More on the .22LR front

[Scuba1]

I had a little  attack yesterday and thought about making my .22 lr rifle and pistol more accurate. So had a look around on the web and found somethig that fitted the bill and was easy to make as well.
Most cheap .22 lr ammo these days is made a bit under size so it fits into all sorts of chambers. That floppy fir does however have a negative impackt on the accuracy of a gun. So I measured the chamber and made a reforming tool for my cheap lr rounds to fit nice and snug into the chamber and open up the hollow point a bit to make them expand better.
Basicaly just turned a bit of brass bar stock and drilled a hole through it then reamed and honed the hole at both ends to the size I needed for each gun. .224 for the little colt and .2235 for the ruger. The groups with both vave now been cut in half. All you have to do is to insert the round into the end of the tool, insert the rod into the other end and with a few light tapps with a nylon mallet, it expands the diameter of the round to the size of the tool and opens up the hollow point in the end. Works a treat and now even cheap sub sonic rounds expand nicely.
The rod I turned out of a bit of stainless steel i had in my floating work shop.



ATB

Michael

Michael

[andyf]

Michael, if that's rimfire ammo, there might be a very slight danger of detonating the primer as you tap down on the bullet, so forcing the rim down on to the bench. If that happened, the rod and bullet would make a hole in the ceiling.

Centre-fire shouldn't have that problem, of course.

Cheap ammo can, as you say, be a bit variable on diameter. I use good quality RWS or Lapua in my .22 target rifles. I went off Tenex when there was a rumour that Eley were putting ground glass in the propellant to control the rate of burn.


Andy

[Scuba1]

No danger of that happening as you only have to tap it lightly to rform thoise things and I ude a wooden chopping board to put the tool down on so that the back of the round sits on the soft wood.

[Jonny]

Better off playing safe indent the end so theres clearance over the pin.

Anyway thats how ive been making them for years in stainless or steel, it wont wear after a couple of feed throughs like horrible brass.

[Scuba1]

Jonny, the lead in those .22's is so soft, it will take years of reforming to wear that tool out. But if it does start to wear, I may even entertain the thought of making a stainless steel insert for it, but don't hold your breath on that one.
 

[Jonny]

I made one out of manganese bronze and brass just to try at first, both didnt last long reducing very soft CZ lead skirts only 0.16mm diameter. Just light finger and thumb pressure would crush, hate making them.

I use delrin to push through.
Heres some in Portugal far right http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n563/Jonhareng/Accessories/SteyrLG110RAILMiguel0001DSCN4036.jpg[/img]]

[Scuba1]

I am not reducing the diameter of those rounds but enlarging them and they don't get pushed through the tool but get inserted in the end of it and get pushed out the same end they get pushed in.

ATB

Michael