I can hold from the field positions common in squirrel hunting, they seem to almost always place the first shot from a cold barrel into the group, an admirable trait for a hunting rifle. They also will maintain that 1.5-minute level of accuracy for hundreds of rounds without any kind of bore cleaning. I particularly like this last characteristic since I have never experienced the feelings of virtue and fulfillment some folks apparently associate with clean bores, carefully sorted bullets, fresh crankcase oil, waxed cars, or well-trimmed lawns.
Both of these loads served admirably for squirrel hunting I suppose, as a purely practical matter, neither was much better than the usual .22 rimfire except for the occasional long shot . However, not many people go squirrel hunting for practical purposes anymore and there is an additional sense of satisfaction in using home made ammunition in a nice rifle to cleanly take a squirrel out of the top branches with the first shot. @)
My first attempts at a suitable squirrel load for the Sako had involved 40 and 45 grain Sierra ''Hornet" bullets. Either of these bullets over five or six grains of Unique gave near minute of angle accuracy and killed humanly but they had an annoyingly sharp report, which, although quieter than the Springfield wasn't ideal. When I tried to reduce the load behind the Hornet bullets much further they would occasionally stick in the bore and I was afraid I would eventually ring the bore. I assumed that the softer lead bullets would be more likely to make it to the muzzle with light loads.
Since I had been able to get reasonable accuracy out of the Springfield with short blunt cast bullets, I decided to try short blunt cast bullets in the Sako. Lyman's #225107 fit that description, a blunt bullet of about 36 grains. This turned out to be a mistake. Try as I might, I never managed to get that little gem to shoot well enough to seriously endanger a squirrel more than forty feet away. My best load would put four out of five shots into a squirrel head sized group at 30 yards but the flier was always the first shot which sometimes missed the paper. This is a serious disadvantage since squirrels get impatient while you fire fouling shots.
After wasting quite a bit of time with #225107, I went on to try Lyman #225438, #225415, and #225462 which cast bullets of 45, 50 and 52 grains respectively. I immediately began to have better luck. Powders tried included Hercules Bullseye, Unique and 2400 as well as Balle and 680. I also tried IMR powders 4227, 3031 and 4759. For lube I started out with pure beeswax, using a pan and "cookie cutter'' but eventually switched to Alox and beeswax, which didn't seem to improve accuracy but worked in a lubrisizer. Although I came to like using the lubrisizer I used an oversized die for all my successful loads since any sizing seemed to degrade accuracy. Like many others, I experimented with Dacron fillers, seating depths, wads, indexing bullets and cases. every primer brand I could get my hands on, and various other things. All these variables kept me amused but none, with the exception of seating depth. seemed to affect accuracy much.
I stumbled on various combinations using either #225415 or #225462 and light charges of either 2400 or 4759 that would average less than 2.5 MOA. Eventually I found that six grains of 2400 behind the #225415 bullet cast of 15 parts old lead pipe and one part tin would average 1.5 MOA for five shot groups. A load of seven grains of 4759 behind a linotype #225462 bullet would duplicate this level of accuracy. These loads involved unsized bullets of .225" and .226" diameters respectively, Hornady gas checks and NRA formula Alox and beeswax lube.
Six grains of 2400 gave a muzzle velocity of 1,360 f.p.s. and seven grains of 4759 pushed the #225462 bullet at 1,500 f.p.s. These velocities were only a little more that the 1,230 f.p.s. of a high-speed .22 long rifle out of my Ruger 77/22 but they seemed to make it a bit easier to connect when the shot was longer than usual.
Not only will these two loads shoot more accurately in the Sako than I can hold from the field positions common in squirrel hunting, they seem to almost always place the first shot from a cold barrel into the group, an admirable trait for a hunting rifle. They also will maintain that 1.5-minute level of accuracy for hundreds of rounds without any kind of bore cleaning. I particularly like this last characteristic since I have never experienced the feelings of virtue and fulfillment some folks apparently associate with clean bores, carefully sorted bullets, fresh crankcase oil, waxed cars, or well-trimmed lawns.
Both of these loads served admirably for squirrel hunting I suppose, as a purely practical matter, neither was much better than the usual .22 rimfire except for the occasional long shot . However, not many people go squirrel hunting for practical purposes anymore and there is an additional sense of satisfaction in using home made ammunition in a nice rifle to cleanly take a squirrel out of the top branches with the first shot. @)