What charge of Lil Gun were you using?~Muir
.22 Hornet Reloading
- Thread starter aljaz11
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Neddle
Well-Known Member
9.3gr max, ended up buying Gen6 scales to work with it
What weight bullet? I know that unlike the 22 Hornet, pressures in the 17H are high in a very narrow corridor of charge weights.~Muir
Neddle
Well-Known Member
You seem to be the only person with that opinion.
I've used for 22 hornet for several years and like it.
The vast majority of searches for 22 hornet loads brings up LilGun as the number one powder to use.
if it's as bad as you say, that simply would not be the case.
Cheers
Bruce
I've used for 22 hornet for several years and like it.
The vast majority of searches for 22 hornet loads brings up LilGun as the number one powder to use.
if it's as bad as you say, that simply would not be the case.
Cheers
Bruce
The fact is that crap happens near max -and where the spread between minimum and maximum is .3 grains, that goes double. Also Lil Gun pressures for the minimum load in the 17 Hornet are higher than the maximum charges for a 22 Hornet/ 45 grain bullet using the same powder.
Powders act differently in different cartridges. As MarinePMI implied, your evaluation of Lil Gun in the 17 Hornet really doesn't have any bearing on its use in the 22 Hornet. It may not be "all that" in the 17 Hornet (or yours) but that doesn't diminish it's usefulness in cartridges like the 22 Hornet, 218 Bee, 5mm Craig, 300AAC, 44 magnum, 357 Magnum and of course, the .410ga shotgun it was designed for. It is an exceptionally useful powder but I will take your experiences in consideration if I consider using it in the 17H. ~Muir
Powders act differently in different cartridges. As MarinePMI implied, your evaluation of Lil Gun in the 17 Hornet really doesn't have any bearing on its use in the 22 Hornet. It may not be "all that" in the 17 Hornet (or yours) but that doesn't diminish it's usefulness in cartridges like the 22 Hornet, 218 Bee, 5mm Craig, 300AAC, 44 magnum, 357 Magnum and of course, the .410ga shotgun it was designed for. It is an exceptionally useful powder but I will take your experiences in consideration if I consider using it in the 17H. ~Muir
Muir,
I admire your diplomacy
Cheers
Bruce
I admire your diplomacy
Cheers
Bruce
Hairysausagefingers
Well-Known Member
My .22 Hornet is apparently one of those maddening rifles that's almost there, but not quite. It drives me absolutely mad!
It's an old BSA Hunter from the late 1950's with 1 in 16 twist and it's .224, not .223. I gave it a good clean. From what I can see the bore looks good and the crown is okay. It came with a load of reloading kit and brass and I've added to that in the form of collet dies and an expander.
It came with a load of 35gr Vmax and some sierra 40 and 45 soft point bullets.
I bought a tub of H110 and started reloading but I've never got any better than just under an inch at 100yds with the 35gr vmax. One and a half to one and three quarter inches seems to be the norm with a 5 shot group, but two or three of those might be touching! It definitely groups best on 10.5gr of powder which is at the lowest end of the range.
My notes are all over the place and it's been a proper journey. The old Parker Hale mounts worked loose without me noticing. A set of Sportsmatch fixed that! I now have a 30mm set of Sportmatch in the post for next week's latest scope swap. I've sometmes had to shoot at 50yds, which I now realise doesn't necessarily mean just doubling the spread for 100yds. It's also been breezy some of the times I've shot. I've tried different seating depths....I can go for miles without them not feeding in the mag, to the point that I then realised there wasn't much case holding them in. I've decided to ignore the lands and load pretty short. Short seems to help - long doesn't.
I tried some 50gr Speer TNT that came with it - keyholed at 100, but looked deceptively good at 50! Lesson learnt - always shoot at 100yds for a good comparison.
I bought a box of 40gr Vmax. It "seems" to like 40gr Vmax a bit better that the 35gr and they'll buck the wind better too.
