New .22 Slug Data WOW
- Thread starter jwrabbit123
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Anyone know what the .25 cal version weighs? I'm waiting for more molds to be in stock to purchase one. I am assuming around 43-45 gr?
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Thanks for that JW. 48 is a bit heavy. I would have to run a special mix to bring them down to 43gr or less so I can still shoot them over 800 fps. Love the concept of these...
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Are you guys casting air rifle slugs with pure lead, wheel weights, or some other mixture? I've been using wheel weight ingots, but I'm thinking I might try pure lead since that's what the NSA slugs seem to be. So far, they're the gold standard for the Impact.
I made an attempt to cast some of the MP slugs, but my technique needs work. Even the best ones didn't fill completely, so it's not a fair test. I shot some, and they weren't great, but also weren't terrible in the Impact, but I can't stress enough that this was NOT a good test. I did notice that they're fairly hard to chamber. I didn't resized them to .217, but perhaps I should have. Also using pure lead would help I imagine.
Rusty
I made an attempt to cast some of the MP slugs, but my technique needs work. Even the best ones didn't fill completely, so it's not a fair test. I shot some, and they weren't great, but also weren't terrible in the Impact, but I can't stress enough that this was NOT a good test. I did notice that they're fairly hard to chamber. I didn't resized them to .217, but perhaps I should have. Also using pure lead would help I imagine.
Rusty
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hey 13brv , In for heavy hi power slugs harder is fine ay bhn 12 to 18
but for my 22 cal I m super low power I use pure lead and remember not to quench slugs in water or they will harden I made this mistake lol
so if u using wheel weights and hard lead ugg no good , . no mp slugs fill all 8 fine , either mold is not hot get some drop out spray spray mold it will turn black and put mold in lead for a few minutes , You want your mold about 425 degrees and your lead about n 5 on a lee pot , sounds like you too cold , ;et me know if u need help pm me LOU
but for my 22 cal I m super low power I use pure lead and remember not to quench slugs in water or they will harden I made this mistake lol
so if u using wheel weights and hard lead ugg no good , . no mp slugs fill all 8 fine , either mold is not hot get some drop out spray spray mold it will turn black and put mold in lead for a few minutes , You want your mold about 425 degrees and your lead about n 5 on a lee pot , sounds like you too cold , ;et me know if u need help pm me LOU
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I suspect you're right about the mold not being hot enough. It's a Lee production pot, and wasn't very full, so I couldn't get the mold to touch the melted let to warm it up properly. I was trying to do this quickly, which never leads to good results.
From what I can tell, air cooled wheel weights should be around the 12-18 range you mentioned, but I'm not sure if this is really what I'd call high power. FX testing was done with NSA slugs, and what we've been told is that they're 0.217" diameter, and almost certainly pure lead since they're swaged. I'm wondering if the softer lead is needed to make the odd FX rifling work better, so I'll give that a try next week when I get some soft lead.
Thanks,
Rusty
From what I can tell, air cooled wheel weights should be around the 12-18 range you mentioned, but I'm not sure if this is really what I'd call high power. FX testing was done with NSA slugs, and what we've been told is that they're 0.217" diameter, and almost certainly pure lead since they're swaged. I'm wondering if the softer lead is needed to make the odd FX rifling work better, so I'll give that a try next week when I get some soft lead.
Thanks,
Rusty
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The mold probably wasn't hot enough. I tried heating it better today, but they still weren't coming out completely full, and the lead was about 800F, so that should be too hot if anything. I just kept at it, and after 7-8 fills, they started filling properly, so I just made a new pile and put the others back in the pot. I'm pretty sure there are at least a few good ones in here 
This is still with wheel weights, and I measure these at about 0.221". They were noticeably hard to chamber before, so I'm going to resize them to 0.217" like the NSA rounds rather than force them to fit. I'll try to test these tomorrow, and the next test will be trying pure lead in a week or so to see if they're better or worse.
Thanks,
Rusty
This is still with wheel weights, and I measure these at about 0.221". They were noticeably hard to chamber before, so I'm going to resize them to 0.217" like the NSA rounds rather than force them to fit. I'll try to test these tomorrow, and the next test will be trying pure lead in a week or so to see if they're better or worse.
