So after looking at the hornet in the cabinet for the last 8 months I have decided that it is too good a gun not to use ( Weirauch hw66 and Z4i scope ) . I have owned the gun for a few years now but unfortunately I have never been able to get the accuracy out of it and since getting my 22-250 which I reload ( cloverleaf at 150 yards ) It has been left. I have privi brass and around 500 35grain v-max heads, I have played around with all aspects of the reloading, I currently load 15 thou from the lands with 13.3 grains of Lil Gun, the biggest step forward was changing to pistol primers, but I seem to be having problems with fired cases getting stuck in the chamber, not sure if this is because they are running too hot?? I think tonight I will load up a selection of rounds starting at 12, 12.2, 12.4, 12.6, 12.8 & 13 grains too see what these shoot like with the pistol primers, any advice would be greatly received as I would like to be able to use this on a farm paddock where they are currently having fox issues and the furthest shot would be 120 yards, Cheers Tom
.22 hornet issues
- Thread starter Wylyetom
- Start date
I had the same problem of stuck cases in my Weihrauch HW66 in 22 hornet.
I was trying to develop a load with either 35 or 40gn V Max bullets and either H-110 or Lil gun powder
I think your load with 13.3 gns of Lil gun may be too hot to allow the brass to come back to it's original size after firing
I now run 11.7gn of H-110 with nosler 35gn varmageddon bullets and rem 6 1/2 primer - and no stuck cases.
MV is around 2950fps and accuracy is excellent.
What is strange is that if I remove a fired case from the chamber, it will only go back into the chamber in exactly the same orientation as it was when it was fired.
Any other orientation and the case will stick before it fully chambers.
For me, that means full length sizing only when reloading
Cheers
Bruce
I was trying to develop a load with either 35 or 40gn V Max bullets and either H-110 or Lil gun powder
I think your load with 13.3 gns of Lil gun may be too hot to allow the brass to come back to it's original size after firing
I now run 11.7gn of H-110 with nosler 35gn varmageddon bullets and rem 6 1/2 primer - and no stuck cases.
MV is around 2950fps and accuracy is excellent.
What is strange is that if I remove a fired case from the chamber, it will only go back into the chamber in exactly the same orientation as it was when it was fired.
Any other orientation and the case will stick before it fully chambers.
For me, that means full length sizing only when reloading
Cheers
Bruce
Hi Tom.
Same rifle and almost the same load. My magic numbers are. 13.2 grn lil'gun with 35g Vmax or Nosler Varmageddon. Both bullets shoot the same.
Also shoots Sierra 40g H/P with 12g - 12.3g of the same powder very well.
When doing the load development I also had a couple of cases stuck in the chamber. I took the ejector spring from the bolt and tweaked it a bit.
No more stuck cases, before I did I felt the ejector with my fingernail and it felt weak, a quick squeeze and was good to go.
Hope it helps.
cjs
PS
Would anyone have an idea of the MV of my two rounds?
Ta
Same rifle and almost the same load. My magic numbers are. 13.2 grn lil'gun with 35g Vmax or Nosler Varmageddon. Both bullets shoot the same.
Also shoots Sierra 40g H/P with 12g - 12.3g of the same powder very well.
When doing the load development I also had a couple of cases stuck in the chamber. I took the ejector spring from the bolt and tweaked it a bit.
No more stuck cases, before I did I felt the ejector with my fingernail and it felt weak, a quick squeeze and was good to go.
Hope it helps.
cjs
PS
Would anyone have an idea of the MV of my two rounds?
Ta
I run 12.9 gr lil gun under 35s in Privvi through my CZ and I'm getting 3050 fps
Are you getting any other pressure signs? Hard bolt lift, scratches to base of case , flattened or cratering primers? If so the sticking cases are pressure? If not likely extractor issues.
I get sticking cases if I don't keep my chamber clean but my rifle has seen a lot of work, in the fourth owner that I know of and I've put at least 2000 rounds through it! It still shoots under 1" at 100 yards so for me it's the perfect sub 200 yard fox / vermin round, at the ranges your talking a shot in the boiler room will drop foxes on the spot.
My hornet is my out and out favourite rifle, feels like a magnum rimmie to shoot and packs a punch nipping at the heels of .222. It just makes me smile every time I shoot it!!
Only down side is the 35s are terrible in the wind!!
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Cheers Boydy.
I thought it was going to be in that ballpark. Hornady state just over 3000 for their factory 35 Vmax
and my load is approx 1.5" higher at 100 yards, with the same poi. I've no chrono and unsure of Hornadys actual MV. Factory data eh!
Ya gotta love the Hornet though...
cjs
The problem is most likely something idiosyncratic with the rifle, not the load as described. I shoot 13.6 of Lil Gun and the only reason i don't shoot 14 grains - which once was Hodgdon't recommended MAX load- is because I can't get it in the case. Only Remington cases seem to be able to swallow that much Lil Gun. At 24K CUP chamber pressure I doubt there is any pressure issues. As to accuracy, there are two things extra you can do for top Hornet accuracy. The first is to trim your cases at every reloading even if it means trimming to the length of the shortest case. Then, flare the case mouth with a Lee Universal Expander Die. This is a very gentle flare but aids immeasurably with bullet alignment. You flare just enough to get the base of the bullet into the case mouth. Lastly, after seating to the bullet to depth, crimp with a Lee Factory Crimp Die. Small pistol primers was a good move. These last two items will help greatly -if there is any improvement to be made. ~Muir
Nice one Muir.
Can I ask what trimmer you use for your Hornet? Also, small pistol primers, are these going to make a difference
to the Remmy 6 1/2, I'm using now?
cjs
Small pistol primers worked better than any rifle primers in my Horners. I got smaller ES and SD. I settled on Federal Small pistol in the end. Flaring the case mouth and crimping put the final touches on my loads, accuracy wise. My CZ 527 will shoot half MOA. I have half of my reloading room wall papered with targets shot with this rifle. Significantly, my CZ is one of three CZ Hornets I've loaded for. All gave the same results. ~Muir
Hi Muir, I used your reloading process from the start, de prime, Clean, Size, Trim, Flare, Load primer and powder, seat, crimp, Pheeew! So last night I loaded up a selection of rounds with different powder weights ranging from 12 - 13.3 grains as I changed to pistol primers after deciding on the powder charge of 13.3, once I have an idea of the sweet spot on charge I may then play about with the length, hopefully I should be able to get this sweet little rifle back out to work!
Thanks everyone for the advice.
Thanks everyone for the advice.
I had issues with the bolt being stiff, tight to eject and chamber a round, I always neck sized and it was when I had a load using H110 and 35gr vmax that caused the issue after a few resizings . Full length sized them and never had issues again.
Muir’s advice is without question very good but be aware over-generous (some might say careless) trimming of all brass to the length of the shortest can result in reducing case length below that at which the Lee Factory Crimp Die will engage with the neck. Thus requiring either the shell holder to be reduced in thickness care of judicious filing or a few spins of the Lee die base in a lath. The latter being the approach I have adopted to retaining a factory crimp on a limited supply of very old and now stretched RWS brass that just happens to have perfect rim thickness for my rifle.
K
K
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