Casting .22 Airgun Pellets

[dverna]

Would you be kind enough to share your data and experience? What is your average group size at 50 yards? How does accuracy compare to commercial pellets? Do you use pellets as cast or are they coated with anything? Do you weight sort and what is your rejection rate? Which mold are you using and what is your production rate? What advice would you offer to someone looking into casting pellets?

If it matters, I am using PCP rifles.

Thanks

[GhostHawk]

I have cast .22 round balls from a sharpshooter mold. In both my Hatsan air rifles (95 and 135 both gas piton jobs) they out performed pellets on my range, but I only have 25 feet in my basement. City ordinance makes it unlawful to discharge any projectile weapon even a nerf gun even on my own property.

At 25 feet both rifles turned in 5 shot groups that were one ragged hole smaller than a dime. About 50% smaller than my standard Crossman Premier Hollow Points. How they would do at longer range I have no clue.

Those were perhaps a bit harder alloy than they should be. Roughly 50% COWW and 50% range scrap.

Gets a lot harder with distance though.

[Mal Paso]

I have cast .22 round balls from a sharpshooter mold. In both my Hatsan air rifles (95 and 135 both gas piton jobs) they out performed pellets on my range, but I only have 25 feet in my basement. City ordinance makes it unlawful to discharge any projectile weapon even a nerf gun even on my own property.

At 25 feet both rifles turned in 5 shot groups that were one ragged hole smaller than a dime. About 50% smaller than my standard Crossman Premier Hollow Points. How they would do at longer range I have no clue.

Those were perhaps a bit harder alloy than they should be. Roughly 50% COWW and 50% range scrap.

Gets a lot harder with distance though.

I've looked at the NOE pellet molds and the skirt on a 22 pellet looks like problems to me. A round ball should be much easier.

Is there a particular mold or just 22 sharpshooter? What is the finished diameter?

Thanks

[greenjoytj]

Rather than cast skirted pellets it might be possible to find or have made dies that can swagge skirted pellets in a press. You still might have to cast a basic core shape that take a final form in a swagging die. Just throwing a different idea out there.

[GhostHawk]

I don't have micrometers. I have a cheap harbor freight calipers.

They are bigger than the CPHP pellets, smaller than a .224 bator cast boolit.

They were a touch bigger than bore. I tapped them into place with a plastic handled screwdriver handle.
Took 3-5 good taps to set them in flush the way they need to be.

So essentially I was "swaging" them down to fit the bore. If I had to guess I would say .222.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've looked at the NOE pellet molds and the skirt on a 22 pellet looks like problems to me. A round ball should be much easier.

Is there a particular mold or just 22 sharpshooter? What is the finished diameter?

Thanks

Dang, I didn't know NOE made Pellet rifle projectile molds?
Now I guess I need one
I imagine a Lead/tin alloy like 20:1 along with plenty of heat, would be needed to get skirt fill out?

[dverna]

Rather than cast skirted pellets it might be possible to find or have made dies that can swagge skirted pellets in a press. You still might have to cast a basic core shape that take a final form in a swagging die. Just throwing a different idea out there.

Corbin makes a kit for pellets. Cost is $516.

[Mal Paso]

I looked hard at the NOE mold, I think it was $125 and Corbin swagging then I bought 5,000 pellets for $100 to give me time.

The round ball looks like the best inexpensive way to consistent ammo. Thanks GhostHawk.

[GhostHawk]

Mold was the .22 sharpshooter. .22 round balls on both sides.

Crossman Premier Hollow points measured avg .220 to .221.
Cast buckshot measured .225 to .230, weighed average of 15.5 gr. Which surprisingly is just a bit heavier than the CPHP at 14.3

This was with my elcheapo Harbor freight digital caliper not a precision instrument.

The real drive for me was to have a way to cast my own airgun ammo "If needed" ie SHTF.
Meantime I have CPHP's stacked wide high and deep.

[dverna]

Mold was the .22 sharpshooter. .22 round balls on both sides.

Crossman Premier Hollow points measured avg .220 to .221.
Cast buckshot measured .225 to .230, weighed average of 15.5 gr. Which surprisingly is just a bit heavier than the CPHP at 14.3

This was with my elcheapo Harbor freight digital caliper not a precision instrument.

The real drive for me was to have a way to cast my own airgun ammo "If needed" ie SHTF.
Meantime I have CPHP's stacked wide high and deep.

You are a smart man..."hoarding" (LOL) pellets just in case. I will do the same. 40 tins of Crosman pellets (20k) will be an investment of $250 at current prices...cheap shooting fun for a long time.

BTW, went to an airgun forum and not finding a lot of good info on making pellets....but there a lot of threads yet to go through. If I find anything of interest I will report back on this thread. There is not a lot of reporting of groups and that could mean cast accuracy may be iffy. When a guy posts a quarter size group at 30 yards that does not impress me. Crosman's shoot better than that and cost $24/1000...and before the panic Walmart had them for $15/1000.

