Hornet help?

[tickridger]

Just my 2 cents on this. "One" thing that will cause velocity inconsistency is bullet grip by the case. The hornet necks are rather thin and do not grip the bullets well unless they are in good condition. This would mean either annealing or crimping to regain that consistency. Easy to do and worth the try.

I also shoot a 527 22 hornet and get good groups so I have not fixated on velocity consistency which I am sure I am not getting. It's a hunter not a target rifle (rather pragmatic I know).

John

[WadeMod]

As you can see there are many more things to try. Run a batch crimped and compare. Vary seating depths. Don't give up on this fun cartridge. Make notes. Pdogs hate hornets.

[tickridger]

Originally Posted by WadeMod

Pdogs hate hornets.

You have that right Wade. At least in my experience.

John

[gkmatcnd]

I use LE wilson dies i just do the neck I check neck tension small pistol primers or Rem 6 1/2 s Lil gun works for me But the number one step if I am shooting groups, is weighing the cases even from the same lot or brand I was surprised how much variance, though in hundredths of a grain. this will effect pressures which will effect accuracy. just segregate cases by weight
The smaller the case the more critical the pressure In larger cases it would be a non factor

[tbates66]

I shoot a Savage Model 25 Varminter 22Hornet with Hornady 35gr V-Max, Remington Small Rifle 7.5 BR primers, 13gr of Li'l Gun and seated with a competition die (don't recall the brand). That's all I know....don't understand about crimping and annealing. What happens for me is that factory ammo shoots 1.5" groups and my loads shoot .5"-.75" groups at 100yds and have killed lots of prairie dogs. I generally find 22Hornet reloading to be tedious and a nuisance. But, given the good result, I'll keep doing it.

[Vincent]

I have a tutorial here on loading the Hornet. Die set up is critical as, can be, primer selection. I tried various pistol primers and found them to be inconsistent compared to rifle primers. Problem is the primer is much higher percentage of the power produced in that tiny case. Many years ago Remington engineer and well known benchrest shooter developed the Remington 6 1/2 primer. It is lower in power and very consistent. The best there is in my opinion. Next comes the Fed. After that all the rest. My experience only and not worth arguing about.

Bullets and the CZ 527. For me there is one. The Horn 35 gr. Why? Diameter is .2235". What is the bore of the 527? .2235"! I do not know if that is a happy coincidence or planned. Many of the older Euro Hornets had a .223 bore while all post WWII American rifles had a .224" bore. Of the 5 or 7 bullets tried the happy little 35 gr Horn worked best for me.

Powder? Lil Gun. Higher velocity at low pressure! How the heck did they do that? I have no idea. This also where cases come in because for me they matter. Remington will hold 13.0 of Lil Gun while Winchester will only hold 12.5 without compressing.

So my "go to" load for accuracy and everything else? Rem case. 12.5 gr Lil Gun (just because I hate balancing the full case of powder and trying not to spill). 13.0 shoots as well but I'll take 12.5. Rem 6 1/2 primer DON'T try to turn the Hornet into a .223. Love it for what it is.

Read tutorial for die set up info:
https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forum...ighlight=7%2F8

[Vincent]

As a kid I took a 12 week NRA Marksmanship and Safe Hunter class that was taught by a World War One Marine Gunnery Sargent (he still had mustard gas scars on his face and neck!) and long time camp Perry competitor. There are two pieces of his advice that have always stuck with me.

1. "All guns are always loaded!" I still, over 50 years later, hear him say this every time I pick up a firearm!

2. "Every rifle is a story onto itself." So very true. If you do all the things I profess with the Hornet and still have issues the next step is obvious...try something else!

[noelekal]

A Harrington & Richardson Model 158 in .22 Hornet wearing a Weaver K3 is on hand here. Think H&R Topper action shotgun, complete with wretched trigger. It's only good for 1 1/2-inch 5-shot groups at 100 yards. The rifle is unfussy when using bullets weighing from 40 grains to 50 grains over charges of 2400, H110, or IMR 4227. It may slightly prefer H110 with most bullets for both velocity performance and accuracy.

[Vincent]

Originally Posted by tbates66

I shoot a Savage Model 25 Varminter 22Hornet with Hornady 35gr V-Max, Remington Small Rifle 7.5 BR primers, 13gr of Li'l Gun and seated with a competition die (don't recall the brand). That's all I know....don't understand about crimping and annealing. What happens for me is that factory ammo shoots 1.5" groups and my loads shoot .5"-.75" groups at 100yds and have killed lots of prairie dogs. I generally find 22Hornet reloading to be tedious and a nuisance. But, given the good result, I'll keep doing it.

I can't say I really enjoy it either. Pain in the butt. Love shooting them though.

When I was about 7 years old my uncle Bill, then about 17, took me to a friend's house. While there his friend brought out a 22 Hornet rifle. I don't remember and probably never knew what make it was. What I do remember was handling those neat little cartridges! Now here was a round I could identify with being a small kid!

That day I swore I would have me a 22 Hornet. It was my first centerfire pistol round I ever owned. It was my daughter's first centerfire rifle in an NEF single shot. It was the first both of us hand loaded (years apart of course). That pretty little maple stocked CZ 527 American I have will likely be the last centerfire rifle I buy, shoot or own.