No Hornady bushing avail. How to measure 22 Hornet Headspace without this tool?

[Linko]

I am starting to reload some of the 22 Hornet brass I have been saving. I bought a set of Forster dies (FL and seater) back when I bought my .223 dies. I just realized my Hornady headspace comparitor doesn't have a bushing for the 22 Hornet. What are you 22 hornet reloaders using to measure headspace?

 

[watercam]

From a safety standpoint it headspaces on the rim. For myself I neck sized (sizing die set 1/4 turn above the shell holder) for initial couple of firings. Then, when I could feel some resistance to closing the breech (it's a low wall action), I started turning the sizing die down incrementally until the breech would just close with almost no resistance. This is the procedure most loading manuals I have suggest (before the advent of all the measuring tools we have now). A bit of Sharpie ink on what shoulder there is on the Hornet case might help see when contact is made.
Consider a re-chamber to K-Hornet at some point in the future. Easily done, prolongs case life and allows a tad more powder space. Technically should be more accurate but for hunting purposes I never saw an appreciable difference.
Lil Gun powder works really well in this cartridge. Found it to be less temperamental than H110/W296. Also started using Rem. 61/2 primers (made for Hornet) and consistency improved.
Have fun!

 

[asauer]

Hornady sells blank bushings that you can ream out. I need to do this for my 17 Hornet.

 

[Linko]

Thanks for the advice. Quirky cartridge the Hornet. So getting headspace is no different. K-Hornet sounds like a good idea. I have looked into that. I saw there is a shop in Conn that does that work. I will try the marker and bolt feel for the time being.

 

[Bangs OH]

Might try the guys over on saubier.com for more ideas. A lot of a Hornet shooters on that small-caliber site.

 

[MrMajestic]

larrywillis.com

 

[bigedp51]

Cheap bastards headspace gauge

Measure your resized case and write it down.

Now take a fired spent primer and just using finger pressure to start the primer into the primer pocket.

Now chamber this test case and slowly close the bolt using the bolt face to seat the primer.

Remove the case and measure the case again and write it down.

Now subtract the first measurement from the second and this will be your head clearance/shoulder bump.

Also on any rimmed cartridge when you add your head clearance to your rim thickness you have your chambers actual headspace.

 

[Linko]

Cheap bastards headspace gauge

Measure your resized case and write it down.

Now take a fired spent primer and just using finger pressure to start the primer into the primer pocket.

Now chamber this test case and slowly close the bolt using the bolt face to seat the primer.

Remove the case and measure the case again and write it down.

Now subtract the first measurement from the second and this will be your head clearance/shoulder bump.

Also on any rimmed cartridge when you add your head clearance to your rim thickness you have your chambers actual headspace.

AS THE GUNNEY WOULD SAY "OUTSTANDING" !!!

Thanks

 

[L-46]

Thats very cool!

 

[pacificman]

bigedp51 is a real fart smeller.....er I mean smart feller ......LOL ;D ;D ;D

As usual ...good stuff bigedp51 .....You da man!!!!!!

 

[Gabe22BR]

Unless you've installed a new barrel, the case head spaces off the rim. Just like a 22LR.

Load and shoot.

 

[bigedp51]

Unless you've installed a new barrel, the case head spaces off the rim. Just like a 22LR.

Load and shoot.

Gabe22BR you are incorrect, it doesn't matter if the case has a rim, a belt or headspaces on the shoulder. The idea behind minimum shoulder bump is to reduce the head clearance of the cartridge and prevent the case from stretching.

Below is a animated image of what happens with a commercial "RIMED" .303 British fired in a military Enfield chamber. At maximum military headspace with a case with rims at minimum dimensions you can have .017 head clearance. And on a bolt action rifle you want .001 to .002 head clearance when setting your die up for minimum bump.

The OP Linko wants to set up his dies for minimum bump for his 22 Hornet just like any cartridge should be. If he sets up his die to make hard contact with the shell holder (press cam over) he will be over resizing his cases. And this would lead to case head separations and short case life.

Below the "RIMED" case after fire forming is headspacing off the shoulder and NOT the rim. And this would be like neck sizing only with slight resistance when closing the bolt, or .002 shoulder bump with a full length die.

On the Contender single shot pistols with rimmed cases you adjusted the die downward until the case would chamber with slight resistance. Meaning zero head clearance for longer case life.

 

[Gabe22BR]

Maybe you need to update the manual.....

As I got my info from the Sierra reloading manual 4th edition.

