• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Inexpensive 22 bullet

SteveOak

Gold $$ Contributor
I have recently taken up IHMSA pistol silhouette shooting. I bought an Anschutz Exemplar to shoot the smallbore version. Now I would like to shoot the Field Pistol version too.

The 22 Hornet is the overwhelming favorite due to the low recoil. It is less than optimal for the Rams, sometimes it will leave them standing even with a 55 gr bullet. I ordered some 62gr bullets to try for Rams. Now I am looking for a lighter than 55gr bullet for the first three animals, something 40 to 45 grs.

Inexpensive, < $.15/piece preferred, closer to $.10 would be even better. Oh, accuracy potential too. LOL Doesn't need to be BR potential, MOA or better would suffice. Bulk ok.

Hornet brass is very thin and weak. Flat based bullets are problematic, causing crushed cases. Boattail bullets preferred.
 
Might keep an eye out for some dog town bullets or some bulk vmaxs…
Also precisionreloading.com has some Speer leadtips in stock right now for 13$/100
 
Last edited:
No input on cheap lead, but I feel your pain on seating flat based bullets. For my 22 cals I recently switched over to a Frankford arsenal universal seating die and I'll never look back. I measured runout and it's as good as my standard dies, and as long as you make sure the collar is dropped around the neck of the case you'll have no issue seating a bullet. That said, I've never used it on a case as short as a 22 hornet. Maybe if it works for you, Sierra often discounts 22 flat base rounds for 11-13 cents. Shoot me a message if you have any questions about the die, I like spreading the good word since it really resolved my frustrations in seating 40 grain flat base bullets in my swift.
 
And that is why I gave up and went to a 30-20. IMHO it is one of the most universal cartridges for IHMSA. Different loads and I use the same gun for BB and FP.
 
And that is why I gave up and went to a 30-20. IMHO it is one of the most universal cartridges for IHMSA. Different loads and I use the same gun for BB and FP.
Taco hold?

30-20 brass is impossible though.

Much harder to find than Hornet, which is damn near impossible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JSH
Taco hold?

30-20 brass is impossible though.

Much harder to find than Hornet, which is damn near impossible.
Yup, Taco.
I run all cast bullets. Use a 130 for both FP, a small dose of of bullseye gets the job done. Recoil is about like a Hornet to be honest.
BB, I use a 165 fueled by AA#9 or WC820.
The BF’s chamber is superb compared to the TC. Went though 4 TC barrels before I found one that made me happy. It shot well enough I sold my MOA. The MOA shot jacketed well but cast was a different story.
I have an early BF with a KL high rise and aContender for my iron sight work. Some of my brass is WW and the majority is Starline. 250-300 for FP and 3-400 for BB. When I swapped around the Hornet brass was in worse shape than ever. Got on the list for Starline and bought 1K, a couple of months later I ordered another batch to have on hand. That has since been sold off to numerous folks looking for brass for rifles.
Some of my FP brass is on #14 loading, I did not note how many times it was loaded for BB before using it for FP, at least 3 years worth of shooting.
 
I never loaded a BT in a Hornet, a decent inside chamfer , a Lyman M die or just open them a little with a spitzer bullet of a larger caliber. I load that Speer 45gr SP in my 222 Rem plus the Speer 52gr Hp Varmint bullet in all my other .224s for hunting( $10/100) you can even find them for less in 1 K lots.
 
@SteveOak
The Lee collet die is what you may try to seat flat base bullets with. It leaves the very upper part of the case neck unsized which may be very good in you situation. JMO
 
Why deal with the paper thin cases that won't last when you can shoot a moder cartridge with a similar case capacity. The 22TCM.
 
IHMSA Pistol Silhouette rules. 22 TCM is not a permitted cartridge.

I have submitted a request to the committee to add the 22 TCM to the list. They will meet in June but I am not hopeful.
 
Been shooting 22 Hornet since 1987. Shot tons of flat base bullets with no problem. Your expander ball could be undersized and/or not enough chamfer on case mouth. Putting the seater die farther into the press and back the seater stem out might help as well.
 
Not sure of your seating die - but a die that supports the bullet and case to ensure concentricity should seat a flat base easily - maybe a Redding match seater or similar.
 
Check out Speer's, Nosler 2nd (Shooters Pro Shop) and either of the Varmint Nightmares( Midsouth Shooters) or Dogtown (MidwayUSA). about the best price's you will find and they will surprise you on how accurate they can be. Try a few of each and see what your rifle likes best, then go for more.
 
I have recently taken up IHMSA pistol silhouette shooting. I bought an Anschutz Exemplar to shoot the smallbore version. Now I would like to shoot the Field Pistol version too.

The 22 Hornet is the overwhelming favorite due to the low recoil. It is less than optimal for the Rams, sometimes it will leave them standing even with a 55 gr bullet. I ordered some 62gr bullets to try for Rams. Now I am looking for a lighter than 55gr bullet for the first three animals, something 40 to 45 grs.

Inexpensive, < $.15/piece preferred, closer to $.10 would be even better. Oh, accuracy potential too. LOL Doesn't need to be BR potential, MOA or better would suffice. Bulk ok.

Hornet brass is very thin and weak. Flat based bullets are problematic, causing crushed cases. Boattail bullets preferred.
I load for the bee..same thing .I use a 30 cal fmj bullet to tap lightly expand case mouth to allow for fb bullet ie sierra 45gr..and then the die closes on seating....lightly ...just edge of case mouth.
 
Nosler 52 Custom competition bullets on sale at Powder Valley for around $16.00/100. Hard to beat that in a half-way decent target bullet!
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
165,986
Messages
2,207,178
Members
79,237
Latest member
claydunbar
Back
Top