When the 4-16x56 scope is on I should be able to see at 100yds for a start! I then have test batches of 40gr vmax to try at 10.7/11/11.2 & 11.4 seated at 1.845. These are all collet sized, trimmed, expanded and lightly crimped. Small pistol primers. Hopefully I'll get some sanity back and a decent group. I will let you know.
I confess I haven't done much with the soft points yet - mainly due to the box tipping over in the car and me not knowing which were what after I'd picked them up. Yes, I use sharpies now!
This being my first centrefire on the way up from rimfires I can honestly say that messing about with the Hornet has been great fun and very educational. It's been equally frustrating! It gave me the confidence to load for the .233 (which I got at the same time) and I was onto a ragged hole load for that in no time whatsover. Very dull by comparison.
It might be that the combination of basic trigger, possibly worn action and whatever is going on in the barrel means it won't shoot better than and inch and a half, but if that's the case I'll just get a CZ. I'm certainly keeping the calibre and I have all the bits now.
Most of the rabbits I've shot with it have been about 80yds, with a few over 100yds and it's a lot more fun that the .17HMR I was using before. I had to head-shoot with that too, but I'd love to get the accuarcy nailed for the150yds shots that I'm passing up at the minute.
If my next batch (which I intend to shoot on a still day, with a decent scope, tight mounts and off bags at 100yds) gets me nowhere closer, do you think a change of powder to Lil Gun might be worth a try before looking for a CZ?
Cheers
Chris
It's an old BSA Hunter from the late 1950's with 1 in 16 twist and it's .224, not .223. I gave it a good clean. From what I can see the bore looks good and the crown is okay. It came with a load of reloading kit and brass and I've added to that in the form of collet dies and an expander.
It came with a load of 35gr Vmax and some sierra 40 and 45 soft point bullets.
I bought a tub of H110 and started reloading but I've never got any better than just under an inch at 100yds with the 35gr vmax. One and a half to one and three quarter inches seems to be the norm with a 5 shot group, but two or three of those might be touching! It definitely groups best on 10.5gr of powder which is at the lowest end of the range.
My notes are all over the place and it's been a proper journey. The old Parker Hale mounts worked loose without me noticing. A set of Sportsmatch fixed that! I now have a 30mm set of Sportmatch in the post for next week's latest scope swap. I've sometmes had to shoot at 50yds, which I now realise doesn't necessarily mean just doubling the spread for 100yds. It's also been breezy some of the times I've shot. I've tried different seating depths....I can go for miles without them not feeding in the mag, to the point that I then realised there wasn't much case holding them in. I've decided to ignore the lands and load pretty short. Short seems to help - long doesn't.
I tried some 50gr Speer TNT that came with it - keyholed at 100, but looked deceptively good at 50! Lesson learnt - always shoot at 100yds for a good comparison.
I bought a box of 40gr Vmax. It "seems" to like 40gr Vmax a bit better that the 35gr and they'll buck the wind better too.
When the 4-16x56 scope is on I should be able to see at 100yds for a start! I then have test batches of 40gr vmax to try at 10.7/11/11.2 & 11.4 seated at 1.845. These are all collet sized, trimmed, expanded and lightly crimped. Small pistol primers. Hopefully I'll get some sanity back and a decent group. I will let you know.
I confess I haven't done much with the soft points yet - mainly due to the box tipping over in the car and me not knowing which were what after I'd picked them up. Yes, I use sharpies now!
This being my first centrefire on the way up from rimfires I can honestly say that messing about with the Hornet has been great fun and very educational. It's been equally frustrating! It gave me the confidence to load for the .233 (which I got at the same time) and I was onto a ragged hole load for that in no time whatsover. Very dull by comparison.
It might be that the combination of basic trigger, possibly worn action and whatever is going on in the barrel means it won't shoot better than and inch and a half, but if that's the case I'll just get a CZ. I'm certainly keeping the calibre and I have all the bits now.
