The .22 Hornet.
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Many of us do. It is among my all-time favorites.
Allow me to save you much trial and experimentation. Here is THE load:
Brass of your choice, sized so that about 1/8" of the neck or a bit less remains unsized.
Prime with either the Rem 6 1/2 (NOT 7 1/2) small rifle primer, or the CCI 500 small PISTOL primer.
Charge with 13.0 LilGun. No need to work up, just start there.
Your bullet choice is fine, or get some of the new Barnes 30-gr Hornet bullets.
Seat to the maximum book OAL or just shy of your lands, whichever is less.
Apply a medium crimp with the Lee Factory Crimp Die.
That's it. Don't change anything else and don't forget that crimp.
Allow me to save you much trial and experimentation. Here is THE load:
Brass of your choice, sized so that about 1/8" of the neck or a bit less remains unsized.
Prime with either the Rem 6 1/2 (NOT 7 1/2) small rifle primer, or the CCI 500 small PISTOL primer.
Charge with 13.0 LilGun. No need to work up, just start there.
Your bullet choice is fine, or get some of the new Barnes 30-gr Hornet bullets.
Seat to the maximum book OAL or just shy of your lands, whichever is less.
Apply a medium crimp with the Lee Factory Crimp Die.
That's it. Don't change anything else and don't forget that crimp.
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6,662 Posts
Great answer Rocky, the only other things I do are to trim all of my cases to the same length, de-burr my flash holes and bottom the primer pockets.
Do not be discouraged if you don’t receive guilt edge accuracy right from the start. Many Hornets require100 rounds or more to break in the barrel – I am discussing the lower end hornet rifles here.
Do not be discouraged if you don’t receive guilt edge accuracy right from the start. Many Hornets require100 rounds or more to break in the barrel – I am discussing the lower end hornet rifles here.
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kdub, have you tried that new Barnes bullet yet? If you like speed from your Hornet, THAT is the pill that fills the prescription. (If you are a member of VHA, my review of it with load data will be in the January issue of the magazine.)
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How do these newer light bullets work for you with shoulder shots on well muscled critters?
The 35-grain bullets I tried would not bring a raccoon out of a tree.
The 40-grain Ballistic Tip has proven to be the most accurate bullet in our rifles but the Hornady is right in the running.
The older semi-round nose 45-grain bullets are still best for shoulder shots on skunks and raccoons from what I can tell.
The 35-grain bullets I tried would not bring a raccoon out of a tree.
The 40-grain Ballistic Tip has proven to be the most accurate bullet in our rifles but the Hornady is right in the running.
The older semi-round nose 45-grain bullets are still best for shoulder shots on skunks and raccoons from what I can tell.
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I can't answer that yet, William. The Barnes 30-gr bullet is (if possible) even more explosive on prairie dogs than the 40 VMax. I haven't personally used it on anything larger, but am told by other writers that it is a "DRT" bullet on chucks. If I took my Hornet out for coyotes, I think I'd carry the 45 Nosler Solid Base - but if a dog ambled by while I was gophering with the Barnes, I'd not hesitate to poke him.
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I loaded up the 35 grain Hornady V Max (its a flat base bullet) with RP brass, Rem 6 1/2 and 13.0 grains of Lil Gun. I haven't gotten to shoot it yet, its been pretty cold here, but as soon as it warms up I will be shooting it. This spring I've got some huge prairie dog towns to test on.
Well thanks for the replies. I will use this rifle for whatever. You know, it's for sale and I don't have one. It might be my turkey gun, I think it would be perfect. I must also replace the .204 ruger I traded off 4 years ago. This is FOR SURE!
JSR, what are you asking for the gun? Also, if you've got that action and really want a flatter shooting round...why not just have the chamber cut to a more modern cartridge? I know a good gunsmith who could take that Hornet barrel and turn it into a real shooter; one that doesn't require finicky reloading procedures to get it to shoot well.
Jason
Jason
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If you buy some of the older rifles chambered in this round be aware that twist rate will decide if you can shoot the bullets lighter than 45 grain. Originally the barrels were 1 in 16" rates with newer ones being 1 in 14" and some 1 in 12".
My shooting buddy had a Ruger No. 1 that would not shoot 40 grain Nosler BT but would shoot the 40 grain Hornady VMax. My Ruger No. 1 would shoot both with equal accuracy. Never could determine any difference between the two rifles.
My shooting buddy had a Ruger No. 1 that would not shoot 40 grain Nosler BT but would shoot the 40 grain Hornady VMax. My Ruger No. 1 would shoot both with equal accuracy. Never could determine any difference between the two rifles.
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Actually, you need faster twist to shoot LONGER (usually heavier) bullets. The original 1-16 twist is best for most 40 and 45-grain lead-core bullets.
The current non-lead bullets are much longer for their weight, and require a faster twist. My 1-16" Hornet will not fully stabilize the Barnes 36-gr Varmint Grenade, but shoots the 30-gr version like a house afire. The 30 VG is as long as most 40 and a few 45-gr bullets, whereas the 36-gr is as long as some 50-gr bullets with lead cores.
The current non-lead bullets are much longer for their weight, and require a faster twist. My 1-16" Hornet will not fully stabilize the Barnes 36-gr Varmint Grenade, but shoots the 30-gr version like a house afire. The 30 VG is as long as most 40 and a few 45-gr bullets, whereas the 36-gr is as long as some 50-gr bullets with lead cores.
The rifle in question is a New England/ H&R rifle. I would believe it would have the more modern faster twist but we will see. What are the opinions out there on taking eastern woodchucks out to 200 yards with this little popper. I've gone a bit better than 100 yards with the .22 rimfire magnum. I believe the Hornet is quite a bit more powerful although have no illusions of it being anywhere near .222 Rem. class or up.
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397 Posts
The .222 and the .223 put the Hornet to sleep. You
can load either one of these down to sound like a
Hornet if you want to, and if you load them up they
are flatter shooting and more powerful than the Hornet.
It was a great rifle in its day. That day is gone.
Zeke
can load either one of these down to sound like a
Hornet if you want to, and if you load them up they
are flatter shooting and more powerful than the Hornet.
It was a great rifle in its day. That day is gone.
Zeke
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3,947 Posts
BUT yet there seems to be more rifles chambered for the .22 Hornet than for the .222 Remington. I was shocked to see the .222 loading was not listed for the Remington M-700's. Back, when the .222 Rem. came into being (1950) it was suppose to render the Hornet to obsolence status and I thought, back in the 1960's that by now the .22 Hornet wouldn't even be loaded by ammo manufactures thus a "dead number", but I guess I was wrong. The .22 Hornet is a very fine cartridge which has it's place in urban areas, but there is also a place for the .222 Remington.
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Well, zb, why hasn't the 22-250 or 220 Swift put the 222 and 223 "to sleep?" One can make that same argument for any number of cartridges. If that line of reasoning were true (as I've pointed out a gazillion times) there would be only one cartridge in each bore diameter.
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