Give a Gift .22 Hornet | Handloader Magazine First, as almost expected, the Ruger shot groups with well-fitted reloads that were almost identical to the factory shells. Mikey Hartman, Lt. Col. My favorite all-around Hornet bullet is the last surviving, old-fashioned Nosler Solid Base. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/1G7xXag. This also leaves the case shoulder, tapered as it may be, in a position to touch the front of the chamber. Velocities with published data and 40-grain plastic tipped bullets exceeded 2900 fps and accuracy for five shot groups was consistently in the .5- to .6-inch range at 100 yards. All are spherical and flow easily through the powder measurean advantage both for speed of loading large volumes of ammunition and consistency of charge from shot to shot. The center pair show the Encores clear preference for full-length sizing, an opposite result to most rifles. According to a recent Federal Emergency Management Agency report, fewer people are "prepping" today compared to previous years. The old Model 70 likes the 40-grain Sierra bullet, but this one wants a big dose of W-680 powder instead of the faster W-296. The .38 Smith & Wesson Special, designed in 1898, rocked the handgun realm with its ballistic performance making it a cartridge for the history books. Now that we have one brand of cases, trimmed to length and neck sized, we will worry about a very, no, the most important factor in most rifles accuracy. Handloaders have gotten more performance than factory ammo makers have been able to until recently. Upon examination, I found that, as with most factory rifles, the bedding of the action was not done very well at all. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. This rifle defies the rules and prefers full-length sized cases. The production Ruger Model 77/22 I used is the current heavy-barrel version with a stainless-steel barreled action and Green Mountain stock of laminated wood. Averaging 6.5 pounds, trigger pull is a bit heavy for a varmint rifle. Remington, Winchester, Hornady, PPU, and Nosler all manufacture component cases that are usually (the last two years notwithstanding) readily available to handloaders. Before there were scopes or red dots there were iron sights. The cartridge had widespread popularity as a small-game, target and varmint round. It consists of the Lyman No. I have two sizing dies for a Lyman 4500 sizer/lubricator, 0.224-inch for barrels with 0.223-inch groove diameters and 0.225-inch for 0.224-inch barrels. Handloaders and backyard experimenters had a field day with the Hornet, so much so that bullets from 34 to 55 grains have been tried in it. The following data was developed in an ANSCHUTZ single shot target rifle. The most unusual .22 Hornet rifle I have is an M4 Survival Rifle built in the 1950s for the United States Air Force. 9 It is possible to shorten the plastic filler that is inside the BRNO clip, allowing it to take longer rounds. Those who want or need a relatively quiet, light-recoiling and inexpensive-to-shoot firearm seem to love the Hornet. Reloading help for .22 hornet | Sniper & Sharpshooter Forums Sierra offers two 40-grain .224-caliber bullets, a softnose for the .22 Hornet and a hollowpoint for faster cartridges like the .22-250 and .220 Swift. Search. It is quite accurate from 1:14 and 1:16 twist barrels, and the mouth of a case does not overhang its ogive curve when seated to cartridge lengths compatible with the magazines of various rifles. The barrels of Winchester Model 54 and Model 70 rifles in .22 Hornet have a 0.223-inch groove diameter and a 1:16 twist. Reloading Glossary; Dealer Locator. The author's Browning A-Bolt in .22 Hornet has sent many a ground squirrel to the great beyond. Many folks , especially military trained folks, have it drilled into them through training, to use the proper nomenclature. The smallest common centerfire rifle cartridge, the .22 Hornet is still a nifty 175 yard varmint and small game cartridge. They made their own .223-inch bullets by using jackets formed from .22 Rimfire cases. Not only does the improved version give us more velocity, at times 200 fps more, it usually just begs to shoot. I prefer to zero the .22 Hornet two inches high at 100 yards. After trying several bullets from 45 to 52 grains, I finally settled on a Sierra 45-grain Varminter bullet in front of 20.0 grains of IMR 4198 and producing 2,888 fps from the 22" barrel of my No. The tighter the ammunition was in the Encore, the more it wanted to string vertically. 