22 rim fire load data

I once bought a case of primed 22 mag brass by accident. I bought them as unprimed brass for swaging heavy 6mm bullets. The first one I tried to de-rim went POW! Wow that was freaky because I was not expecting it. I thought that must have just been a freak so did another and POW! Then another then another same thing. Looking through the lot I could see they were all the same all primed. I ended up selling them as primed brass because it was more valuable that way than for what I wanted them for. I dont know the story behind them so dont know how to go about getting more. It would be nice to have a friend that worked where they are made.

I didnt think anyone here would be interested in using the data I posted but it is interesting especially the accuracy comparison. The bullet I was using was from an NEI mold. It is a gas checked type bullet and I used the gas check shank as the heel to seat into the case. I did buy a dedicated 22 RF mold but lost interest in the whole project and sold everything before ever using the mold. I sold everything as a lot including the early German Schuetzen rifle for $1,800.00 shipped which kind of shows someone must be interested in loading 22 rf and is why instead of just scraping the data sheet I found I posted it first. I thought I had sent it with the package but apparently I was wrong.

There were two reasons I was loading but both were based on one. The main reason was that I found a source for primed 22 LR brass at $10.00 per 1000 shipped by the case of 5000. That pricing didnt last long and climbed quickly to where it was about to cost of cheap ammo I bought a couple cases at the start up price just as a back up plan for extended shortages.
The other reason was my curiosity. Like Rob said I like to load and learn. Also that I picked up a very early Haine'll Schuetzen rifle in 22 rf and wanted to see just how good I could get it to shoot. Match quality 22 ammo is very expensive.
Since we still have kids at home and I still have to work to support them I just didnt have enough free time to do the project justice so I sold everything I had gathered related to the project including a dedicated 22 lr mold and set of loading dies.
The only way I could have justified the time investment would have been if I thought I could turn what I learned into profit but I just didnt see that happening. For a retired guy with plenty of free time involved in high level competition that wants to have greater control of his ammo it will be an interesting path to follow. I did get to dabble enough to see that there may be benefits to powder burn rate selection to achieve 100% density loads for best ignition uniformity.

For me it was an interesting area of loading ammo that I had never done or even considered but the acquisition of the fairly cheap primed brass made it possible. I think I would have to live about a thousand years to have some experience in all facets of ammo loading that I would like to. Since I wont likely be able to pull that off I will just have to concentrate my efforts in limited areas.

The only issues I have ever had with primed rim fire cases was when trying to de-rim the cases to make jackets for swaging bullets. I bought 1000 of what were supposed to be un-primed 22 mag brass. Turns out they were primed and even the slowly applied pressure of de-rimming the cases set them off. Did two and that was enough. Ended up selling those as primed brass. I later found a business that sold fired 22 lr and 22 mag brass so bought those and no more bang to de-rimming.

I did break down several different rounds of factory ammo and found them to have a poor load density filling only about 1/3 of the case. That is what got me to thinking about powder burn rate that would give near 100% load density and how that may give more uniform ignition just as it does when loading center fire ammo. The small amount of testing I did seemed to be pointing in that direction because when going to case filling powders accuracy was better and velocity spreads were smaller just as in center fire ammo when you hit on just the right powder burn rate for the caliber, rifling twist rate, bullet weight and so on.

I found no load data available which seems to point to an open field of exploration. What I did is to start out with the fastest canister grade powder Accurate Nitro 100 and establish a maximum load with that powder then move right on up the burn rate scale until I found what I felt to be about the optimum bure rate for the case volume which was somewhere around H-110 but I dont remember exactly what powder it was just that it was in that area so powders like Little - gun, Accurate #9 and 2400 are right in the ball park.

Unlike with loading center fire the one thing I had no control over was priming. Standard procedure with loading CF is after the powder type and charge is established to then try different primers to see how they affect ignition and so also velocity uniformity. Because this is my thing in life it was fun but that is where I have to excursive caution in that too much fun wont get the bills paid.

No I did not but I sure would have liked to. They were like $15.00 a box of 50 rounds and I didnt want to pay that just to pull one. I would almost bet though that they will have a higher load density than the cheap stuff. The cheap stuff is made to be just that cheap but the good stuff is made to be accurate with not much concern about cost. If you build it they will come seems to be the idea on the good stuff. There are plenty of folks that can afford it and will have nothing to do with second best. When it comes to buying 22 rf ammo I am in the two digit column of best rating.

By load density what I mead is the amount of case volume that is filled by the powder charge. A load that fills the case to the base of the bullet would be 100%. Most of the cheap 22 ammo I pulled was at about 30%. That low percentage allows the powder to position differently in the case from shot to shot which affects ignition which affects velocity uniformity which affects accuracy.
If you have ever take a length of rope and twirled it fast enough to have several coils of rope suspended all at one time you have an exaggerated example of what your barrel is doing each time you shoot. It is not only vibrating it is also twisting at the same time. Now imagine a bullet traveling down that twisting vibrating barrel. If the bullet passes down the barrel at the same velocity each time it will exit the barrel at the same location in its vibrational pattern each time. If the bullet has inconsistent velocity it will exit the barrel at a different location in that pattern each time.

