Fireforming 22 K hornet or better said “learning to Fireform” LOL.

[nakneker]

I just picked up a Ruger #1 22 K hornet here on the forum a couple weeks ago. Thought I’d fireform a few rounds today, didn’t really work out like I had hoped. I’m new to the hornet case, picked up a couple 2 hornets this past year and have really had fun with them. One is Cz 527, the other is a Browning Abolt, I’ve had zero issues with either or reloading the the cases. It’s been smooth sailing. I’m using AA1680 and 45 grain Speers. So I thought I’d try the K hornet.

I have PRVI/PPU brass and Winchester brass. From what I’ve read the PRVI is a bit tougher so I started with that. I used a load others I’ve used to fireform, first case was fine. Fired four more with out inspecting them closely and realized 3 of the 5 cases were split/cracked at the shoulder. Ok, I reduced the load a grain and had a worse result, then I seated the bullets out as far as I could and and jammed the bullet into the lands with my original load, shot two without issue, third one split.

My brass isn’t annealed so I ordered an insert for my AMP. I’ve read several threads here and I see all kinds of opinions, a lot of guys fireforming without issue, no annealing, load, shoot and it’s fireformed. Other guys suggesting different loads, powders, bullets, lightly oil the case, bullet needs to touch the lands etc. I kinda of feel like this chamber may have too much headspace but I want to anneal both the Winchester and the PRVI brass and try again before I go down that road. I am new to the k hornet and 22 hornet for that matter. Thought I’d post it here in case there are ideas or observations I’m missing.

 

[C.E.Smith043]

Friend of mine has this same exact rifle, and guess what... He also has the same exact problem.

He normally loses 4 out of 10 due to spilt necks.

He told me had he to do it different, he would have just went 218 Bee route and been better off.

That 22 hornet brass is just so thin.
The 218 bee is where it's at.

 

[SBS]

If you are not starting with new brass, it will help to anneal it and soften the shoulder/neck area.

 

[nakneker]

If you are not starting with new brass, it will help to anneal it and soften the shoulder/neck area.

That’s what I’m doing next. I have new brass but I’ll anneal next round before fireforming.

 

[Outrider27]

My K-Hornet went to the smith a few days after it arrived as a regular Hornet, without ever being shot, to get chambered to K-Hornet. Since I had no Hornet brass to load, I bought Hornet ammo and fireformed to K-hornet the first time it was fired - no split necks or any other problems.

Based on that, I expect SBS's comment is correct, so I expect that annealing the next bunch before fireforming will do the trick. Good luck.

 

[Mark M.]

With PPV brass, annealing is a must.

 

[nakneker]

With PPV brass, annealing is a must.

Pilot is inbound. Hopefully it helps.

 

[screaminweasil]

Lube the cases with gun oil and try it again. 1/2 way up the cases to the mouth. PPU are brittle but this will help.

Run some lube a drop or two in between your thumb and index finger and apply to each case prior to shooting.

 

[mmcu]

PPU brass is prone to splitting and annealing will likely help.

If you Winchester brass is the older Blue Bag, you should have much better luck with it.

 

[martini]

I've annealed quite a few hornet cases with a few grains of fast pistol powder and a bit of flock to keep the powder from spilling out. Otherwise, I second the opinions here - use new brass or anneal. BTW, the older Remington brass is thinner than the Winchester and requires special care in FF and loading.

 

[chuckshooter]

I also have both ppu and Winchester brass. annealing will help, but you will still loose some cases, that's the nature of the hornet brass. I gave up on my 22k and turned it into a .20 ackley hornet. I'm happier and the gun is happier.

 

[Soup]

I've always used new .22 Hornet rounds and never had an issue. I'm firing them in a BullBerry custom Contender barrel.
Soup

 

[nakneker]

PPU brass is prone to splitting and annealing will likely help.

If you Winchester brass is the older Blue Bag, you should have much better luck with it.

