Loading 22 Hornets

[Crow Juice]

There has been some steady interest in Hornets the past few weeks so I thought I would comment on some things I have learned about maxing out the accuracy.

Powders: I have used AA1680 and Lil-Gun. Both give very good accuracy . Aa1680 only gives about 2600fps out of my Contender Carbine's 21" barrel but the coyotes don't seem to mind that my Nosler 40 gr Ballistic Tips aren't going as fast as they could . They just fall over and quiver. I don't have any data on Lil-gun but at the range it seems to be a little flatter at 200 yards so it must be faster.

Bullets: I have tried all the bullets marked Hornet and they are fine. However the two I use the most are the Nose 40gr Ballistic Tip and the Midway Dogtown 50 gr soft point. I use the 50DT in my Savage Model 40 on yotes with great terminal results. I carry it when it is windy.

Dies: I use a Lee collet neck sizer and when the body needs work I use a Redding body die . I never touch the sholder. I think this is the key to accuracy in the Hornet. I also put a light crimp on all my loads with a Lee Factory Crimp die. I have a Redding T-7 set up just for Hornets. I charge 12.9 grs of Lil-Gun with a Lee disc measure and a Lee charging die . The disc measure is very accurate and speeds things up.

Just my thoughts!

 

[snert]

I am a K-hornet person.
I have read MUCH load data from all circles, here and in the books and from Saubier. I will offer this in regard to LilGun.

My experience has been that LG makes the K-hornet perform way over what can/should be expected. I have noted that primer pockets open up quicker. Brass lasts less long. I also KNOW that there is no such thing as a free lunch. To get velocity, you have to have pressure.

An experiment by a very capable engineer (GE turbine) tracking several hornet powders indicated the typical steady then sudden (but expected) rise in pressure with increase in charge. The data I saw plotted on a curve for all powders. I would shar eit, but it is his, not mine and I am uncertain he would approve. I am just saying what I witnessed.

Not so for LG. The plot of pressure was all over the place...looked like a shotgun pattern, not a graph. I quite using LG because the evidence I was seeing indicated it is too touchy in this application for may safety tastes. The primer pockets and "extraordinary" velocity were too good to be free/true. I just don't like playing with my eyes..too much chance of eating a pile of primer/brass and gas.

I moved to 1680 and have been happy.

snert

 

[sbranden]

Very interesting. I've had great results with LilGun in a couple of 22hornets now. My biggest challenge with the powder is that it's hard to get a consistent load with a balance beam versus digital type of scale because the powder is like pixie dust.

I just tried IMR-4227 for the first time the other day, with Sierra 45 SP hornet bullets. At 10.0 I shot 4 into .8 @ 100 yards in pretty good wind. But this will be SLOW... by design - I'm trying to find a better fox load for next season. The 40 V-MAX's with LilGun at a top charge of 13.2 and doing 2,875 out of my CZ 527, just shredded the hides too bad.

I have some Win296 I may also take for a test drive. May not get to it this year, but eventually.

 

[snert]

2400 is an old standby as well.

Depending on how slow you want to go you could go the reduced load/Unique route. I have used it in 222 (4 grains) to run slower hornet speeds. Speer usually has info. I ran 40 grain hornet bullets for squirrel and it is one of the most accurate 75 yard loads I have ever shot.

snert

 

[sbranden]

I'm looking for something in the 2400-2600 fps range, with whatever weight bullet. I was going to try a reduced load in my 22-250 at one point but was never able to find the right powders and after reading about secondary explosions, well... I've kind of hung that idea up for the time being. I shot the 40 V-MAX's in my 222 at 3300fps with better results on fox than what I saw with the 22hornet sending them 2875 this past season. It's a great load otherwise, for everything else. But I need to do something else for fur. I really don't intend to take my hornet down to 22mag speeds, otherwise I would just use my HMR firing 20gr Gamepoints or XTP's at the foxies. (And I may very try that this year too! Already moved a bigger, brighter scope over onto my CZ 453 Varmint.) Thanks though.

 

[Mr.270win]

This is from a 21" contender 22 hornet.

 

[Linko]

What makes a hornet bullet different that manufactuers actually label bullets Hornet.?

 

[snert]

Designed for hornet speeds to expand, and generally mimic the early bullets.

 

[Linko]

Designed for hornet speeds to expand, and generally mimic the early bullets.

So if expansion isn't important (target shooting) then any .224 bullet of the right gr and length is fine in a hornet? Its just the internal bullet design so the Hornet velocity matches the bullet design to give proper expansion that is it?

 

['Freak]

Yup, that’s it, except for way back when the earliest Hornet used .223” projectiles before it got upped to .224”.

 

[Witchhunter]

I am using 9.0 grains of H110 in my 10" contender with good results. I would like to find some 1680 as I hear it works well too. I am shooting a 40Vmax.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

What makes a hornet bullet different that manufactuers actually label bullets Hornet.?

The biggest difference I see is the blunt nose on Hornet designated bullets..

I found that Lil Gun and a 40 grain Vmax is the hot setup in my rig.. H110 and W296 are almost as good.. All with small pistol primers

As for the Hornet designated bullets I have yet to find one I like.