22 Hornet, Savage 40

[BIGGUNGOBOOM]

Hey fellas. Kinda new here, but not in the wildcat area. yesterday I was at Cabelas and they were having one heck of a sale. anyways walked out of their with a new In box Savage model 40, in 22 Hornet. I haven't had one in years. I got it for 330.00 out the door !!!!!!!!! any ways so I came home and dug the old dies out and began making some rounds. 50 grn Hornady SPSX with 5 differnt measurements of loads. 12.0, 12.2, 12.4, 12.6, 12.8 and 13.0 grns of lil gun. I was wondering what sort of accuracy you fellas are getting out of the 22 hornets, specially the Savage model 40.

also any other load data that might be working good for you with 30,40,45,50, 55 grn bullets

thanks for looking

 

[BIGGUNGOBOOM]

Just in case, I worked those loads up and with the 1/14 twist barrel the most accurate load was 12.0 grains of Lil'Gun. at 100 YRDs I Got 1/2 group. not to bad for a round that people say isn't accurate.

 

[BradY]

Try the little 35gr vmax in the hornet. Lil gun is supposed to turn them in the hornet into a pretty decent little varmint calibre

 

[people]

My Uncle has one of them and he is also getting about half inch groups. I do not know what he is shooting but I also use lilgun in my ruger M77/22Hornet. What I found made my groups go from what can only be called a pattern to a group was russian primers. Since I have moved to russian primers I did try some other powders and they did not work as well. I have also been shooting the 35gr V-Max blem bullets and they are devistating on PD. I am only getting about one inch from my gun but I only shoot it to 100yds so I am happy with that.

 

[chino1969]

If you can get a consistent group that averages anywhere from 1/2' to 1 1/4' with a Hornet or a .218 Bee, you've got a keeper. Bear in mind when this round was developed and what it's intended use was.

I have a .218 Bee that was shooting consistent 1' groups and then I got into custom rifles with match grade barrels. I tried using the same methods I use on the quality rifles on that Winchester Model 43. It was an exercise in futility and taught me an important lesson; remember what the cartridge was originally designed for. You'll probably hear some people claim they have a Hornet that will shoot 3/8' groups all day. For that one claim you'll hear a much larger group claiming their Hornets will only shoot 1 1/2' groups. Believe the latter claim.

Lou Baccino

 

[BIGGUNGOBOOM]

Went shooting this morning, and once again nothing but great groups. I am how ever starting to run out of Hornady bullets. and was wondering if any one has tried the Midsouth Varmint exterminator bullets. for bulk bullets they arnt priced to badly. I have use them in my 17 Fireball and have had great luck. this morning while out shooting I had 3 ground squirrels cross my path, and as my wife says 'I helped them cross the road' the more I shoot the 22 hornet the more I fall in love with it.. right now I am just useing an old Bushnell 22 mag scope 3x9x40 power but I think I need more glass. what do you fellas with the hornets think is the max power to use on a hornet ???? anyways I will be hitting the range on Sunday and will give more of a report.

 

[oregonshooter]

Hi, I am brand new here but I have two hornets that shoot from 1/4 to 3/8's inch groups. Those old Hornets didn't have the powders or the bullets we enjoy today. I shoot 35 grain V-max and Little Gun. I also use small pistol primers instead of small rifle primers. You can use the small rifle but for whatever reason group size usually goes up 1/2 inch or so. I have owned Ruger heavy barrel varmint guns that would only shoot 1 inch at best but the CZ and the Anschutz both shoot far less then 1/2 inch.
P.S I also own a model 43 Winchester and it shoots 1 1/2 inches. The bigger bore size perhaps? I don't know why modern hornets shoot so well but I know that have never shot as well as they do with LIL GUN and V-Max 35gr bullets. Jeff