2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. Reply. They might be yours too.. Nice heavier weight brass. That duplicates the velocity of the old .22 WCF load and is only a bit faster than the .22 WRF rimfire load. And there is the 35-grain V-Max from Hornady and now the 35-grain Varmageddon from Nosler. There was an immediate improvement in its shooting! 6.5 Creedmoor vs. 6.5 PRC: Which is Better? RCBS shell holders are hardened for years of use. The thicker jacket of the hollowpoint bullet won't allow it to expand as explosively as the softnose bullet on varmints at .22 Hornet impact velocities. The neck-sized case (right) uses the expanded neck portion to positively center the rounds in the chamber. I havent done the testing to back it up. Be Alert: Publisher cannot be responsible for errors in published load data. The Winchester 22 Hornet Cartridge Brass is made with a neck-hardened shell surface excellent for long-lasting reloading performance. I do it, simply because it makes me sleep better and is also the method I use to clean my primer pockets after each resizing. We show you how. Thats not to say some of the older designs dont provide stellar accuracy and on-game performance, because they can and they often do. But this is only the beginning. My T/C Encore proved to be a bit of a head-scratcher. Hornets were initially loaded with .223" jacketed bullets, and have now settled on .224" bullets. However, I am sure there would be some benefit. A quick stab with a K reamer, with no other changes, turned it into a super-accurate rifle. 22 Hornet - What Powder do you use. The Winchester 34-grain load also has a tendency to exceed its velocity rating; it clocked an average of 3144 fps in the 24-inch barrel of a Savage Model 40 I worked with. Read Next: Everything You Never Knew About Primers, and the New Technology Thats Revolutionizing Them. of muzzle velocity. Ive had very good luck with 40-grain bullets and IMR-4227 paired with the Federal Gold Medal Match Small pistol primer, for example. I installed a Rifle Basix RU-R trigger kit, and it has a claimed pull weight adjustment range of from 14 ounces to 2.5 pounds. From the same 35gr V-Max as you, through 40gr Sierra BlitzKing, onward through the excellent 45gr Sierra Hornets, and 45gr Sierra Spitzers & 45gr. I like to load mine with H110 and 35 grain V-max bullets. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. This is overall cartridge length, or more precisely, the bullets relationship to the chamber throat. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/1G7xXag. Details, details, details. Essentially it is all taper. 22 Caliber (.222-.227) - Rifle Bullets - Metallic Reloading - Graf & Sons But no combination I have found is better suited for easing along eastern hedgerows and picking off varmints without greatly disturbing my neighbors. gas checks became too much of a hassle. So, do not be afraid to tweak your powder measure just a little in experiments, keeping in mind that few powder scales will reliably detect .10 grain. 81102 REDDING BOTTLENECK NECK SIZING DIE - 22 HORNET - NEW - FREE SHIP. All Rights Reserved. It should come as no small comfort for any patriotic American to know that the countrys firearm industry is vibrant and productive, still faithfully serving the needs of armed citizens, law-enforcement officers and military personneljust as it has for more than two centuries. All powder charges for my handloads were thrown with a Redding Competition Pistol/Small Rifle measure. As one of the first of the improved cartridges, the .22 K-Hornet generated another 200 f.p.s. It seems he had been loading Hornets almost as long as there had been Hornets. All Shooting Times subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. There is no better way to achieve this than with a Stoney Point OAL gauge (combined with a special Hornet adapter). Custom Mossberg 500 at the Range and Live Turkey!. Winchester, the company that started it all back in the 1930s, now offers the most options: a 34-grain hollowpoint at 3050 fps and a 45-grain softnose and a 46-grain hollowpoint, both at 2690 fps. | All groups are 5 shots at 100 yards. Stoney Points OAL gauge is a must for serious handloaders. More than a few other wildcats were made, but Killborns has kept most of its legs. The case is virtually identical to its parent .22 W.C.F. JavaScript is disabled. The bedding of the rifle is much improved over the first one I shot back in 1994. Though I have only owned three Hornets, they have each had clear preferences when it came to primers. LEE 22 Hornet RELOADING DIES - 2 DIE SET FREE SHIPPING. 