.22 hornet mag length

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pj1

pj1

Well-Known Member
hi i have a weihrauch hw 60j and want to start homeloading. i have got hornday 35 gn v max ready made and they fit fine. i have bought the 35 grain v max to load and am wondering about the 40 gn v max and the 40 gn sierra soft points.

muir has kindly measured the max length of a 40gn v max and it wont fit in my magazine.

can anyone tell me the oal of the hornady 40 gn vax heads and the oal of the sierra 40 gn soft point heads please.

maximum oal to fit in the mag will be 1.8 inch.

thanks regards pete
 
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If you are talking about the 40 grain soft points, stock number 1200, they will most certainly fit as they are made specifically for the Hornet. The only other 40 grain Sierras I have are the HP and I know that they are not a magazine feed item. Remember that they standard length for the Hornet (SAAMI spec) is around 1.730 inches so once a bullet design is freed from that constraint -meaning not made specifically for the Hornet- it usually becomes much longer to give a more marketable BC and performance. There are few bullets made for, say, the .223 and .223 that will still stay inside the Hornet's length parameters. ~Muir
 
pj1 said:
hi i have a weihrauch hw 60j and want to start homeloading. i have got hornday 35 gn v max ready made and they fit fine. i have bought the 35 grain v max to load and am wondering about the 40 gn v max and the 40 gn sierra soft points.

muir has kindly measured the max length of a 40gn v max and it wont fit in my magazine.

can anyone tell me the oal of the hornady 40 gn vax heads and the oal of the sierra 40 gn soft point heads please.

maximum oal to fit in the mag will be 1.8 inch.

thanks regards pete
Click to expand...

You don't need to worry about the 40gr Sierra .223" (#1100) as it's an SMP - designed for the .22 Hornet. With a 1-calibre seating depth the OAL is 42.6mm which will fit easily inside your 45.7mm magazine length.

I've no idea of the length of the (.224") 40gn V-Max but with a boat-tail & long pointed nose it's maybe not the best candidate for the Hornet.

You could also get away with the Sierra .224 40gr HP (#1385) which is only 2mm longer @ 14.2mm.

I use the 63gr Sierra .224" (#1370) in .22-250 which again has the SMP profile. It's stubby at only 19mm long so fits the restricted Sako/Tikka magazine length perfectly. It also shoots fine in the bog-standard 1/14" twist.
 
thanks for the replies. i was thinking of the #1200 sierras .224. just would like to try some through the rifle and see what it likes the most but dont want to buy a box and find they dont fit

regards pete
 
I use Sierra 40 grain HP .224 (#1385) in my BSA .22 Hornet over 13 grains of H Li'll Gun and they fit in the magazine fine. They give 2,900 fps in my rifle.
 
Nosler have a new 35grain varmageddon bullet which looks like it will be hornet compatible but god knows if it will ever be available over here.
 
Hi I use 40gr vmax and blitz kings in my hornet and as a rule you wont get more than 1 round in the mag and one up the spout as they're too long. I can live with that as I like the bullets properties and I get pretty good groups with both. Also if I manage to get two rounds off on a night after Charles im doing well. ....!!
Cheers
Ben
 
thank guys. i hope to go out tomorrow evening and have a proper shoot with it. i will let you know how i get on. i have a feeling that i will get through my box of 25 pretty quick but never mind my press and cases arrived from henry krank today so i will be pestering muir for some of his hornet expertise come the weekend.

who out of you guys load your own for the hornet. and what do you find best

regards pete
 
I have just got all the bits together I need for reloading and plan on having a go in the next few days, brass is cleaned ready to go, tub of lil'gun, and a selection of heads to try. I too have a weirhauch so be interested to know what load/bullet you find shoots best in your rifle
Will
 
well the box of 25 didnt last very long. due to long grass i was restricted to shooting sitting off of sticks at 75 yards but managed a four shot of .6 of an inch to the outside edges. hornady factory 35gn v max. i to hope to start rolling my own this weekend to so will keep you posted
 
hi iv got a cz hornet and i use 35 grain v max and winchester 297 powder 12 grains .i can get sub inch.at a 100 yards
 
Dunno about other rifles mags but my CZ mag needed the plastic insert at the rear filing down and the follower drilling for a grub screw. The grub screw sits against the filed insert, lengthening the reach of the mag. You just need to ensure the filing and grub screw adjustment allow for the additional length of a 40gn vmax.
 
