Loading .22 Hornet

[claretcass]

Has anyone had experience of handloading .22Hornet? With the cases being small is it very "fiddly"?

I have a little experience of handloading but it is over 10 years ago when I handloaded .357/.38 for pistol shooting.

 

I have looked at the magazines and the handloading options are a minefield, especially when you look at whats on offer at the "Sportsman Centre"

 

I would really appreciate a bit of advice and any suggestion of what make/kit to buy if it has been successful for you

 

Thanks for any advice

[Redfox]

They are easily reloadable using a small bore funnel and the usual reloading scales etc. They need care in examining as neck splitting can be an issue, and heavy loads are to be avoided for the same reasons. I have a friend who has reloaded his for over twenty years and he is more than happy with his results and cost savings too.

Go for it you will soon get a system that works for you.

The Hornady Vmax varmint bullets in 40gr are particularly effective in these.

Redfox

[Andrew]

I have loaded for the Hornet for almost 30 years with varying degrees of success. Much depends on the rifle, I'm afraid, but I can pass on what I've found to work best. I am currently loading for a pair of CZ 527 American rifles in Hornet. These are the best Hornet's I've owned out of maybe a dozen over the years.

 

For powder, I have narrowed it down to three US made powders: H-110, Accurate Arms 1680, and Hogdon's "Lil Gun". H-110 gives the top speeds, AA 1680 the lowest, Lil Gun in between. Of the three I used Lil Gun the most due to it's low pressures at top velocity. I give top accuracy nod to 1680 and Lil Gun tho I have made equally accurate loads with H-110 with some bullets.

 

I use standard pistol primers in all. It was one of those quirky things that I tried them on the recommendation of a friend and the groups got somewhat smaller so I stuck with them.

 

I use Winchester brass tho I'm told Remington has a larger capacity. I have found that even within Lots of brass, there is a quite a bit of variance in volume between individual cases. I have not tried Priviti Hornet brass, nor the S&B. The latter has such a bad rep in larger calibers I didn't think it worth the effort.

 

Because of the brass issues, I like to crimp my loads and do it religiously. I use a Lee Factory Crimp Die. This necessitates trimming after each firing which is a good idea, anyhow. I neck size only using a Lee Collet die. I do not weigh charges but have a really good powder measure. I have found that consistency in loading technique trumps gadgets, but the crimp die is a must on my bench.

 

For bullets, I prefer the 35 grain Hornady V-Max above all. Second is a 33 grain V-Max that was intended for the Remington 22WMR cartridge but was sold in limited quantities to the public at one time. I stumbled into a thousand of these and load them over H-110 to 3100 ft/sec. they are very accurate. When not shooting either of these I use the Winchester 46 grain HP. They are cheap but the least accurate of all of them giving 3/4 MOA. The other two will shoot groups half that size.

 

Loads with 1680 are int he 2800 /sec area using the 35 grain. Lil Gun is kissing 3000 and H-110 gives around 3100. With Lil Gun the cases last a very, very long time. I have 100 cases that I have loaded for a year now with no problems.

 

So, if I could advise you, I'd recommend Lil Gun Powder, A Lee Crimp Die, and small pistol primers. Bullets are your choice. Trim every load. Be consistent.

 

Have fun! ~Andrew

 

PS: IF you are the kind who feels compelled to weight charges, for any of these three powders, do it with H-110 or 1680. There is no point in doing it with Lil Gun. (JMHO)

[claretcass]

Many thanks for the advice Redfox and Andrew.

I have a CZ527 and usually use the Hornady Vmax 35gr ammunition but it is becoming increasingly difficult to get and the cost has risen by about 30%.

I have heard on the grapevine that more shortages are on the way so I do need to get my act together and start loading.

Once again many thanks

[Guest northernchris]

Andrew

 

What would you say the benfit was by running the pistol pimers over rifle primers???

 

 

I decided to start loading for my Ruger 77/22 after ALOT of playing around i found the following-

 

 

Even with a 1-14 twist dont go bigger than 45gr heads

 

they like plenty of neck tension (not always possible) or try and get onto the lands,which is doable but the mag becomes redundent.

 

Out of Lilgun,H110,N110,IMR 4227and H4198

the 4227 and 4198 being pretty consistant (the 4198 being very slow but accurate) lil gun being VERY DIRTY,and gave massive velocity devations.