Most of the rabbits I've shot with it have been about 80yds, with a few over 100yds and it's a lot more fun that the .17HMR I was using before. I had to head-shoot with that too, but I'd love to get the accuarcy nailed for the150yds shots that I'm passing up at the minute.
If my next batch (which I intend to shoot on a still day, with a decent scope, tight mounts and off bags at 100yds) gets me nowhere closer, do you think a change of powder to Lil Gun might be worth a try before looking for a CZ?
Cheers
Chris
Fox Red
Well-Known Member
Get it swapped for a CZ527 @Hairysausagefingers
Not far off the mark IMHO.
I knew someone with one of “those maddening (22 hornet) rifles that's almost there, but not quite” and I’m here to tell you it never was!
Sausage Finger Man does however mention something that has piqued my interest and that I intend to re-visit as you’re never too old to at least attend the lesson:
“I've decided to ignore (chasing) the lands and load pretty short. Short seems to help - long doesn't.”
Thanks
K
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
Hairysausagefingers
Well-Known Member
Now why would I want a big noisy thing like a .222 when I've got a hornet that uses half the powder, is great for medium range night-time stuff and I've got a .223 anyway? 10.5 - 11 grains of powder and a few dangly ears if you hit them in the head - what's not to love?
No, even if I dump the gun, I decided a good while ago I'd just get a CZ if it didn't shoot how I wanted it to.
I'll get the scope on it (daft 17mm dovetail mounts as rare as rocking-horse manure) and put the loads mentioned above through it in a careful manner. Three quarters of an inch will see me happy. Fingers crossed.
No, even if I dump the gun, I decided a good while ago I'd just get a CZ if it didn't shoot how I wanted it to.
I'll get the scope on it (daft 17mm dovetail mounts as rare as rocking-horse manure) and put the loads mentioned above through it in a careful manner. Three quarters of an inch will see me happy. Fingers crossed.
Dump it and buy a triple deuce!
Hairysausagefingers
Well-Known Member
I tried my test loads today and I pleased to announce that I hit a sweet spot at 11.2grains. Just under .7 inch with a 4 shot group at 100yds. Groups either side of that load were back to the usual inch and a half. Fussy thing! I'm happy with that level of accuracy and I'm delighted I've found a load it likes. The CZ will have to wait a while now...
Overlay
Well-Known Member
I shoot the Duce also the 17 and 22 hornet if i had to let one go it would probably be the 17 hornet, only reason being the Duce and 22 hornet are very efficient fox slayers at their respective 200 and 100 ranges, still working on the 17 hornet and its foxing rating, but a rabbiting rifle 240 yds (for me) is a long long way to be able to grass rabbits consistently the 17 does it in styleDump it and buy a triple deuce!
i tried a few different rounds and have settled on the best factory round for each - no need to reload they all shoot superbly
Recently thought that I'd like to hit the foxes I shoot at with my .22 K-Hornet with a little more "authority" out in the near to a little over 100yd mark....which covers about half of those I let loose at. With that in mind I did a little research to find a 50gr quality hunting (frangible or quickly expanding) projectile that will fully stabilise in my 23.5" 1:16 twist Anschutz, and I eventually came up with the (relatively short) Hornady 50gr SPSX bullet. So I loaded five of these with each of 12.5/13.0 & 13.5gr of the now virtually ubiquitous Hodgdon's Lil'Gun propellant powder. NOTE that these loads were in the STANDARD .22 Hornet Winchester brass cases, BEFORE being blown out to the slightly larger capacity cases of the .22K-H!!