Thanks,
Rusty
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hi rusty did u spray out side of mold with drop off so lead does not stick and drop into melted lead , ??? the mold needs to be hot put you machine aon 10 to melt lead then submerge your mold half way for 1 minute then remove and clean if anything sticks and put you temp on 5 after this and start making slugs , the other way is heat it with a torch but you have lead too hot and mold too cold ok let me know if you understand and happy holidays
also when you remove them from mold onto a towel ? NOT IN WATER (or else they will be too hard ) I made same mistake a few yrs ago lol
If you were pouring say 8 ounce sinkers then the mass would heat mold but such small casts of air guns the mold needs to be 425 degrees before you pour or it will never make anything proper and each slug will be different due to temp , ,
If you want to be super constant drill a hole threw mold and install a probe for temp gage and when ever mold temp falls below 400 heat it to 430 and just pour till 400 then heat and pout keep you molds at same temp them diameters will be close and weights wont be all over place
OK next thing you said they hard to chamber , Do not use wheel weights use pure lead , this mold is not designed to be sized , it is not a regular slug design the rear ring is like a piston ring and should be bigger then front if you siz it will all be same and it takes away from the accuracy they will chamber much better with pure led and proper temps , you see what you feeling is the rear ring enter the rifling it is not the slug and wheel weights have a BHN hardness of what like 18 lol pure lead is like 4.5 so it expands better for low powered stuff and is better for out soft pcp barrels and also chambers fine , keep us posted after you try this . and let me know
also when you remove them from mold onto a towel ? NOT IN WATER (or else they will be too hard ) I made same mistake a few yrs ago lol
If you were pouring say 8 ounce sinkers then the mass would heat mold but such small casts of air guns the mold needs to be 425 degrees before you pour or it will never make anything proper and each slug will be different due to temp , ,
If you want to be super constant drill a hole threw mold and install a probe for temp gage and when ever mold temp falls below 400 heat it to 430 and just pour till 400 then heat and pout keep you molds at same temp them diameters will be close and weights wont be all over place
OK next thing you said they hard to chamber , Do not use wheel weights use pure lead , this mold is not designed to be sized , it is not a regular slug design the rear ring is like a piston ring and should be bigger then front if you siz it will all be same and it takes away from the accuracy they will chamber much better with pure led and proper temps , you see what you feeling is the rear ring enter the rifling it is not the slug and wheel weights have a BHN hardness of what like 18 lol pure lead is like 4.5 so it expands better for low powered stuff and is better for out soft pcp barrels and also chambers fine , keep us posted after you try this . and let me know
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Hey Rusty , on the MP mold the 5.52 mm I use a lead mixture
of 40:1 and wheel weights and my slugs fill out to .223" on the
last band . If you have a hot plate preheat your mold to 450 degrees
and start casting you will need to throw away 30-40 but from there
you should be casting some good looking slugs , I run my pot very
hot with a PID and the temp is 870-880 and cast very fast .
of 40:1 and wheel weights and my slugs fill out to .223" on the
last band . If you have a hot plate preheat your mold to 450 degrees
and start casting you will need to throw away 30-40 but from there
you should be casting some good looking slugs , I run my pot very
hot with a PID and the temp is 870-880 and cast very fast .
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I really do appreciate all the tips and advice. It will really accelerate my learning curve, along with more practice.
I did try the MP 5.52's today, and the results were not too bad, but no competition for JSB or NSA at this point. I even sorted the slugs by weight, and verified that they didn't have any visible flaws, but 2.5" groups were the best I could manage at 70 yds with zero wind. I tossed in a few NSAs just to prove they were still under an inch, so the rifle is fine.
It sounds like my number one problem is probably using wheel weights rather than pure lead. I suspected that before making these, but since I had time, and don't have pure lead, I figured it would still make an interesting test. It will also make an interesting comparison when I do get the pure lead later this week.
