.22 hornet reloading.

[VarmintSniper]

I just picked up a little CZ 527 Lux in .22 hornet. I've loaded some 35gr vmax w/lil gun powder. I haven't shot these yet.

I bought FL dies, should I pick up a neck die?

What about Lee crimp die? Should I crimp my loads?

Thoughts, opinions?

[Catfish]

lil gun wasn`t around when I was shooting a .22 Hornet and I always shor H-4227 with excellant resluts. I have heard many good thing abt. lil gun and the Hornet, and it will get you alittle more velosity than H-4227.
As for the Neck die I would wait to see how tight your chamber is. If your not sizeing the body much don`t bother, if your takeing the body of the case down much definately get one.
As for the Lee crimp die I personally do not like them. First off I only crimp round where there is a danger of bullet pull from recoil, and second if I fell the need to crimp alittle I use the seating die. I think this is one of the few things that Rocky and I really disagree on. If I rember right he like to crimp the bullets in the Hornet. So,,,, you might wnat to try some both ways and see what works best for you.

[Dom]

I think you'll like the Hornet VarmintSniper and am sure you'll get a good load. I'm using the 46gr Win bullets, and using 4198, but just got some more test loads done up with Lil Gun. If you neck size only after a few reloadings you may have trouble closing the bolt, so I've gone to using a FL die, but sizing only down to where the neck meets shoulder, which is a very fine point with the hornet. Most will use a Rem 6 1/2 primer, and yes, I use the Lee Crimp Die for mine. Like Catfish says tho, you can try them both ways, just what I've experienced and works for me, JMHO, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[BILLY D.]

D). All of the above.

Why the hornet likes a crimp I don't know. I have used un-crimped and shooting and grouping were not top shelf, take the same loads and crimping and group size shrunk by a large margin.

Now by crimping I do not mean swaging the bullet down to 17 caliber. Usually a light crimp suffices.

Powder choices in my rifles and pistols that worked for me in order of best down were Lil Gun, 1680 and 296. Best bullets were, now sit down and take a deep breath, 46gr Speer Flat Point for the 218 BEE, and then the 45gr RN Hornet by Sierra.

For the Speer bullet, when the cases were properly trimmed I could crimp in the factory cannelure and the rounds were just a few thousandths off the lands. Talk about getting lucky. It almost? always shoots between .6 & .9. Thats minute of Gopher and plenty good for 'yotes and Fox.

Another ground shaking event is I like Nickel cases for this round. They are stiffer and I use Dom's method of sizing. Hornet brass is dainty. The less you work it the better.

The Contender Carbine that houses one of my Hornets is my favorite. I use it mostly when I go out on Cross Country Skis. I have a Harness for it thats similar to the Harness used by Biathlon Shooters. The similarity ends there, I can't shoot near as good as those youngins. As far as shooting goes I think the sun rises and sets in their butt crack. Try going out and running top speed for a mile, then pick up your rifle and shoot and keep all your shots on a 50 cent piece at 50 yards. I bow to those people and hold them in high regard.

My system works well except in times of peril. A few years ago I was out with my rig and x Countrying and had a Back Spasm. I was a few miles from my truck and all I could do was walk back on my hands and knees. It was a toasty -15°. I called my friend up on the cell and told him what was happening. I was about 50 miles from home. I always carry a survival pack so I wasn't too worried.

Back to the Hornet. Primers can make a world of difference also. I switched to Pistol primers also when I was experimenting with other powders. !0 plus grains of powder isn't hard to light up in a small capacity case. Be gentle.

I have probably spent more time tweaking the Hornet than any round I've ever worked with. When you find something that works, keep it and never deviate again, unless you are into self abuse. For ol' geezers like me it is a perfect way to spend a lot time fiddleing.

The Hornet is one of those diminishing return things. And when you have finished you have at best a 200 yard rifle. But you can always look in the mirror and say, " Damn that was fun".

Best wishes, Bill

[VarmintSniper]

Thank you everyone who posted.

I had a chance to get out this evening with the g/f.

We had to resight it a couple .22's before I could play around with my Hornet.

We shot our Rem 504's, .22's for a while. Man, what a difference in accuracy when I sanded both of our pressure pads down at the end of the stock. Groups shake from 2" down it 1/2". That makes me save around $700 since I was going to order some lilja barrels. Anyways, back to the hornet topic.

We didn't have the best of rest today. I forgot our shooting blanket, so we had to shoot off the tail gate of the truck with one sand back.

I shot 6rds of 12.5gr of lilgun w/35gr vmax.