In MY rifle the max.COAL is restricted by the length that can be cycled through the magazines - a bit of a pest but not a no-go when reloading as I have altered my mags a little for this - and I got a real shock when my rifle managed the (well compressed) 13.5gr load without flattened primers or any other overpressure signs, AND gave me a chronoed average of 2863 fps and a group of approx 1/2" at the same POA as my normal load of the excellent 40gr Sierra BlitzKing over 12.5gr Vectan SP3. That SP3 load I have been using for quite a few years now and HAS been my regular hunting (rabbit & fox destruction) load at an average 3014fps. But with this 50gr Hornady SPSX loading (above) I think that will change once I get out regularly again when this friggin' Covid thing is finally under control....?
Thought that perhaps a few of you other .22 Hornet/K-Hornet game shooters might be interested in this option, hence my post here guys..?
Keep SAFE,
Kind Regards,
Blobbs...
P.S. Despite my Chums Muir and Klenchblaize's personal loading recomendations - to use Small Pistol Primers and to crimp the bullets into the case necks - I am STILL loading with Federal 200 small RIFLE primers in these loads AND i apply absolutely no crimp whatsoever to my homeloads (in ANY calibre).... YET.. Under their direction and regarding their experiences in the reloading field will no doubt differ from my many years with equal validity I have purchased a Lee Factory Crimp die for my .22 Hornet/K-Hornet reloads for future trials - you never know till you've given it a try eh? But this Covid has destroyed my testing of rounds this passed year (I am one of those "Shielding" types), even though I already have three different lots of reloads that I have crimped to test against my non-crimped as a start. Time will tell.
In MY rifle the max.COAL is restricted by the length that can be cycled through the magazines - a bit of a pest but not a no-go when reloading as I have altered my mags a little for this - and I got a real shock when my rifle managed the (well compressed) 13.5gr load without flattened primers or any other overpressure signs, AND gave me a chronoed average of 2863 fps and a group of approx 1/2" at the same POA as my normal load of the excellent 40gr Sierra BlitzKing over 12.5gr Vectan SP3. That SP3 load I have been using for quite a few years now and HAS been my regular hunting (rabbit & fox destruction) load at an average 3014fps. But with this 50gr Hornady SPSX loading (above) I think that will change once I get out regularly again when this friggin' Covid thing is finally under control....?
Thought that perhaps a few of you other .22 Hornet/K-Hornet game shooters might be interested in this option, hence my post here guys..?
Keep SAFE,
Kind Regards,
Blobbs...
P.S. Despite my Chums Muir and Klenchblaize's personal loading recomendations - to use Small Pistol Primers and to crimp the bullets into the case necks - I am STILL loading with Federal 200 small RIFLE primers in these loads AND i apply absolutely no crimp whatsoever to my homeloads (in ANY calibre).... YET.. Under their direction and regarding their experiences in the reloading field will no doubt differ from my many years with equal validity I have purchased a Lee Factory Crimp die for my .22 Hornet/K-Hornet reloads for future trials - you never know till you've given it a try eh? But this Covid has destroyed my testing of rounds this passed year (I am one of those "Shielding" types), even though I already have three different lots of reloads that I have crimped to test against my non-crimped as a start. Time will tell.
Hi Chris,
I empathise and sympathise greatly mate!.. Getting a rifle to give an acceptable level of accuracy at a decent hunting velocity can be a test of one's patience for sure. In my .22Hornet /K-Hornet I found that Sierra 45gr soft point "Hornet" bullets and the tipped 40gr Sierra BlitzKings are really good, accurate projectiles (in my rifle) and can be readily pushed to 2900fps or more with a compressed load of Lil'Gun. If you like the idea of using a reasonably fast 50gr bullet, you will see from my missive (immediately above) that the stubby 50gr Hornady SPSX projectiles will more than likely stabilise in your rifle as they are now doing in mine.. The pointy ones are just a step too far with bullet length versus that slow spin rate many of the older rifles in our caliber have, and quite a few of the new ones too I believe!
Good luck with your "wee Mystery", they are indeed great fun - was my first c/f rifle too - and are really under-rated and economical to reload. ...
Kind Regards,
Blobbs...
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