New 22 Cal. RCBS Mold

[quicksylver]

So I got this in the mail the other day....it's probably not the best .22 cal mold..but the price was right...It's been so long since I got a new iron mold I can't remember how to prep these...your suggestions ?

I plan on using my 4-4-92 alloy.... size .225, start with my usual Ben's Red and light BLL over coat and move up to Carnuba Red..going to visually inspect and weight segregate AFTER installing the gas checks ....am I headed in the wrong direction..? Oh Powders...! old & New Unique/Universal, RX7 H & IMR 4198 , 2400 , primers- Rem 6 1/2 - 7 1/2 SR yaddy-yaddy...Hummmm maybe I should just stick with jacketed....

 

[waco]

Got a pic of the mold? I scrub mine with Dawn and an old toothbrush in hot water then boil in clean water for 10 min. I preheat on a hotplate.
To store them I usually hit them with a light coat of Fluid Film.

 

[quicksylver]

Of course I have pictures...forgot to load those too... some times...Xmas is just too much for this Old Man to handle...here you go ..Walter...Thanks for the info...Dan

 

[Brad]

I have a mould just like that. Shoots pretty well in about anything I have used it in which isn't much.

Hot water, a toothbrush, and Comet for me.

 

[Ian]

Hopefully you have handles for it already.

What cartridges are you planning to use? The NATO chambers can often take .227" bullets and like a little bit fatter nose than the typical .218". Big fan of RX-7 here for .223/5.56, start with jacketed minimum load for same bullet weight minus two grains and work up from there.

 

[waco]

Very nice. I was looking at the NOE clone.

 

[quicksylver]

Very nice. I was looking at the NOE clone.

Me too but this was $53.00 @ midway or brownells....

 

[waco]

That's a great price for a new RCBS mold! Well done!

 

[quicksylver]

Hopefully you have handles for it already.

What cartridges are you planning to use? The NATO chambers can often take .227" bullets and like a little bit fatter nose than the typical .218". Big fan of RX-7 here for .223/5.56, start with jacketed minimum load for same bullet weight minus two grains and work up from there.

Handles.??

Hopeing to start with the .222...then move on to the AR....hoping to acquire a Rem.700 in .223

Rx7...has been incredible in my 700 vs .222 with 52 gr Speer hpbtm..trying 50 gr v max with it as weather permits

 

[waco]

Must be what my cheap-o Lee is copied after.

 

[Brad]

Sure is. Looks very close.

 

[waco]

I am going to have to break down and buy a pound of Rx7 to try out. I hear too many good things about it.

 

[quicksylver]

That's the one.. Ian I have Lyman Double and single cavity handles as well as lee handles...do those work?

 

[waco]

Dan. When you get around to casting with this mold, let us know how the bases look. My big complaint about the Lee mold is the holes in the sprue plate are almost the size of the base of the bullet.
It's very hard for me to get a consistent square clean base without a nasty little bump....

 

[quicksylver]

I am going to have to break down and buy a pound of Rx7 to try out. I hear too many good things about it.

I wouldn't ..Walter...I can't seem to get anything larger than a 5/16" 5 shot group out my .222 with it and the 52 grainers most are 1/4"...hoping the 50 grain Vmax will work as well...can't see any difference between Rem 6 1/2's or 71/2 primers ...only shot about 60 rounds so far...been switching scopes...hoping something more than 12x will help..

 

[Ian]

That's the one.. Ian I have Lyman Double and single cavity handles as well as lee handles...do those work?

No. The old Lyman single-cavity handles are a definite no-go, the tongs are too short and too thick. The Lee handles are way too thick. The Lyman two-cavity handles might fit, but are awfully tight and may require a little filing. I have one set of two-cavity handles that will fit my RCBS 55 mould but the other will not quite go in the slots. I probably filed on the one, not sure. I have a SC aluminum set of unknown handles with a staked roll pin for a hinge pin and that's what I've always used for RCBS moulds.

 

[fiver]

you have to thin down the lymans to fit the rcbs molds.
you can probably drill a new set of holes in the 6 cavity handles to fit too.

just wash the mold down well and heat it up.
your gonna struggle trying to keep heat in the mold, I gave up on even trying and just rolled with it as quick as I could cast. [making sure to pour a large sprue puddle]
visually sort then weight sort after gas checking.

I can get the bases to fill out so well I struggle with getting gas checks on.
[and forget pressure pouring you'll just end up with fins all over the noses]
so I started dribbling the alloy into the mold to leave a slight rounded edge on the bases.
then I go back and pour a big sprue puddle on the plate and break it open.

 

[quicksylver]

Thanks for all the info guys...plenty of time for experimenting with the casting...weather too dang cold for anything else...raw damp New England...ugh...well maybe duck hunting....also time to work on the handles...next step before cleaning the mold is drilling for a probe..too bad that isn't a small electric heater..

 

[Rick]

Soon Dan will be making piles of these. Mine casts great, no problem with the bases or in keeping it hot but I cheat and ladle cast.


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[Ian]

I just run about 200 pours per minute with a bp furnace and it goes just fine.