" The purpose of the rim (in any type firearm) is to provide for POSITIVE HEADSPACING. In many of the earliest cartridge designs, CASE SHOULDERS were very long and sloping, making them difficult to headspace on the shoulder. Some examples are 22 HORNET, the 303 British, and the 32-20 WCF."

Funny, I guess you need to read up on that. The brass will flow towards the mouth when a rimmed cartridge is head spaced off the rim. Trimming is all that's needed. Full length size die against the shell holder, And you don't ever, neck size this cartridge, and try to get it out of a Contender, as I have ripped a many rims off.

 

[bigedp51]

Gabe22BR

There is a difference between reading about a subject and actual experience.

And if Linko does it your way he will have shorter case life due to the case stretching in the base web area.

My .303 British Enfield rifle below is fitted with two bolt heads, one is for the thinner rims on American commercial cases and the other for military cases with thicker rims. Therefore Gabe22BR the fact remains Linko doesn't need what you read and think you know. Linko was given advice by someone with hands on "experience" with rimmed cases that knows what he is talking about.

And if you follow your dies instructions you will be pushing the shoulder back far shorter than the chamber. So much for what the average manual tells you when knowledgeable reloaders use minimum shoulder bump of .001 to .002.

And the real reason the older rifle cartridges used a rim for headspacing was manufacturing at that time was primitive by todays standards.

Below is a factory loaded once fired Winchester .303 British that stretched .009 on the first firing. And if Linko follows your advice his cases will not last long when reloaded and have case head separations when full length resized if the press is adjusted for cam over.

So go ahead Gabe22BR keep telling people what you read in a book, while the rest of us use actual experience.

 

[Gabe22BR]

And if you follow your dies instructions you will be pushing the shoulder back far shorter than the chamber.Knowledgeable reloaders use minimum shoulder bump of .001 to .002.

I use this method and follow the die instructions. This case is finicky and will crush easily, I know from experience. I use this cartridge almost every day. I reload for it every weekend. I have been doing it for 40yrs. This isn't a 303 British . AS linko found-NO Hornady bushing is made for it, reason being it uses the rim for head space, just like the 22LR, 44-40, 32-30, 45-70, etc. other wide it wouldn't have a rim, right??

You must be a teacher, or engineer. Those who can't do teach. or
Know all about everything, and never seen, or handled one in real life.

 

[bigedp51]

And if you follow your dies instructions you will be pushing the shoulder back far shorter than the chamber.Knowledgeable reloaders use minimum shoulder bump of .001 to .002.

I use this method and follow the die instructions. This case is finicky and will crush easily, I know from experience. I use this cartridge almost every day. I reload for it every weekend. I have been doing it for 40yrs. This isn't a 303 British . AS linko found-NO Hornady bushing is made for it, reason being it uses the rim for head space, just like the 22LR, 44-40, 32-30, 45-70, etc. other wide it wouldn't have a rim, right??

You must be a teacher, or engineer.

Actually I'm just someone with experience reloading and knows what he is doing.

And If I were you I would quit posting on a subject you know nothing about.

And we live in a plus and minus manufacturing world and no two dies or chambers are the same. And we have the ability to use our heads and adjust the die up and down for minimum SHOULDER bump.

And your problem Gabe22BR is you didn't understand anything I have said so far. The rim thickness and the rifles chamber controls "HEADSPACE" and to minimize the head clearance you let the rimmed case headspace off its shoulder.

And your head clearance is the distance the case will stretch to meet the bolt face when fired.

 

[Gabe22BR]

I see you came around to seeing that it does have a rim, and the only thing head spaced off the shoulder is a rimless cartridge. I might have to send you one of these little cartridges, if you've never seen one DA. You need to lay of the alcohol and back away from the desk when you "think you know". Ever get that speedometer hooked up to that 303...

 

[CatShooter]

I see you came around to seeing that it does have a rim, and the only thing head spaced off the shoulder is a rimless cartridge.

That is a load of pure, unadulterated, undiluted, ingnorant garbage from someone that thinks that reading forums and handloading catalogues counts for real experence.

When reloaded, the rimmed cartridges like the 30-30 (which headspace on the rim), and the belted cartridges, like the 300 WM or the 264 WM (which headspace on the belt)...

... ALL get set up to headspace on the shoulder. IF you don't, you will lose cases faster than the government looses tax payers money...

... all EXCEPT the diminutive 22 Hornet, which has no real shoulder - it just has a little place where body taper gets a tiny bit more tapered.

God, what has happened to this site??? The children and beginners are running it.

 

[dedogs]

Hey Welcome Back Catshooter! Some of us missed you-- a lot! Glad you are back. dedogs

 

[hogpatrol]