UNLUBED 22 CALIBER BULLETS

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linoww posted this 16 January 2009

I sent friend and CBA member Bob Mills of Colton Oregon some of my 225662 Hollow points and solids(cast of linotype) to try in his 222 Rem 40X benchgun.He shot the solid without lube and other than the first 5 shot group all other 5 shot groups at 100 were either a touch over,or a bit under 1".A total of 5 groups were fired after the first warm up group.He then added lube to the bullet and the first group had the same point of impact as the unlubed bullets and grouped MOA as well.Velocity was 1750 with this load.He has been experimenting with other  .22 cal cast bullets with no lube at 2700 FPS and is getting about 1” at his 50 yard range and no leading over a long term of near 100 shots.He has also shot the little 36g 225107 @ 4000 fps with no leading (or accuracy he tells me)but it also cannot be found to lead the bore and does actually print staight on the target..Groups fired with lubed bullets following the hi velocity loads fall into the standard point of impact as before even after the abusive procedure.I just figured I'd let people onto what i thought was a pretty interesting phenomenon with 22 caliber cast bullets.

 

George

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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KenK posted this 16 January 2009

I assume all this was with gas checks?

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linoww posted this 16 January 2009

Ya,he cheated a bit<G>

 

George

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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KenK posted this 16 January 2009

Still impressive.

How many people have actually tried shooting cast bullets without lube?  I haven't, they are supposed to have lube. The bullets come with grooves for it and everything.

I do think I recall reading about some work done with unlubed bullets and a case full of cream o' wheat.

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linoww posted this 16 January 2009

KenK wrote: Still impressive.

How many people have actually tried shooting cast bullets without lube?  I haven't, they are supposed to have lube. The bullets come with grooves for it and everything.

I do think I recall reading about some work done with unlubed bullets and a case full of cream o' wheat.

I know CBA member Ken Mollohan played with it quite a bit.Bob does use slower powders in the 223 and 222 like 4895 when he tries to drive them over 2500 without lube.When you live on a 40 acre ranch with your own shooting range boredom gets the best of you and you try weird things ?.If i am having an odd cast bullet problem i tell Bob and in a short time he has it worked out through pretty thorough testing.His mentioned 222 40X has shot many 1/4 to 1/2” groups with lead.With lube of course and at about 1700 fps.

George

here is Bob in his shooting shack coaching me while i shoot plainbase bullets in my 30BR.

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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codarnall posted this 18 January 2009

As a printer's devil I remember the hand set type use in our junior high school was so hard you'd be hard pressed to dent it with a center punch.  I really don't know the analysis of the type metal but I'd bet it was mainly tin and antimony etc, might even have some lead in it.  This is pretty interesting for sure.  Maybe this would satisfy the environmental freaks using lead free bullets.   Charlie

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CB posted this 18 January 2009

codarnall wrote: Maybe this would satisfy the environmental freaks using lead free bullets.  

Ha! That is a good one. Never count on that. To them, everything 'industry' does is bad, including the shooting industry. (they team with the antis)

Speaking of industry, babbitt bearing equipment has been around for a long time. That is lead alloy against steel. For the 22  shooters at 55gr cb per shot, babbitt alloy might be worth trying, somewhere around $.10 cents as cast....................Dan

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CB posted this 18 January 2009

George,

I have competed off and on in CBA events since 1978 with the 22 caliber. I would love to see you friend Bob Mills show up and win a CBA match with his rifle that shoots those 1/4 and 1/2 inch groups. Should be a piece of cake and would give us struggling 22 shooters a morale boost.

My first cast bullet was the 107 and I can agree it is hard to get to shoot accurately even at normal velocities.

The work with unlubed bullets is fascinating. I certainly would like to hear more about controlled experiments with the technique. How it is done. What doesn't work. Comparison to similar lubed bullets. Etc.