 

Head wise i tryed 35gr V-Max,40gr Nosler BT,40gr Blitzking and 45gr Hornady hornet SP.

The V-Max and Blitzkings very good.

 

 

The load i stopped on (for now )

 

11.5 gr IMR 4227 (weighed charges)

Win case batched weighed,flash hole and primer pockets done

CCI small rifle primer

40gr Sierra Blitzking

2720fps

 

What i did notice was that with some of the loads would shoot 3 shots well into clover leaf groups then throw the following 2 shots out of the main group.

 

Next up i will try some pistol primers again with the H110 to try and get a slightly quicker load.

 

Chris

[Andrew]

Chris: I can't tell you exactly. The groups just closed up a bit when I switched to small pistol primers so I stuck with them.

 

I tried 4227 in my CZ and it was OK but not really worth the effort due to the low velocity. The other loads were better. Crimping would take care of those velocity swings with Lil Gun or any other powder. As I mentioned, and I'm sure you've found out, Hornet brass lacks uniformity which crimping seems to level out. It also relieves the need to kiss the lands.

 

I owned a Ruger 77/H when they first came out. It was the worst Hornet I ever owned. I am told that they have gotten things under control in the last dozen years but my gun was horrible. Three inches at 50 yards was the BEST group I got with any ammo, factory or handload. When I called Ruger they were indifferent.

 

What kind of groups are you getting with yours, Chris? ~Andrew

[Guest northernchris]

I put one of my higher mag scopes back on last sunday to do some more load development with the IMR 4227/Blitzking load.

 

I shot 5 ,5 shot groups all between 20mm-30mm.The Ruger does shoot better with the bigger/higher mag scope on because of the extra mag and the extra weight on the rifle helps also.

 

The biggest things that have improved consistancy have been batch weighing the cases and batching for rim thickness.

 

I take it you are useing Lee Collet dies???

 

If you are saying your Hornet shoots better with pistol primers,would you say that the round is "over primered" useing rifle primers?

 

Oh and i have tweeked the trigger to get the weight down from a HEAVY 7lbs to a shootable 1.5lb

[Andrew]

Sounds like a Ruger Trigger!

 

Yes to the Over powered Primers. My theory is that the pistol primers give a more uniform burn. When working up loads for the 5mm Craig (a conversion from the 5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum to CF using heavily reformed Hornet cases) I found that priming punch makes a great deal of difference in accuracy. This 5mm case is a very, very small case but the results were there. A switch to small pistol primers gave increased accuracy especially with Lil Gun. There has been much written about priming power. Some say it matters not, some say otherwise. I just like to go with what works. For me, it was small pistol primers. Federals to be exact.

 

Mind you. I have done none of the batching of cases that you have. I'd have piles of segregated brass if I did! That being said I have a reloading room littered with targets showing tiny groups. I give the larger credit to the rifle. The CZ is the most accurate Hornet I've owned. Oddly, I have two of them at the house(mine and my sons) and they shoot identically. A third CZ Hornet belongs to a friend of mine and it shoots identically to ours. We all use the same load: 13.0 Lil Gun, the 35 grain V-Max (1.720 OAL) and the pistol primers. All loaded with the same technique. We shoot 200 yard prairiedogs without too much grief if the winds aren't against us. I do use Collet Dies and trim. The importance of trimming can't be emphasized enough... especially when crimping.

 

My CZ has an S&B 6X on board. My son's, a Nikkon 3-9X. Both are real reliable shooters. I killed 35 prairiedogs in two hours last spring; better than a half dozen of those were between 160 and 210 yards. ~Andrew

[Guest northernchris]

I am going to try a few loads in the morning with some Remmy 1 1/2 primers.I like the 35gr V-Max but they are getting hard to find,the 40gr Blitzkings are doing pretty dam good so i will stick to them for the time being.

[Andrew]

Chris: I can't really load 40 grain "non Hornet" profile bullets and still use the unaltered CZ magazine. I can alter it to take the longer round but I just don't feel the need. The 46 grain works for the times I need a heavier bullet. I wonder if crimping would help your Lil Gun performance and cleanliness? If you were here in Montana we could get it all ironed out in a single reloading session. I feel for you folks across The Pond when it comes to some of the reloading equipment we pick up easily here. Eleven dollar Factory Crimp dies are a 5 minute drive from my house!

 

Good luck with the 1 1/2s. Let me know if you see a difference. ~Andrew

 

This is a common group from the CZ's.