PPU brass is prone to splitting and annealing will likely help.

If you Winchester brass is the older Blue Bag, you should have much better luck with it.

I do have some, one bag, I’ll try it when I get the AMP pilot along with the PPU.

I also have both ppu and Winchester brass. annealing will help, but you will still loose some cases, that's the nature of the hornet brass. I gave up on my 22k and turned it into a .20 ackley hornet. I'm happier and the gun is happier.

The 20 caliber helped with spilt shoulders I take it?

 

[nakneker]

I've always used new .22 Hornet rounds and never had an issue. I'm firing them in a BullBerry custom Contender barrel.
Soup

I’ll give this another try when I can anneal the cases, if I’m still having issues I may just have it rebarrelled. Let Zack do his thing.

 

[chuckshooter]

I do have some, one bag, I’ll try it when I get the AMP pilot along with the PPU.

The 20 caliber helped with spilt shoulders I take it?

no, by the time I switched to .20 cal. I had already form all the brass to 22k. then is was an easy neck down to .20 cal. I figured I lost a minimum 1 in 10 cases forming 22k hornet, maybe more. plus sometimes in seating the bullet, it would cave in the brass. I needed to make sure and deburr after stainless steel pin cleaning. it always peens the necks and leaves a little burr. and of course the necks and shoulders are so thin, that didn't help either. another lesson from the school of hard knocks. with the cost of components, I also formed a lot with cream of wheat. I think if was 7gr of bullseye, COW and crisco to hold it in.

 

[1raggedhole]

I had the same learning experience with my 1885 k-hornet, meaning Splitting cases on fireforming. Long story short, lubing cases definitely helps, annealling didn’t. Ironically the ppu cases had the highest fallout. The best end result was a stout load with pistol primers and 40 vmax. Once fine tuned, I lost about 5% fireforming on prairie dogs. I then annealed everything and found a screaming fast load with magnum sr primers and 40vmax. Very happy now, but it was very frustrating to start.

 

[martini]

Although I own and shoot two 22 K Hornets I would never recommend the K Hornet or regular hornet if rebarreling. The 218B brass is far superior whether you shoot a 218 Bee or in my case a 218 Mashburn bee.

 

[chuckshooter]

Although I own and shoot two 22 K Hornets I would never recommend the K Hornet or regular hornet if rebarreling. The 218B brass is far superior whether you shoot a 218 Bee or in my case a 218 Mashburn bee.

I agree, I currently have three 20 killer bee's on martini actions , only one 20 Ackley hornet. I do however think the 17 hornet has a lot of merit, but no 17's for me, my borescope won't go inside.

 

[SmokinJoe]

I got tired of fighting the Hornet brass problems and have put together 3 22 Spitfires instead, though I still have a couple of K-Hornets. The Spitfire is based on 30 M1 Carbine brass and is the easiest little wildcat I have dealt with. The Carbine brass rim size is almost the same as Hornet so an easy replacement. Got a JGS reamer and then Redding dies to match from Graf's. Shoulder angle on this version is 28* so there won't be much growth. I am easily getting 3350fps with 40gr bullets, good accuracy and the chrono numbers are much better than any of my Hornets. There is also a Garin version that has 40* shoulder, and Calhoon makes a 19cal version. Check it out.

 

[chuckshooter]

I got tired of fighting the Hornet brass problems and have put together 3 22 Spitfires instead, though I still have a couple of K-Hornets. The Spitfire is based on 30 M1 Carbine brass and is the easiest little wildcat I have dealt with. The Carbine brass rim size is almost the same as Hornet so an easy replacement. Got a JGS reamer and then Redding dies to match from Graf's. Shoulder angle on this version is 28* so there won't be much growth. I am easily getting 3350fps with 40gr bullets, good accuracy and the chrono numbers are much better than any of my Hornets. There is also a Garin version that has 40* shoulder, and Calhoon makes a 19cal version. Check it out.

sounds cool, if only it had a rim for my martini's