22 Hornet

[Gussy]

I have an 1885 low wall in 22 Hornet. I haven't shot it much but plan to and was wondering about annealing to extend case life. I've heard case life isn't great on these and would like to get as many loads per case as I can.

Since .22 rimfire is hard to find, I'll be shooting this a little more. Any experience with the Hornet??

Gus

[Caprock]

I think the rep for short case life is undeserved. Some run the die down till the shell holder bumps and this overworks the base of the case...result is head/body separations galore. This is just not necessary and especially if the cases are only used in one rifle.!!!! Back your FL die out to only neck the portion holding the bullet will go a long ways in preserving the brass. If you start seeing neck splits then you might consider annealing. But you should get 8-10 loads or more before that ever happens.

My first rifle was a 219 Savage in .22 hornet and I learned everything I mentioned the hard way. Luckily my case separations were easy to remove from the chamber. Other hornets I've examined weren't so lucky and have deep gouges in chamber walls from having screwdrivers, chisels and files used to work the body out.

Hornady, Speer, or Sierra 45 gr bullets, small pistol primers, and Lil Gun powder make a wonderful combination in my Winchester 43. When I want more power or speed then a 204, 222, or 22-250 is at hand but the hornet has a place.

[Gussy]

Thanks! If I can get 8-10 loads, I would be happy! After the first firing, I'll back off the sizing die or get a neck sizing die. I only have one Hornet rifle, a Browning low wall. I don't have any Lil Gun powder but I will see if the local store has some. I do have .223, 45 gr Sierra Hornet bullets and some V Max 35gr .224 bullets.
Thanks,
Gus

[Caprock]

You won't need a neck die. Just coat the case with carbon black or graphite and adjust till you get about a quarter inch of sizing on the neck. Lil Gun is scarce but you can get extraordinary velocities with lower pressure than other powders. I've got it but still working on some ancient WW 680 as well. Google "best powders for 22 hornet".

[J.B.]

Dupont/ IMR 4227 is a good powder also. Long unavailable down here but you guys may still be able to source some. Used in a Brno/ CZ rifle it produced some marvellous results . 45 grn Sierra hornet bullets would seem a good place to start. Ditto on the neck sizing also. Just enough to hold the projectile and you'll probably find this will only be about half the neck anyway. Great little round.

[Kurt]

The little hornet is a great cartridge Gussy. Like J.B. said just neck size it and you will feel when you seat your bullet if the necks need annealing when the necks start to spring back more from getting hard. With the low shoulder angle they tend to stretch more than the improver hornets and if you over heat the necks they will pull. Between the .22 Hornet, .22-250, .222 and the .22 Savage High power the Hornet and the .222 are me favorites.. You might try a cast bullet and some 3F

Kurt

[Gussy]

Hey Kurt, not sure about casting those small critters and don't have a mold either. I will go to short neck sizing and not over annealing. I might get to town tomorrow and see if there's any Lil Gun powder around. I still haven't hit the powder web sites for factory loadings. I'm just looking in my old loading books. I was sort of hoping to find a load with BL2 which I have a bunch of for my 222 and 223. I might have some 4227 as I think I loaded some way back when I first bought the rifle. One good thing, It doesn't need much powder!!

gus

[Kurt]

I have a little bullet mould I don't know if your rifle takes the .223" or .224" bullet. I shot a lot of 2400 or 4227 powder in my Mod 23 savage. For the cast bullets I used a 45 gr bullet with about 3-3.5 gr of Unique that shot lights out. About like the .22 mag is now.
Another bone head mistake selling that rifle. I still have that 3/4" side mount scope for that rifle.

Kurt

[Gussy]

No joy today. Stopped at the local supply and he did not have any powder I could use. Actually, he damned near didn't have any powder at all and what he had was expensive!! He hasn't been able to get powder for a couple months. Is this going around again?
Gus

[Barvid]

Gussy, I have 700 rounds of once fire if you need it. Let me know.

Best, Barvid