American Handgunner July/August 1977

LOAD DATA FOR THE .22 FLEALeft: An original .3ZAW roundand the same case wildcatted toFlea with the 37 gr. bullet.it takes only a few minutes to form enough.32 ACP brass to make up a passle of .22Flea cases. The RCBS dies must be modifieda bit, according to Dave, especiallythe trim die. In its unmodified state, thetrim die has too sharp a shoulder whichleads to excessive case loss during theforming of the brass. The bullet seatingplug should also be modified for the 37grain bullet-you can either buy thosebullets from Corbin or buy his .224 bulletswaging dies and make your own at a fractionof the cost. Unprimed Winchesterbrass is by far the best choice, with otherbrands of brass often developing shouldersplits during the first firing. Although it isfeasible to anneal the formed brass, it isnot essential, and trying to heat only theneck and shoulder section of the shortcase without also heating the head of thecase is a bit tricky. An extension shellholder, a standard item in the RCBS line-UD. is also needed.& ,Case forming is started by first neckingthe case to about .270, then down to .22 intwo additional forming steps. Be sure tolube the cases lightly-I've found COPbin's Draw Die Lube to be excellent forthis and many other case forming jobs.Fireforming is best done with 1.5 grains ofBullseye and a 37 grain .224" bullet. Thisload will function the Browning and'theround-nosed bullet has been clocked at937 fps. If 37 grain bullets are not available,40 grain Hornet bullets can be usedwithout feeding troubles.For swaging these .224 bullets, Davesuggests that the jackets be drawn from6mm jackets and pinch-trimmed to lessPowder Charge Avg. fpsBullseye 1.5 gr. 9371.8 13182.0 13852.2 1449Green Dot 2.0 13302.3 1420HS-5 2.0 909Unique 2.03.02.5 11952.8 13053.0 1370Max. Ips100613521 3981 4991 364144010001200,13201371than 0.5-inch. This means that the bulletjacket is fairly thick and will not deform infeeding. As a matter of fact, in some 200rounds I did not have a single malfunctionwhen using the 37 grain home-swaged bullets.The overall length of the bullet is0.4522" and overall length of the loadedround is 0.948-inch.Dave uses barrels with six lands andgrooves with righthand twist. Lands on expendedbullets measure 0.0373-inch,while grooves mike 0.0721-inch.'Depending on intended Use and thetype of gun converted to Corbin's Flea,you can choose from a fairly good varietyMin. fps84212721375139912651400*-fl .81 2118112451329CommentsFireform load, may not functionsome guns.'Good plinking load, accurate.Max. for blowback actionguns.Primer cratering, case lifestill *,'gun functions ok.In Browning gun, crateredprimers, unimpaired case life.Good accuracy load, easierto load than Bullseye. Workswell in Contender andBrowning guns.Not very accurate, but willfunction Browning gun.Best load for all-around usein both guns.Performance identical to Bullseye loadsof loads. The 37 grain Corbin bulletcomes out of the dies as a round noseopen tip bullet which is equally suitablefor plinking, paper punching and smallgame and varmint hunting within its rangelimitations. I estimate this to be between75 and 100 yards, depending on the sightsof the gun, shooting position, and, ofcourse, your skill. With temperaturesbeing around the zero mark and the rangebeing inaccessible because of snow drifts,I skipped the 100 yard shooting and stuckto testing the Flea at 25 and 50 yards.All of the listed loads were fired in the(Continued on page 67)After using the Browning for testof the Flea, author had Corbin re-.do a .22 barrel tor the Thompson-Center Contender. Scope is T/CLobo designed for the handgunner.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULY/AUGUST 1977