DaveK said:
Dunno about other rifles mags but my CZ mag needed the plastic insert at the rear filing down and the follower drilling for a grub screw. The grub screw sits against the filed insert, lengthening the reach of the mag. You just need to ensure the filing and grub screw adjustment allow for the additional length of a 40gn vmax.
Click to expand...

Dave, in the past, I've received some helpful suggestions about making the CZ mag suitable for the 40gr Vmax, but they seemed complicated (for my skills, anyway) and I was concerned about ruining the mag altogether.

On the advice from one of the members over on nightvisionforumuk, I took the plunge and altered my mag on Friday.

Removing the rear block from the mag, I removed around 3mm (⅛") from the rear of it and re-fitted it, having to drill new, tiny holes in the material to accept the retaining pins. Then the mag was reassembled and I used it yesterday with no feed problems from 35gr Vmax, 40gr Vmax and 45gr Sierra. The longest of those rounds is the 40gr Vmax at 1.810".

I see where you're coming from with the grub screw and that seems like a good idea, which I may or may not have to resort to. I assume that you could also add the same amount as you've removed (in my case, 3mm) to the rear downward leg of the follower, with plastic, and Araldite it in place.

I'd recently bought a BobSled single-loader, which works superbly, but it's nice to be able to mag-feed the 40's.

George
 
How are you getting on with loading for your hw60j??
I have been out today with mine trying my home loads and had some good results, it's like a different gun!!
I tried 35gr vmax, 40gr vmax and nosler 40gr, out of the 3 the noslers gave me the best group which was 1/2" at 100yds, and the load was 13gr lil-gun. Next bet was the 40gr vmax then the 35gr.
 
I havent managed to get out these last few days but hope to soon with a shooting bench and bags so will get true test results as far as possible minimsing shooter error. I will keep you posted. Also i am interested in your results regarding the 40 gn heads. I have only tried 35 gn so far, went to buy more and the shop has none as muir has warned. So will see how the rest of my 35s go then will move onto the 40s
 
I think the best group I achieved with the 35's was between 1"-1 1/2" I was expecting them to shoot better than that to be honest with them being a hornet designed head.
I will be loading some more 40's today and plan on trying a shorter c.o.a.l so the rounds fit in the mag, hopefully it won't effect there accuracy!
 
Will84 said:
I think the best group I achieved with the 35's was between 1"-1 1/2" I was expecting them to shoot better than that to be honest with them being a hornet designed head.
I will be loading some more 40's today and plan on trying a shorter c.o.a.l so the rounds fit in the mag, hopefully it won't effect there accuracy!
Click to expand...

What rifle and what load gave the 1-1.5" accuracy? If i may ask.~Muir
 
I have been reloading for many years and am a very recent convert to the 'Muir School of Reloading'. :idea:
Setting the bullets deep and using a Lee Factory Crimp die has had a dramatic effect in reducing the extreme spread of my .243 loads to 15 fps. :thumb:
Setting the bullet deep has no adverse effect whatsoever on accuracy, so I have abandoned any thoughts of 'lands chasing'.

If I tried to get anywhere near the lands of my 1954 BSA .22 Hornet, the bullet would drop out of the case and be too long for the magazine.
The Sierra 40 grain hollow point #1385 can definitely be loaded to factory standard overall length in the .22 Hornet. I have loaded them in RWS and Winchester cases with no problem.

I have done quite a lot of testing recently and am convinced that Muir's method works. Seat deep and crimp.
 
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