1st 2 shots were about 12" low. Adjusted the scope and shot 2 more times. About 6"s low and 4" right.

Made correction and shot 1 shot. Dead center, but about 1" low. Adjusted and shot again. Top of the bullseye eye. Good enough.

Drove the truck to 80yds and figured I'd shoot 3 rds. 3" high and about 1/2" group.

Will try to get out tomorrow when I have more light and better rest. Post pic's later today or tomorrow.

So far it looks like the CZ is going to be VERY accurate.

[Contenderizer]

As Dom indicated, you will have to FL size the Hornet sooner or later. The Hornet headspaces on the rim, and along with the very mildly tapered shoulder this equals forward metal flow. Trimming to the proper length is part of the game as well. This problem is why you get limited cycles out of Hornet brass.

I fire my handloaded Hornets through a K-Hornet Contender barrel and crimp same only slightly while keeping my LOA at the max or a little more. Once the brass is fireformed into K-Hornet, however, I tend to use the Lee Factory Crimp and a shorter LOA. Just a personal preference; I'm not sure if the results are any better but I can carry the rounds in my pocket without concern the bullet is going to move.

I use IMR 4227 (H 4227 is not longer available) in both loads. Lil Gun is also an excellent choice.

[Rapier]

What? A problem with the Hornet on varmits? You guys do not have a gun for each varmit? My 218 Bee #1 and Martini are my turtle guns. I shoot on 4 catfish ponds and a stocked beaver pond in the spring and summer. The Hornet and Bee are perfect turtle guns. Out to 100 plus yards a head shot on a turtle is a snap and the report does not bother folks. I use 15 gr of H-4227 and the 35 gr Berger in the Bee.

Just go find a fish pond in a remote location and get ready for fun.
Ed

[Larryjk]

I have two Hornet rifles that shoot less than MOA. One is a Westley Richards break-open rook rifle I rescued. The other is a Ruger No. 3. I found the best bet with either rifle is to seat the bullets to touch the rifling. I have been shooting the Hornady 40 gr. V-Max, CCI BR-4 primers, and 11.8 Grs. of Lil Gun. Does the job in either rifle.
This summer I have to work with a Winchester low-wall I found in .22 K-Hornet and see if it will shoot or if it is new barrel time. Little guns are fun.

[Rocky Raab]

THE recipe for Hornet happiness is:

Rem 6 1/2 (NOT 7 1/2) - OR small pistol primer
FL-sized brass (your choice)
13.0 LilGun
40 or 45-grain bullet designed for the Hornet.
Moderate Lee Factory Crimp

Here's why ...

Hornet inaccuracy can be traced to premature and inconsistent bullet release from the case. The brass is very thin, which means very little bullet pull. The bullet is very light, meaning very little resistance. And the case is very small, meaning the primer is enough to completely unseat the bullet. All three must be countered.

In reverse order, then: use a very mild primer. The Rem 6 1/2 was designed for the Hornet and Bee and is very mild. If you can't get those, use any small pistol primer EXCEPT Winchester, which are very hot. I like CCI or Federal.

I partial FL-size my brass, stopping the size die when there is still a short, visible "collar" of unsized neck. About a millimeter or 1/16" is enough. That centers the case in the chamber well, but still sizes the body. I prefer WW brass, but RP is fine.

LilGun powder has a low peak pressure but a very broad pressure curve in the Hornet. That means it delivers high velocity but low pressures - and with a case that has as little metal around the primer pocket as the Hornet, you REALLY need to keep pressures down or blow a lot of primers!

Lil gun burns best when contained a bit. That's why it performs much better with heavier bullets. My rifle definitely prefers 45s, but many shoot well with 40s. Velocity will be as high with the heavier bullets as with very light ones, simply because LilGun burns better under the heavy ones. If your magazine is long enough for them, the VMax or similar work very well. Otherwise, go to the semi-pointed bullets that say "Hornet" on the box.

Lastly, you really MUST crimp those light bullets into that thin neck to keep the bullet firmly in place until the LilGun is completely ignited. The Lee FCD crimps any bullet, cannelure or not and does it without collapsing/bulging the case neck. Bulging is why the regular roll crimp won't work well with the Hornet. The neck is too thin and ANY downward force will buckle it. The FCD applies no downward force.

Most rifles will shoot this load at 2800 fps (versus 2650 with factory 45-gr ammo) and groups sub-inch when the wind isn't blowing. I can usually squeeze five into .6" on a good day. Yours will, too.