To simplify it to be easier to understand lets just say that at 2000 fps the bullet will exit the barrel when the muzzle is at 6:00 in the pattern then at 2100 fps at 6:30 2200 at 6:45 and 2300 at 7:00. This round the clock bullet exiting the barrel will show up on target as a circular group the dispersion of which will depend on the amplitude of the vibrations. Now on the same token if all bullets exit at 2100 fps at 6:30 in the pattern all shots will group together low center. This is simplified for sure because there are other factors involved but it shows why when striving for best accuracy we also strive for consistent velocity.

That is the reason I felt that having a  100 % load density would lead to more consistent velocity because to constant position of a 100% density powder charge gives more uniform ignition if the powder is of the optimum burn rate for the case volume, bullet weight, and rifling twist rate.

To get top performance you have to address all the variables and load density is one of them.

Rob you are right on track thinking about using a filler to position the powder for consistent ignition. It is however even better if you can discover the optimum powder burn rate that delivers the desired chamber pressure and velocity and fills the case to 100% density by itself without the filler.

A good example is with one of the relatively cheap surplus powders I use a lot of IMR 7383. It is made by IMR to charge the sub caliber spotter rounds used on artillery or at least that is what their information says. It has the burn rate of IMR 4831 but in a bulkier form.

Since I shoot mostly cast mullets my allowable pressures and velocities are more limited than with jacketed bullets. So in some of the older large cases like for instance what I was loading for a customer yesterday the 8x58 Rimmed Danish. The burn rate of standard IMR 4831 is about right to get the velocity I want but the bulk density is off where if I filled the case to 100% it will generate too much pressure for the older pre 1900 guns chambered for it. Now if I switch to the IMR 7383 with the same burn rate but greater bulk for the same weight I can fill the case to 100 % density but with a lower weight charge of the same burn rate that stays within the pressure/velocity limits of the old rifle.

See just like the wizard behind the curtain pulling all the levers until I find just the right one.

Yes that is exactly when you would want to use a filler in that exact situation. When using fillers though you have to beware that some types regularly used can change the dynamics of the load by not only adding weight but also drag or maybe resistance is a better word.

What I like to tell people as a demonstration is to think of a modern shot shell. Some shot shells use a clear enough plastic hull that you can see the components. What you see is first at the top a shot charge. Then after that a gap between shot charge and powder charge. That gap is actually a filler of sorts in the form of a very light weight collapsable wad. Now imagine the 45-70 you mentioned with a 50% load density powder charge. What you would have in that form is first the bullet (shot charge) then the gap (empty) then the powder charge. What we want to do is to load the rifle cartridge (45-70 ) just as the shot shell with a near weightless filler ( collapsible wad ) between the bullet and powder.

My preferred type of filler for this application is to fill the gap with Styrofoam packing popcorn. As a filler the styro packing works perfectly as a light weight collapsible filler. Using cereal type fillers can be dangerous and I wont take the time to elaborate on the here just suffice to say that is my opinion. I have been using the PP filler for nearly 40 years with never an ill effect. Perhaps not always positive results but never bad effect.

The reason shot shells use small charges of fast burning powders with relatively heavy projectile weight is that most shot guns being if relatively large bores have a very high expansion ratio. Think of expansion ratio as the internal volume of the bore for any given length like per inch or foot or whatever. To be of correct burn rate for any application the powder has to produce pressure at a higher rate than the increasing volume of bore will reduce pressure as it is passing down the bore.
Lets just say that the powder is producing 25000 psi at its peak burn but the bore diameter is at the same time reducing the pressure at a rate of 10000 psi per inch of barrel travel. There you go a perfect shot load producing a 15000 average chamber pressure.

You can see then that with such a large expansion ratio of lets say a 12 gauge a slower powder could not keep up the average required pressure to achieve an acceptable velocity. That is why shotguns have to use relatively fast powders because of the very high expansion ratio. The same principle also applies to loading rifle ammo and its easy to deminstraight. Lets look at several different calibers all base on the 30-06 case. Lets say 6mm-06, 25-06, 270, 280, 30-06, 338-06, 35 Whelen, 375 Whelen and 400 Whelen. All use the same case basically but with progressively larger bore diameter, (expansion ratio )

The ones with the smallest bores will use the very slowest burning powders to achieve their max performance. The progressively larger bores will all find their optimum burn rate with equally progressively faster burning powders. When the hole gets bigger and expansion ratio increases the powder burn rate has to get faster for optimum application. Yes there is a lot of overlap with powder burn rate use but if we are looking for OPTIMUM burn rate for application which must take into consideration things like bore diameter, rifling twist rate, bullet weight and diameter, case volume and a few other things the field is greatly narrowed for choices of powder burn rate that may be optimum which will also include that 100% load density when possible.

With a 12 gauge to load to 100% density with just powder you would have to use the fastest powder like a case full of Bullseye and a single #12 shot pellet in a sabot and you might be close. Should give impressive numbers on the chrono though !