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Browning 1885 22 hornet

Dennis22

+I have wanted a small caliber low wall ever since winchester came out with the 17HMR and I could have got it for $700.00 just did not something I could not reload. I have a Sako 22-250 heavy barrel single shot so I was looking for something a lot lighter, then I saw the Browning 1885 in the 22 hornet and could not resist.

I just bought a new Christmas present for me- a browning 1885 in 22 hornet 1-16 twist
. I have not received it yet should ship early next week. I live in California so wait another couple weeks.

I decided on the Browning, made in 1995 over one of the new Winchesters because of the wood.

Looking to get set up for reloading, with components, as hard to find as they are I'm trying to get what I can.
My first priority is to make it go bang, then accuracy

I have ordered
PP brass It is all I could find
Lee collet dies
Reddding micrometer seating die
4227 powder ( I'll get Lilgun if is ever available)
Hornaday 40g V max
Small pistol and small rifle primers

It looks like I can get
Barns 40g Varmin a tor Barns 36g varmet grenade
Speer 46g varmet soft point flat nose Are these to long for the 1-16 twist
If I can only get one what would be your first choice

Any help or suggestions on bullets and powder or recommended loads in the Browning is appreciated.
I'll mostly be shooting paper and small steel, Bug hole groups are fun, I won't be shooting anything that i'm worried about pelt or meat damage.

Dennis

​

 
Dennis22 said:
+I have wanted a small caliber low wall ever since winchester came out with the 17HMR and I could have got it for $700.00 just did not something I could not reload. I have a Sako 22-250 heavy barrel single shot so I was looking for something a lot lighter, then I saw the Browning 1885 in the 22 hornet and could not resist.

I just bought a new Christmas present for me- a browning 1885 in 22 hornet 1-16 twist
. I have not received it yet should ship early next week. I live in California so wait another couple weeks.

I decided on the Browning, made in 1995 over one of the new Winchesters because of the wood.

Looking to get set up for reloading, with components, as hard to find as they are I'm trying to get what I can.
My first priority is to make it go bang, then accuracy

I have ordered
PP brass It is all I could find
Lee collet dies
Reddding micrometer seating die
4227 powder ( I'll get Lilgun if is ever available)
Hornaday 40g V max
Small pistol and small rifle primers

It looks like I can get
Barns 40g Varmin a tor Barns 36g varmet grenade
Speer 46g varmet soft point flat nose Are these to long for the 1-16 twist
If I can only get one what would be your first choice

Any help or suggestions on bullets and powder or recommended loads in the Browning is appreciated.
I'll mostly be shooting paper and small steel, Bug hole groups are fun, I won't be shooting anything that i'm worried about pelt or meat damage.

Dennis

​

Click to expand...
12.5 gr Little Gun and James Calhoon's 42 gr double hollow point bullets, extreme accuracy
 
My B1885 K-Hornet thrives on A1680 and about any 40gr or lighter bullet. The Barnes 30gr HP gives excellent accuracy and great visual performance on ground squirrels too. Another most excellent Hornet bullet is the discontinued Nosler 45gr Solid Base. Good thing I laid in a few thou of them long ago, still using them in the Browning.

If you want to get a bit more velocity, longer case life with good accuracy, do yourself and the rifle a favor and have it chambered to "K-Hornet". I've never looked back, and am still using the original 600 fireformed cases without any case loss at all.

And as far as accuracy is concerned.....

 
None of the bullets you have listed will have any trouble stabilizing. My Hornets all shoot well with the Nosler 40gr Ballistic tips. I agree with Rick that the K modification is well worth the trouble and expense as far as accuracy and case life.

I had great hopes for Lil'Gun but it proved to be too finicky for me. H110 was better but by far the best powder I've found is Accurate TCM; it was specifically designed for the TCM cartridge and that cartridge is so close to the same specs as the Hornet that it is extremely easy to find good loads. Light charges for plinking and fire forming can be made sub-MOA, full power loads are easy on brass and very accurate with multiple bullet brands and weights.
 
L'il Gun can be a hairy powder to deal with. I have a Stevens 044-1/2 tha I built a 218Bee on, data said 11.5-14.5 for L'il Gun on 40gr, 3100fps max or therabouts. I hit 3100 at 12.6, 3400 at 13.6. Wound up using 1680 untill I can work on that load some more, backed off the load on the L'il gun to 13.3 to try out, and that is at 3250/3275 range. L'il Gun has had 2-3 recalls over the years too. The 1680 gives me book values in that gun.
 
I can get some PP ammo 45 grain brass case actually cheaper than empty brass

Is there any reason that I can't reload it
Dennis
 
By "PP" do you mean PPU? The PPU has been reported to be pretty good brass by some shooters on saubier.com . IIRC, the people using PPU brass said it was thicker/heavier than Rem or WW so drop the loads to a minimum and work up. If you are going to shoot the Hornet or other small stuff you should join that site. If you have trouble joining, there is help available just give a shout out.
I shoot several small cases including the Hornet, K-Hornet, 22 Spitfire and my own 22SJ and I get really good results with Alliant 300MP. Haven't found any of the weird problems that Lil'Gun sometimes presents though I did start with LG years ago. If you can find some 300MP give it a try. I will agree with some of the others above that AA1680 is a great no-brainer powder for these cases, just not quite the performance of some of the others. Would also recommend trying AA TCM if you can find any. Good luck with your Hornet, be safe and have fun.
 
Dennis22 said:
I can get some PP ammo 45 grain brass case actually cheaper than empty brass

Is there any reason that I can't reload it
Dennis
Click to expand...

Ppu brass is very durable but the brass doesn't clean up bright and shinny but rather dull and reddish brown. That in no way detracts from the quality and durability.
 
There is another thread named "Help saubier" where a new member was having trouble; refer to that.
 
Picked it up today, Yeepee

I like the wood, Maybe not as nice as some but it will certainly do

Made up some loads

40g v max coal 1.9

42g Calhoon Db HP coal 1.8
same length to the ogive

4227 Case was full at 11.3g
H110 10.6g,10.8g, and 11g

Shooting and sighting in tomorrow
20220129_161034 (2).jpg20220129_161042 (2).jpg20220129_161015 (2).jpg
 
shooting yesterday ended up being a bit of a bi polar day

this gun did not like the H110 with either the 40g v max or the 42g Calhoon
6+ inch groups some not even hitting the paper. the bullets were not stabilizing and you could see the key holes in the paper. 4 loads with each bullet

On the other hand the 4227 did much better, I only loaded 1 load for each bullet 11.3g one 5 shot group at 3/4 inch and the other under 1 1/2 inch

There was a very noticeable difference in the report and recoil. The 4227 was very quiet and nearly no recoil. The H110 was louder, sharper and you could feel the difference.

From the Lyman manual mv for the 4227 would be about 2600fps and the H110 2700-2800fps

I had thought that the higher velocity with the longer bullets would be more stable?

Dennis
 
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