Cheating a tad on bullet diameter?
I have a friend that has a 22 jet. He is thinking about reloading shells for it (for some reason!). The jet uses a .222" dia bullet, which is only available in maybe one ancient style. If he were the use .224" bullets, the choices would be great. .002" oversize. Is he looking for trouble?
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Not sure about the trouble part, but it sure will increase pressure..... and that in itself will cause trouble enough........ 0 -
I see three problems if this is a S&W pistol #1 all the 224 diameter bullets will be longer and the barrel could have the wrong twist causing grouping to go to pot[:(] #2 this could also cause the OAL to be longer then the chamber of the cylinder unless loaded deeper in the Case and being they are also heavier this would cause higher pressures [V]. # 3 the oversize bullet would cause Higher Pressures[V]. The combination of #2 & #3 could be the straw that YADA YADA[xx(].If this is a custom Rifle then it may be built on a 224 Barrel and then I dont see any problems. The 22 JET will never be a Cape Buffalo killer I would load what the book calls for.YMMV 0 -
The gun is a rifle. It's an old H&R 'topper'. Breakdown, single shot type. I'll advise him to let his wife shoot the first few shots. "Sweetie, look at the nice gun I made some shells for, c'mon over and I'll let you shoot it while I hide behind the house". 0 -
Period* reloading manual says it's Okay to use either .222, or .223 diameter bullets. It says to avoid .224 dia. bullets when reloading for this cartridge.
*Lyman Reloading Manual, 44th Ed. (1968)0 -
You have another option in such a situation. Companies such as C-H tool can supply you with a bullet sizing die,usually around $60.00 for jacketed bullets in any dia you request. As long as the sizing operation is not too extreme such as .006 or greater you will have no trouble sizing down bullets from .224 to .222 on your reloading press. Use lubricant and clean off bullets, since all bullets vary in construction look for signs of jacket tear, inspect finished product and mic check. One word of caution , sized bullets of only .002 will appear identical to non sized bullets and you must take care not to reload non sized bullets. Sized bullets will bear a base dimple for identification caused by the sizing die. Bullets with exposed lead tip may show signs of lead extrusion at tip if you try to size down excessively. Sometimes in a rare occasion you need two sizing dies to make a two step process for a large dia long bullet size. 0 -
have you tried to 'slug the bore', this rifle may very well have been built using a .224" barrel. the only reason the books recommend a .222" dia bullet is the S&W revover it was created for used a .222" barrel for the .22 l.r. 0 -
............................................. KAAAA BOOM !!! ................................ 0 -
quote:Originally posted by USN_Airdale
............................................. KAAAA BOOM !!! ................................
Not realy, there might be a brief and small bump in the pressure rise, but considering that the pressure peak and the "swadging" peak don't normaly occure at the same time, the effect isn't additive.
30-06 rounds have ben pushed through (rechambered) 6.5mm Arasaka barrels, and PO Ackley shoved 8mm (.323) bullets through 30cal barrels (after the neck/throat were opened) again without any sign of a pressure increase. And than there are the origional Rugar Mini-30's that had .308 barrels and again they showed no problem with the standard .311 bullets.
Where a problem can/will occure is if the mouth OD is increased enough to cause a "bullet pinch" in the neck area of the chamber. Only measuring a chamber cast of the neck, and compairing that to the neck OD of a case with the .224 bullet seated in it, will answer that question.0 -
To second what tailgunner said, an oversized bullet will size down. I have a lee push through die that I use to size 338 jacketed rounds down to 331 for my M95. Even a fairly wimpy press makes short work of it. The question of whether it will cause pressure issues lies in what load you use and how the chamber pinches the brass and what your throat is like.
Of course, using oversized bullets CAN cause issues. Too much constriction in the throat, a bullet right against the lands, and not enough clearance to allow the brass to release means trouble.
If you, I would slug the barrel, make a chamber cast using cerrosafe, and compare those measurements to a fired case. If you have clearance to allow a .224 bullet to release and a not-too-abrupt throat, and at least a .223 bore, I'd not worry about it. On a lark I used some 311 bullets in a 30-06 that had these qualifications and it was no issue.
Now one thing I'd make sure of is, don't use steel core bullets, like some military surplus projectiles. That COULD cause trouble.0 -
I've sized .311 jacketed bullets down to .308 in a cheap Lee sizer until I found it made no difference in a Luger.
The Lee sizing die does a neat job.
Load a 224 and see if the cartridge neck is too tight to chamber.
If it works, load some for accuracy.
If you're not happy, buy the bullet sizing die.0
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