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Sales brochures of the era touted the .22 Hornet as a 200-yard rifle, but in practice it was more suited to targets no further than 125 yards. There is no good or bad about this, only different. I wanted to get a load that would be accurate and a good bullet for small game so i decided on the 40 grain nosler ballisic tip. 22 Hornet Dies for sale | eBay It was loaded with a 45-grain, 0.226-inch lead bullet at a velocity of around 1,550 fps. Best powders for use with all bullet weights in the Hornet are H110 and W296. I use a Hollands uniformer or a Sinclair uniformer and have never found it to be overly bothersome. Hornet cases vary widely from maker to maker. What started as a small dream has become a multi-million dollar international business selling ammunition, reloading supplies and accessories. This powder is still available as Alliant 2400 and derived its name from the ability to drive a .22 Hornet bullet of the day at 2400 fps. .22 Hornet Load Data - Shooting Times Also, Hornet cases will grow as you use them, and often grow at different rates. Handloading the .22 Hornet is a snap, but the thin wall of its case is easily collapsed during bulletseating unless the inside edge of its mouth is lightly beveled with a chamfering tool prior to the first loading. Others are not so demanding, while the single shots, like the T/C Encore, will accept any cartridge length. It can be used in somewhat settled farm country to keep the rodent population in check without scaring the neighbors. Hornets are finicky. Since Shooting Times has no control over your choice of components, guns, or actual loadings, neither Shooting Times nor the various firearms and components manufacturers assume any responsibility for the use of this data. 22 K-Hornet Reloading Dies for sale at Midsouth Prices. 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SAAMI maximum cartridge length for the .22 Hornet is 1.723 inches, and while ammunition loaded to that length should be compatible with the magazines of most rifles, some will accept longer. Suddenly there was a rifle on the scene that allowed shooters to take advantage of longer seating depths, placing bullets closer to the lands for increased accuracy, and with the right twist to take advantage of more modern bullets. The groove diameter of later rifles is 0.224 inch. Generally, I have found that a standard small rifle primer such as the Winchester WSR, the Remington 6.5, or the CCI 400 work very well. Find 22 K-Hornet Reloading Dies, and 22 K-Hornet Die Sets for sale here: Get the right 22 K-Hornet Die or 22 K-Hornet Die Set for your press here at Midsouth. We show you how. cartridge, although the black-powder version typically was loaded with bullets .228" in diameter. This is because of some problems with the factory bedding, especially in the forend area. It was designed for use on small to medium size game, such as coyote, fox, bobcat and woodchuck, and has become one of the most popular rimfire cartridges in North America. I have reloaded (and therefore shot) several bullet types of varying weights over the passing years through my Anschutz .22Hornet rifle. Some rifles of foreign make still have the older twist rate, and those built by Anschutz are good examples. As for powders, W748 and H110 for many years have been the ones to beat in the .22 Hornet. This is important to remember, as differences in case capacity can create considerably different pressures with the same charge weights. Winchester 296 Free shipping. RCBS shell holders ensure proper alignment between the cartridge and die. Its Lilja stainless-steel barrel is 20.75 inches long and measures 0.920 inch at the muzzle. was no longer loaded, despite the fact that until 1932 no factory rifle had been chambered for the .22 Hornet. Millions of successful hunts have proven the accuracy and deadly effect of the famous Hornady InterLock, SST, InterBond and CX bullets we load into Hornady Custom rifle ammunition.. Every round of Hornady Custom ammunition is hand inspected before packaging to ensure the highest levels of quality control.