ity of sticking bullets in the bore at very low charge weights, I opted to begin at minimum charge weights shown in the new 4th Edition of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook and work down from there. Test loads with 2.5 grains of Tite- Group duplicated standard velocity 22 LR velocities, with very good accuracy. Achieving rapid success was a tonic, and I could not wait to dive in to more extensive trials. (See the Tables below for a summary of load results.) From there, I slowly reduced


charge weights until I got down to less than 800 fps, but the slower the velocity, the larger the groups became. I suspect that the 1:14" twist in my rifl e wasn’t quite steep enough to stabilize 55-gr. bullets at such slow speeds. The


faster twists common in almost every 223 rifl e these days almost certainly would eliminate this problem. Even from a slow-twist barrel, my groups of 2" at 50 yards are eminently useful for quiet pest elimination and even some small game hunting. Eventually, the fi rst shot in a test


batch produced no muzzle blast, but did produce a small curl of smoke from the receiver. Sure enough, I’d stuck a bullet less than an inch from the muzzle. One fi rm tap of a bore rod popped it out, but I’d gone past the safe lower limit of charge weight. (That load is not in the Tables.) Still, I’d suc- cessfully duplicated the 22 LR, the 22 Short and the 22 CB by working down. Now it was time to begin working up.


Table 1 Cast Bullet Loads


Bullet WT /Type Powder WT/Type OAL(in.) Velocity S/D Group (in.) 55 RCBS FN


1.7 TiteGroup 2.0 2.5 3.0


" " "


4.5 TiteGroup 10.0 2400


14.0 H 4198 14.0 A 5744


55 Lyman *


13.0 IMR 4227 11.0 2400


15.5 RL-7 14.5 H 4198 24.0 W 748


2.25 "


710 890


33 25


" 1,050 12 " 1,240 18 " 1,600 14 " 1,950 19 " 2,000 13 " 2,190 14 2.18 2,060 66 " 2,020 26


" 2,130 54


" 2,060 49 " 2,280 37


2.2 1.9 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.7 1.2 1.1 1.5 0.7


1.8 0.7 1.4


Remarks 22 CB


22 Short 22 LR Target


22 LR Hi-Speed 22 WRF 22 WMR "


22 WMR Premium 22 WMR "


(One group at 0.8") "


22 WMR Premium


Notes: Five-shot groups, shot at 50 yards. Group sizes and velocities listed are averages of several fi red. Velocities rounded to nearest 10 fps. Winchester brass, Winchester Small Pistol primers. *Lyman mould #225646.


Table 2 Jacketed Bullet Loads


Bullet WT/Type Powder WT/Type OAL(in.) Velocity S/D Group (in.) 45 Hornady


50 V-Max "


35 Hdy. NTX 36 Barnes VG 30 Barnes VG*


13.0 BlueDot 24.0 H322 21.0 RL-10X 23.0 X-TERM


24.0 Benchmark 26.5 A2200


26.5 A2015 (c) 26.5 A2200


26.5 A2015 (c) 27.0 A2200


2.30 2,800 26 2.35 3,000 14 " 3,020 21 " 3,030 19 " 3,000 17 2.35 3,650 18 " 3,690 15 2.27 3,640 21


" 3,690 15 2.11 3,860 33


0.6 1.1 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.2 1.6 1.8 1.9 3.0


Remarks Hornet/Bee


Fireball/222 " " "


22-250 " " "


(often had 1 or more fl yers)


Notes: Five-shot groups, shot at 100 yards. Group sizes and velocities listed are averages of several fi red. Velocities rounded to nearest 10 fps. Winchester brass, Winchester Small Rifl e primers. Add 30 fps/inch for approximate velocity from barrels longer than 19". (c) Denotes a compressed load. *Bullet intended for Hornet velocities.


www.varminthunter.org Page 105


The author’s Remington 788 rifl e had been shortened to 19 inches, crowned and ported by a previous owner. The porting probably decreases its effective barrel length to 18 inches or so, reducing its velocity potential.


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