Dr.Zubrato
Member
- Joined
- May 12, 2009
- Messages
- 400
Thanks to a very generous THR member, armoredman, who paid forward a really nice deed, I was able to try before I buy a mold for casting 223 to feed my AR.
I looked around for any spare powder I had, and came across 5744, and some IMR3031. I had more of the 5744 so I chose that as my start, knowing it most likely would not cycle the action (spoiler alert, it didnt)
I chose a starting load of 11gr 5744, for a 55grain lubed and gas checked, sized to .224 , flared the case mouths a bit to not shave any lead, and seated to 2.10"
I shot these 5 rounds at 25 yards, standing, and I know if I benchrested these I might be able to cloverleaf them, or put them into one hole. (I did shoot about 2 inches low, however. I should have been shooting out of the notch, but chose precision over accuracy, having a point of reference on the target I could put the red dot on)
The action did not cycle, and the recoil felt exactly like a hot 22lr. I did however, feel the action start to unlock, but that's it, every round had to be cycled by hand.
I realized when it was too late I could have swapped out my H2 buffer for a Car buffer, but I was out of rounds..
While cleaning, I didn't notice any leading, the barrel looked great, but the powder at a starting load is pretty dang dirty. I'm going to start looking into optimal powders, and boolit mold designs.
For a while, I was on the fence, and I was tipping on the other side to resign from casting for the AR, and just say it's an FMJ only world, but after today, and looking at those beauties I can say I can't wait to start casting for my AR. Even where I'm at now as a complete noob, there's something cool about having a bolt action 22 AR that can rock 30rd mags without conversion kits
I looked around for any spare powder I had, and came across 5744, and some IMR3031. I had more of the 5744 so I chose that as my start, knowing it most likely would not cycle the action (spoiler alert, it didnt)
I chose a starting load of 11gr 5744, for a 55grain lubed and gas checked, sized to .224 , flared the case mouths a bit to not shave any lead, and seated to 2.10"
I shot these 5 rounds at 25 yards, standing, and I know if I benchrested these I might be able to cloverleaf them, or put them into one hole. (I did shoot about 2 inches low, however. I should have been shooting out of the notch, but chose precision over accuracy, having a point of reference on the target I could put the red dot on)
The action did not cycle, and the recoil felt exactly like a hot 22lr. I did however, feel the action start to unlock, but that's it, every round had to be cycled by hand.
I realized when it was too late I could have swapped out my H2 buffer for a Car buffer, but I was out of rounds..
While cleaning, I didn't notice any leading, the barrel looked great, but the powder at a starting load is pretty dang dirty. I'm going to start looking into optimal powders, and boolit mold designs.
For a while, I was on the fence, and I was tipping on the other side to resign from casting for the AR, and just say it's an FMJ only world, but after today, and looking at those beauties I can say I can't wait to start casting for my AR. Even where I'm at now as a complete noob, there's something cool about having a bolt action 22 AR that can rock 30rd mags without conversion kits