22 Hornet question

[BBerguson]

Anybody ever try 22 Hornet with cast bullets? Seems like it would be a fun cartridge to load cast bullets in. I have lots of brass and dies and was just thinking if I ever come across a gun it might be worth picking up. The only thing I know about them is they seem to be really finiky.

 

[Brad]

Hornet with cast is pretty simple. Unique does a nice job. Not hard to get decent results with fullloads.

 

[BBerguson]

Why? Why do companies still make rifles with twists that are too slow? Savage 25 Walking Varmiter comes in 223 1-9 twist, 17 Hornet 1-9, 204 Ruger 1-12 and the 222 and 22 Hornet are both 1-14!! Why? The slowest rounds with the slowest twists why on earth would they continue to put them in barrels with such a slow twist? I don’t get it, it’s why the 6mm never worked well with heavy bullets and the 243 outsold it handily. This is just bizarre to me…

 

[BBerguson]

Brad, will it work with a 55gr cast?

 

[fiver]

there is this one guy that'd tell you they all put barrels on with twist rates that are too high.

 

[richhodg66]

I never tried anything approaching full powered loads with cast, I got into the Hornet to replace rimfires about 2013. It does that role better than any other .22 centerfire. Easy to get good squirrel hunting loads. Gonna try it with .218 Bee when I get around to it.

 

[RicinYakima]

Velocity limitations. To get a real 2500 f/s it has to be 40 grains or less. 1/14 will do that.

 

[Bret4207]

There should be massive amounts of info out there on cast in the Hornet. You just may have to go back to the 60's of before to find it.

 

[SWISS SHOOTER]

Use the 48 gr Lyman round nose GC and stick with 22 rimfire velocity. Bullet inspection and weight checking is very important. Will shoot as well as a good 22 RF.

As for the 244 Rem, the slow twist BS is a myth spread by gunwriters paid off at Olins annual bash with booze, whores, good food and free guns. Read JOC's and Keith's comments on that event.

A 100 gr will shoot well enuf to kill any medium game within the 244s big game envelope of 300 yards. Mine shoots 90 gr factory ammo in 1.5" at 100.

The advent of the Barnes TTSX 80 gr bullet puts to bed any apprehension about the 244. Clearly superior to the brass flowing, case stretching 243. I own a 243 AI which fixes that but is still slower than a 244.

 

[BudHyett]

The .22 Hornet is a classic for both jacketed and cast. Both the .22 Hornet and the .218 Bee are becoming relics of the past. Reloading data for cast bullets has to come from the older manuals as mentioned above.

The local range will not let us shoot .22 LR at 200, so I load the .22 Hornet down to get some practice. Owning both a .22 Hornet and a .218 Bee, I'd prefer the .218 Bee for cast. But that may be the individual rifle's capability.

 

[richhodg66]

I have two loads for the Hornet. In my 219, I shoot the NOE 45 grain WFN, which I ordered mine with all plain bases. I use two grains of Bullseye and a small pistol primer. This is squirrel head accurate at 25 yards which is realistic small game range to me. That combo quickly became my favorite woods rifle. I usually sit against a tree and wait for them to show, getting shots in that range is usually not a problem.

The other load is one I use in a Stevens 322 which doesn't seem to want to feed that WFN design. I got one of the Bator molds Midsouth used to sell, good design, they should bring it back. I cast a pot of these very soft, attempting to get that 1% antimony that .22 LR bullets have. I gas check it, size to .225 and shoot in front of six grains of 2400. Quite a bit more power than the Bullseye load, never chronographed it, but it shoots and kills well.

At some point, I picked up one of the original Ranchdog designs, but haven't tried it out yet, it might be better than that Lee Bator. That Bator design, by the way, is nominally 55 grains, but is actually shorter than the Lyman 225348 and I've had no problems getting good groups in the old slow twist rifles I use.

 

[Glaciers]

Well I’m new to the Hornet myself have just picked up a Topper which is I believe the standard twist of 1 in 16. Looking into bullet stability at that twist seems like the jacketed 55 SP is hit or miss. Some folks say it works some say it doesn’t stabilize. Keeping in mind that every gun is a different story unto itself.
But taking the length of the 55 grain SP and looking at cast bullet molds available, it’s a maybe that the LEE 225-55, which is shorter, so it might just stabilize, just going to have to give it a shot.
But, I have and order in with Arsenal for a couple of 45 caliber molds being cut and added Jared’s 225-47 grain FN Bowman to my order, which is certainly shorter.



I’m sure this will work. I’m not looking for a hot rod here, I have a 223 bolt gun for that.

 

[Intel6]

Bit of a .22 Hornet nut and do shoot cast out of a few of them. In my single shots I use the NOE 45 gr. WFN in both PB and GC'd (have both moulds). For my magazine fed Anschutz's I use the NOE 37 gr. FN because it has a better profile. I like using 2400 for most of my cast in the .22 H as others have said, works well.

In the pic are some culls I sized and GC'd for samples.

L to R:

NOE copy of the RCBS 55 gr.
NOE 45 gr. WFN
NOE 37 gr. FN

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Yup!

I was able to cast a bunch from a pair of MP molds last year. A 40g HP and a 45g Solid.

Both are bery accurate in my Hornet and both BEE's. My K Hormet dont seem ta like them as well but shoots fine as a plinker.( 3-4" 100 yards) My 10" Contender BEE shoots bug holes @ 50 yards with them and the 43 Hornet & Bee both can hit golf balls past 100 yards using them.

 

[Jeff H]

Velocity limitations. To get a real 2500 f/s it has to be 40 grains or less. 1/14 will do that.

Using my relatively "soft," mongrel alloys, even doing 1800 fps in a 1:9 223 wasn't working. In a 1:14 222 722, same bullets, same alloy, same velocities - aces, baby!" Groups I wasn't personally worthy of. Maybe I could have slowed down, using the 1:9 and gotten away with it, but I wanted to at least get to 2kfps to maintain a somewhat flat trajectory.

This is with the relatively long LEE copy of the RCBS 55 grain bullet.

Using the stubby (for its weight) RDO 50 grain bullet, I get away with a lot in the 1:14 twists in the 222.

Based on what I observed, my hypothesis regarding twist, in this specific instance, was geared toward being able to keep the velocity where I wanted it without causing my "soft" bullets to shear on the rifling.

For me, it's a balancing act that keeps me from buying special ingredients, water-quenching, powder-coating, etc. I think the actual matter of twist rate matching length of bullet for the sake of stabilization is moot in comparison to being able to get close to velocities I want without mangling the bullets on their way down the bore.

 

[Jeff H]

..........it’s a maybe that the LEE 225-55, which is shorter, so it might just stabilize, just going to have to give it a shot.............

If it helps, MY Lee 55 grain, with the gas check, measures .600" to .602".

While I was in the shop, I checked the RDO 50 grain RFP as well and, with a gas check, it measures .0525" to .0527".

 

[Mainiac]

I shoot cast in my hornet,,225438,and 225415,,full speed with 4227,,,1 inch @50 yards,,out of an old 322 stevens..