.223?
Could a .223 AR barrel be use if you used a part of the barrel to form the rifling onto the bullets? I have been thinking about how to get it to work with a Condor. Here it what I was thinking of how it might work. The barrel would be a standard AR .223 24″ or 26″ long. You would need to cut off 2″ or 3″ to use as a form to put the rifling onto the bullet. So you would just line up the bullet into the barrel by lining up with the rifling no chamber. The barrel would be a size that would be easy to adapt to a Condor. And by using a AR rifle barrel and bullets I think that we could get longer range and smaller groups. You could stay with the light 52gr or go all of he way to 85gr. Checking to see what others thought of this? It may or may not work but just thinking. Lets hear what you think of the idea.
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I’ve been around guns a long time. But have nowhere near the knowledge you guys have. I’m still hung up on 1100 feet per second with 52 grain bullets in a 1 in 9 or 10 twist barrel and the 4500 psi part, what tank holds 6k that fits on a airgun so you don’t have to fill the tank for every shot? I will like to see this project reach the end so I can learn from it. There are lots of cheap 22 long rifle rifles with rusty barrels on the outside that would probably make a good air rifle barrel. I see a few that are rusty a few inches down the muzzle but the rest is nice enough to expect good results from. I think I read here where a brownells barrel liner was used for a project.
I’ve recently used .222 gun barrel shooting with customed bullet shaped 3rings lead slugs. It’s pretty accurate within 1″ at 50 yards. Don’t see why copper bullets wouldn’t work after its sized/grooved down to the exact groove. Just go for it and see if it works. Somewhere on utube there’s a guy coppercoating his lead cast bullets.
BTW, casting .222 slugs aren’t hard at all, trimming the ends is more time consuming.
Now that helped a lot. Now I know what they have and price. Thanks!
Here is the info and contact. No website
That’s it can you give me a link? It is a 223 bore with 224 lands.
Sorry I looked and doesn’t have .223. Has a .224
What twist do they come in and how much an inch?
Why not get a TJ’s .223 barrel? They are small OD. Order it by the inch and get a few extra for your sizer.
I think I would order a new barrel unchambered about 24″ and as small OD as I can get. So I could cut off 3″ and have plenty of barrel to work with. The I would build the rest and use the 4500psi paint ball tanks my son has. I know that I can size the bullets to reduce friction after I engrave the rifling on them. As I still want them to spin and stabilize in flight plus I can lube the bullets too. I have use of a mini lathe to turn the small parts. And a mini mill to cut the other parts I will need. If I can not make it I still have a few friends in machine shops. I want to use a round steel valve to get better air flow. I have an idea to connect the tank lower down into the grip.
Sorry Cuda, I missed your post about your experience, I see I am talking to someone with some knowledge and skills.
I think friction will be your worst enemy.
John Bowman sold one of his medium powered bullet shooting PCP’s to a fellow who did not know much about air rifles.
In ignorance the fellow had some solids turned on a lath with the very narrow bands like I mentioned. Think Barnes X bullets if you will.
Well it was a perfect example of thinking outside the box, those bullets shot like lasers and he gets good power. But the tiny bands kept the friction down.
You might want to consider that. You can try your experiment, the most it can cost you is a barrel and if you use a take off AR barrel, an old sp-1 or so, that is only time your wasting if it does not turn out.
Who knows in 5 years maybe all of us will be sizing down jacketed bullets to shoot in our BB guns.
RC
roachcreek Ok so after I push it threw the barrel chunk I size it down a thou. And we have been doing it with 45cal muzzle loaders for years. We call it indexing the bullet to get the best fit to the bore. Some even have full forming die that size as it engrave for the best fit possible. And I had a old 58cal muzzle loader that I poured bullets for years. I have a Savage 10ML-ll 50cal and a custom Stevens 45cal I have build. So I do not see where it would not work for a air gun too. I picked the 223 because of all of the different weight bullets and the BC of them. I see no difference if you can put a bb into a rifled 177 pellet gun and shooting it. And I am 58 and disabled so I am looking for the ease of setting it up and shooting it. But I still like the idea of making it myself. That way my boys can say that it is one of a kind and my dad made it. 
Cuda,
Buying alloy thru Rotometals and casting 71 grain HP costs me $2.20 per hundred.
If I had to pay 20.00 per hundred for bullets and then do what you propose, if it did in fact work, I would take up another hobby.
Perhaps you do not think you like to cast, mostly due to ignorance of the process I suspect, but one of the things I see now is that by casting I can shoot far cheaper than those shooting a 22 LR and because I make my own bullets, unlike cartridge shooters I still get to shoot.
Meaning cartridge guys using store bought components are left holding their dicks at the present time due to ammo shortages.
I swaged 223 bullets for over 30 years, I made them with both commercial jackets and with swaged 22 LR empties with a Corbin die set and I shot them in a AR 15 and other .223’s. What you are proposing simply will not work.
The only way you will be able to shoot bullets with a outside of gilding metal is to have someone with a lathe turn down gilding metal rod into .224 bullets and put two very thin driving band on the bullets.
If you push a 223 bullet down a section of barrel that you have removed from the barrel you use in your rifle you still will not be able to chamber it in your rifle, it will be a press fit and human fingers simply are not designed to perform that task.
Regards,
Roachcreek
Thanx Cuda for the info. I see now.
I’ve got nothing more to ask at this point. I’m just ready to see it all come together……………………
Knife why would it be more work? You can get some good bullets with good BC too. It would not take long at all to do 100 bullets. It would be one pull for each bullet and they would be ready to shoot. Sounds easier than pouring and sizing each one. And you can not adjust a mold to get different wieghts of bullets. Plus you can get hard lead and ruin good bullet lead when it is added. $19 per 100 not a bad price and no mess. So why would they not shoot well? I would be using 4500 to push them too.
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Brownells 22 short barrel liner is a 1/22 twist—35.00
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/barrel-blanks-tools/barrel-liners/22-caliber-rimfire-barrel-liners-prod10974.aspx