John

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linoww posted this 18 January 2009

He shot one CBA match with it about 10 years ago.He shot a 198-4X @100,but couldnt see his hits well enough @200 and may have DQ'd,i cant recall. George

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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linoww posted this 21 January 2009

Friend Bob MIlls gave me an update on his unlubed 22 cal work last night.He fired a10 shot group from his 40X 222 into 1.5” at 2500 fps sans lube.First shot (first group of the day also) from cold barrel in center of grouping.Bullet was my 225415 HPand not what i would all a top BR bullet.The next group was a bit bigger,but he didn't indicate its measurement.He is going to shoot 100 consecutive shots at this velocity and see how accuracy and point of impact holds up.

                                              George

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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CB posted this 24 January 2009

I would think about making your alloy for the 223 a little more toward being pewter than a Babbitt alloy.

The bullets will be very light, and may break up upon hitting a hard surface, but this is for paper punching so they would work very well, and would leave little residuals in the barrel.

Jerry

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linoww posted this 24 January 2009

I like lino for 22's as far as accuracy goes , but for varminting they didnt do much on the way of expansion.I had the 225415,438 and 462 HP'ed and they explode on water tests even when cast of WW lino mix.

George

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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CB posted this 24 January 2009

George,

I go back and forth between Lyman #2 and Lino for 22s. The problem is the paradox of why a .223 Rem or 5.56 NATO is such a good man killing cartridge, just a huge amount of energy in a small mass. I have seen them go in as a round hole and key hole out.

I shoot 221 Fireball and 223 Rem in Contender Pistols, and my 223 Rem Contender Carbine. All three shooting CBs do an extremly good job on varmits.

Jerry

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Howard posted this 26 June 2009

Quick question, after buying 100lb of lead, couple of pots, adding some saw dust and drilling a hole in an old block of ground and polished steel, I figured I'd give casting a try. My idea was to cast some rounds up for my Hornets, but I really don't want to do the 55g slugs. Not really looking to load them in the .223, just want a little something to work on the groundhogs with out to 150yds or so. Who makes molds in the 30g-35g range that I could pickup off the shelf? And if I keep them under 1800fps do I really need to worry about lubing them? Thanks,

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72coupe posted this 03 July 2009

KenK wrote: I do think I recall reading about some work done with unlubed bullets and a case full of cream o' wheat. What kind of primer do you use to lite cream of wheat?

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murray222 posted this 08 July 2009

Looking for loads in the 222 Remington and any of these Lyman moulds using IMR - Winchester or Alliance powders.

22596 - 225415 - 225438 - 225450 - 225462

I have the Lyman Manuals . Looking for loaders that have done the trial and error to narrow down the field .

I am going to mould with Linotype has been tested to have :

87% Lead - 3% Tin - 10% Antimony

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jhalcott posted this 08 July 2009

I read SOME WHERE that the lube is a carry over from the old black powder days. The lube was supposed to keep the fouling soft enough that it wouldn't damage the next bullet.NO idea if this is true or not because I continue to lube cast bullets for MY use.

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Gene posted this 05 September 2009

Would this work with 30 cal bullets ??  If so we could save a few bucks on lube and alot of time.

Gene

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Dew posted this 01 October 2009

Wish this thread would pick up again. I want to hear more about the cast .22 without lube.

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CB posted this 02 October 2009

I too would like to see this Thread on unlubed 22 caliber bullets continue. I see no harm in trying this method.

Stephen Perry

Angeles BR:fire

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linoww posted this 03 October 2009

I'll get my friend Bob to update his data on this.I just shot a bunch of plainbase 30 calibers sans lube and 10 shot groups were no bigger than the lubed bullets.Velocity was 1250 and the bullet was the 308403 cast of ww and stereotype.All i did was brush hte bore between strings.Shot with  a P-17 Enfiled with a 6 X scope. I was shooting for score on our MR31 100 yd military target and it held the mid to high 90's.It was grouping about 2” I would guess.

 

George

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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