223 molds

Boolit Mold Join DateAug 2012Locationnortheast ohioPosts9

greetings all. pretty new to the site post wise , but I have been reading quite a few posts . so I have been looking around and have a question or two I can not seem to find a definitive answer to.

. I was looking to cast a bullet for 223 application, and was looking for something that was profiled like a 55 gr FMJ. All I see in the way of current production molds is something like a RCBS 55 SP mold with the flat on top, or a round nose configuration. Now I did see an older lyman 225450 ( I believe it was lyman ) that is pointed, in an article beagle wrote about the 223 that was really close to what I am looking for , but no one seems to make them anymore . why is that ??

second question is from what I have read it is more difficult to cast anything under 30 cal , so how much difficulty does doing a 223 bullet with a point make it?? does the point create fill out problems within the mold ?

thanks
charlie

The first questions the more experienced fellows are going to ask, is the application for an AR, or single shot/bolt gun, and do you know which chamber you have? (NATO 5.56, .223, or Wylde.)

i'm going with it being an AR [it always is]
just get the rcbs mold.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Boolit Mold Join DateAug 2012Locationnortheast ohioPosts9

The first questions the more experienced fellows are going to ask, is the application for an AR, or single shot/bolt gun, and do you know which chamber you have? (NATO 5.56, .223, or Wylde.)actually it is for both and AR and a bolt gun. AR is 5.56 and bolt is 223 wylde. Please trust me and do not take this the wrong way , as I do not want to sound like a smart ***, but what difference does the chamber or action type have to do with the questions I asked ??

1st question was why do MFG's not make a pointed bullet mold for the 223 anymore, or do they and I just am not able to find it through searching? Second question was about difficult the profile could or would add to the casting process.

Boolit Mold Join DateAug 2012Locationnortheast ohioPosts9

i'm going with it being an AR [it always is]
just get the rcbs mold.your quote of [ it always is ] seems like I may have annoyed you with my question some how . sorry if I offended you with my questions.
I did some research and found answers to most of my questions, and thought I was asking reasonable questions about the casting process and difficulties a design might add, as I do not have any real experience in casting. I did not want to be the newbie that asks the same question every week, like what mold works best and did not think I was . I know the RCBS will work along with the NOE and a few others, so I was not asking what is best or anything like that

Boolit Bub Join DateMar 2013Posts45

actually it is for both and AR and a bolt gun. AR is 5.56 and bolt is 223 wylde. Please trust me and do not take this the wrong way , as I do not want to sound like a smart ***, but what difference does the chamber or action type have to do with the questions I asked ??Because some of the molds available for .223 bullets have a profile that usually only work properly in 5.56 or .223 wylde chambers. Some bullets may not feed reliably on an AR due to the bullet profile. As for the cast bullets not being pointy like FMJ I would say some of the reason may be do to cast .223 bullets needing to be sized and often times gas checks added. You could distort the bullet easier if it was pointed.

Who knows why Lyman switches designs? I would be no new pointy molds because they are not easily cut on a lathe or mill.

Pointy bullets shouldn't be too difficult to cast. Easier than a HP boolit for sure.

Were you trying to get a high BC boolit?

A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that. - Shane

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.
Sir Winston Churchill

The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear.
Herbert Agar

434-1

I never thought to cast for a AR platform... I thought there were problems fouling the gas tube. Is that internet legand?

pointed cast boolits just don't do well at any kind of velocity.
they fly very well and are super accurate just not at velocity.
you have to take the design into consideration and the unsupported nose is affected by issues inside the barrel and then more problems in flight ensue from the damage.

cstrickland:
I wasn't trying to be patronizing, or condescending.
the 22 cals are a whole nuther ball game when it comes to cast.
they aren't like flinging lead from a 44 mag or a 30-30 at velocity there is a whole lot more to them.
you don't just make some boolits, pick off the couple of wrinkly ones and go to shooting.
unless 3" groups at 50 yds at 16-1700 fps is what you really want.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

To add to what runfiverun said about being limited velocity wise a pointed cast 22 cal because of its small diameter would have a very week nose that would bend easily in a semi feed system. In order to avoid this the olgive would have to be very short so the profile would be much shorter and more blunt than FMJ bullets of the same weight.
Pointed boolits are no harder to cast than any other but pointy boolits with long efficient olgives are very limited in velocity to maintane accuracy. Add the semi auto feed system and you have two strikes against you from the start.

Boolit Mold Join DateAug 2012Locationnortheast ohioPosts9

runfiverun thanks for the feedback. I wold not have expected that the nose would be that susceptible to deformation in the barrel or loading. my initial thought would be a hard cast bullet would survive that process. I can understand once it is deformed it wont shoot for nothin !!
yeah from what I read itty bitty 22 are difficult at best to cast , and no I would want to get more accuracy than that.

glad I didn't offend as I am just here to learn , and start doing some casting.

Boolit Mold Join DateAug 2012Locationnortheast ohioPosts9

I never thought to cast for a AR platform... I thought there were problems fouling the gas tube. Is that internet legand?John I have personally never shot cast in an AR so I can only relate what I have read, that being said there are several guys that I have read about that are or have done it. read the post in this link and you can see even after 500 rounds leading the gas tube is not an issue http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?156326-AR-15-500-Round-Cast-Bullet-Test .

Also Google " 223 why grown men cry" it was written by a member here from what I read, and it has a lot of excellent information on the subject.

you can not push it as fast as a standard bullet. I am hearing around 2400 ish max with a gas check but I can live with that. Considering you can cast a bullet and gas check it for near nothing , but the time you have in it is really appealing. On that note though I also read the small bullets are more difficult to cast.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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