[GhostHawk]

I bought most of my CPHP's at 10 to 12$ per thousand. And yes, it is good to have the extra money to stack deep wide and high.

I may never use most of my stash. But someone will. If that someone is a relative, that is just sweeter yet.
Still having a good stash makes for good long quiet nights sleep.

[GhostHawk]

Subtotal(10 items)
$62.40
Total after taxes

$67.08
That is for 5k rounds. I just decided the price is not likely to get lower. And maybe I could be a bit smarter than I was.
Besides, with the price of primers, maybe I'll just go back to shooting the airguns more. Maybe a lot more.

[Mal Paso]

As far as I can tell Sharpshooter USA 22 round ball molds are no longer made. Lee doesn't go that small. NOE doesn't have any and nothing on ebay.

The skirt of the NOE pellet is .224".

How about a Group Buy for an 8 cavity 22 round ball.

[dverna]

Ghosthawk, where are you finding pellets at $6.70 per ton?

Thanks

[GhostHawk]

6.24 per 500 at walmart.

Still a decent price.

67.08 devided by 5000 = 0.013416 per pellet. Or aprox 1/10 the cost of a .22lr, a third of the cost of a primer. (If you could find primers)
With 150$ to 300$ for your choice of rifle its still an inexpensive varmint killer, meat in the pot grabber. And its fun.

[GhostHawk]

Mal Paso, yes, unfortunately Sharpshooter went bust. I would look at track of the wolf and see how low you can go.

A #4 buckshot should be in the .27 caliber area. Entirely possible those could be lubed with some thinned alox and run through a .25 sizer giving you an alternative to expensive .25 caliber pellets.

Just keep your mind open, consider all possibilities.
Best of luck.

For .22's its hard to improve on my old standby, Crossman Premier Hollow Points.
Consistent, reasonably accurate to reasonable ranges. Hard to beat Walmart for prices but you do need to do the due diligence.
Check back once a week and see what prices are.

[dverna]

You are on target Ghosthawk. PCP's have opened my eyes and given me another aspect of shooting to enjoy....and best of all, it is both cheap and accurate. I have no use for guns that will not shoot well. Getting sub 1" groups at 50 yards with cheap pellets is a blast. None of my .22 LR's will do that unless I want to shoot target grade ammunition...and that is not cheap.

When the grandkids are here, we can shoot for a couple of hours for less than $10 and not need hearing protection.

I followed the threads of OS OK on his journey with .22's. His honesty was refreshing. Not just putting up his "good" targets...but ALL his targets. He showed the reality I had also struggled with. Sure, we can get some great groups with affordable ammunition but I have never had a .22 gun/ammo combo that was a true 2 MOA gun at 50 yards. And no way this old cheapskate was going to pay more than $10/box for "good" .22's.

His results, or lack of them, told me going down that rabbit hole was not going to help me. My goal was to shoot sub 1" at 50 yards.

I doubt I can shoot any better than Charlie, and I was not going to invest in better rifles/ammo that he was using. That left me with PCP airguns as my "shot" at finding cheap and accurate shooting. NSB was a great resource and he is no slouch behind the trigger either.

I have a "true" sub 1" rifle at 50 yards in the Daystate ($1000). I have fired 168 5 shot groups and the average (with all pellets) is .76". I have only fired 25 groups with the $300 DAR at 50 yards and it is delivering .90"...need more testing to confirm it will be a "true" sub 1" rifle but I suspect it will be with pellets it "likes".

[Mal Paso]

6.24 per 500 at walmart.

Still a decent price.

67.08 devided by 5000 = 0.013416 per pellet. Or aprox 1/10 the cost of a .22lr, a third of the cost of a primer. (If you could find primers)
With 150$ to 300$ for your choice of rifle its still an inexpensive varmint killer, meat in the pot grabber. And its fun.

Must be in store, 500s are out of stock online. I will have to traipse to Marina, Walmart won't pay Carmel/Monterey real estate prices.

Anyone else for a 22 round ball mold? MP 8 cavity?

[Geezer in NH]

BPI F super buck is .220

Nickle plated is .215 to .220

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Ni...uctinfo/NP1FB/

[dverna]

Must be in store, 500s are out of stock online. I will have to traipse to Marina, Walmart won't pay Carmel/Monterey real estate prices.

Anyone else for a 22 round ball mold? MP 8 cavity?

IMO there is very little chance of those balls working past 10 yards. And by "working" I mean decent groups at 25 yards. The econo Crosman's will group under 1/2" at 25 yards in a $300 rifle.

I am not sure Ghosthawk has shot them past 25 ft. but I would defer to his experience.