Even if they do become as accurate as the NSA, I wonder about the BC. For me, the whole point of slugs is high BC. Just eyeballing these, I can't imagine they're going to be nearly as high as the NSA, or other shapes I might be able to come up with. At some point, I'll set up the LabRadar and find out.
Thanks,
Rusty
I did try the MP 5.52's today, and the results were not too bad, but no competition for JSB or NSA at this point. I even sorted the slugs by weight, and verified that they didn't have any visible flaws, but 2.5" groups were the best I could manage at 70 yds with zero wind. I tossed in a few NSAs just to prove they were still under an inch, so the rifle is fine.
It sounds like my number one problem is probably using wheel weights rather than pure lead. I suspected that before making these, but since I had time, and don't have pure lead, I figured it would still make an interesting test. It will also make an interesting comparison when I do get the pure lead later this week.
Even if they do become as accurate as the NSA, I wonder about the BC. For me, the whole point of slugs is high BC. Just eyeballing these, I can't imagine they're going to be nearly as high as the NSA, or other shapes I might be able to come up with. At some point, I'll set up the LabRadar and find out.
Thanks,
Rusty
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HI D-RIG 850 to 870 degrees? WOW and you have no frosting ? When My lead gets over 800 degrees I seem to get frosting , and any hotter they seem to be brittle they get too hot , seems hot unless our thermometers are off lol .
lead melts 671,4
tin melts 449.
lead melts 671,4
tin melts 449.
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Rusty perhaps you’ve read this but thought I’d put it up if others haven’t seen it; I doubt I’ll be casting or swaging my own anytime soon
Interesting read about mr. Nielsen’s products. https://nielsenspecialtyammo.com/pages/nielsen-specialty-ammo-pellets-vs-cast-bullets
On another note I’ve been reading through this thread and enjoying the conversation thoroughly thanks to all
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Correct I used to swag and you need pure lead as anything hard can shorten very expensive tooling , NSA slugs I did try in the 23 gr and they were spot on .217 and hot very straight I just like a more solid slug for penetration this is why I make alot of solid slugs
also what I said Hi Power I did mean 300 FPE and above 16 to 18BHN is best , our low power softer is better for a solid slug and most others
also what I said Hi Power I did mean 300 FPE and above 16 to 18BHN is best , our low power softer is better for a solid slug and most others
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Rusty perhaps you’ve read this but thought I’d put it up if others haven’t seen it; I doubt I’ll be casting or swaging my own anytime soon
Interesting read about mr. Nielsen’s products. https://nielsenspecialtyammo.com/pages/nielsen-specialty-ammo-pellets-vs-cast-bullets
On another note I’ve been reading through this thread and enjoying the conversation thoroughly thanks to all
I read that when I first started looking at slugs, and I also saw a video of his machine running. I'm absolutely a fan, and don't think there's any way I can ever improve on his slugs. The consistency is just amazing. My goal is to get close, but mostly for the challenge, and not for any other reason. Casting will let me fairly easily test any goofy bullet shape I think of, which is fun, but probably not too productive
I haven't ruled out making dies to try swaging when I get tired of casting. Rusty (waiting for pure lead)
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Got mine today its a 5.55, first time casting took a few rounds to get it right. But once everything was good and hot it was pumping along. I tried a few and they chamber decent in the .22 smooth twist so should have no issues in the LW. Looking forward to trying these out.
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Cool. What do the 5.55 slugs measure after casting? My soft lead showed up yesterday, so I'll be casting some 5.52 in pure lead to see if that makes a difference. I also cut some custom shapes in a mold, but I'm still working on my technique, so they will be somewhat flawed I fear. I'm also working on some ideas for swaging tests.
Rusty
Rusty
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Im getting .220-.221, i pushed a few through the LW its tight but they do go. I got a sizer so i can experiment with that too.
Weights are 35.3-35.9 so far.
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No not yet. I guess ill go tomorrow and try them out I need to go to the range to shoot these beauties. Im not going go expect too much but they do chamber nicer than the piledrivers which are stable so theres hope.
Might get these in the 870 range, as i can get 900 with the 33.9gr beasts.
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