My personal nemesis......the 22 Hornet
- Thread starter Herb in pa
- Start date
Edward R Southgate
Component Hoarder Extraordiniare
I shoot 12.5 of WC680 with the 35g Vmax in my Winchester 43 sparked with a sp primer. Best load I've found.
Edward R Southgate
Component Hoarder Extraordiniare
No soft steel in a 43, at least no softer than any other Winchester. The problem with hot rodding a 43 is the fact that they just slightly upscaled a 69A to get the 43 rather than going with a design intended for centerfire and higher pressure. Pretty easy to fix the headspace on a 43. Even easier to keep from having an issue to begin with , don't hot load it . 12-12.5 g of W680, 1680 or Littlegun and the previously mentioned 35g Vmax has not given me any problems in all the years I have been shooting my 43.Should be even easier to stay out of trouble shooting lead. I use the same load in .22 Hornet and .218 Bee.
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Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
My 43 was abused long before I got it. And you made my point, the 43 is an overgrown 69A, no heat treatment that I'm aware of. Still a nice enough rifle until you screw up with hot loads. It will never be a Swift!
When you look back through the history of the Hornet, it's a wonder they got the accuracy they did. Barrel specs ran from tight rim fire to fairly loose center fire specs, bullets the same. What guys like Whelen went through to get a Hornet shooting leaves little wonder why they often just shot a 110 gr 30-30 bullet from the Springfield and called it good enough!
When you look back through the history of the Hornet, it's a wonder they got the accuracy they did. Barrel specs ran from tight rim fire to fairly loose center fire specs, bullets the same. What guys like Whelen went through to get a Hornet shooting leaves little wonder why they often just shot a 110 gr 30-30 bullet from the Springfield and called it good enough!
Was just digging around and found my hornet data.9 grs h-4227,,438 bullet wdww,felix lube,seated out close to lands,,shoots tiny groups!
richhodg66
Well-Known Member
I got my first Hornet, a Savage 219, about 2014 because of the .22 LR shortage. My intent was to have a .22 LR replacement. I got succees in that endeavor rather quickly. Tried the 225415 and 225438 with light loads of Bullseye and they wrked, but soon ordered the NOE 46 grain WFN with all plain bases. Two grains of Bullseye and that bullet kills fox squirrels with authority at the kinds of ranges I'd hunt with a .22 and is accurate enough at that range to make head shots if I'm up to it.
One Hornet led to another, Stevens 322 which won't feed the NOE, so I got one of the Lee Bator molds, the ones Midsouth was selling not the current Lee .22 bullet. I cast a bunch or realsoft ones, gas checked them and use six grains of 2400, significantly more punch than the other load. That bullet, despite being a nominal 55 grains is actually shorter than the 225438 so it shoots fine in those old twist rifles.
One Hornet led to another, Stevens 322 which won't feed the NOE, so I got one of the Lee Bator molds, the ones Midsouth was selling not the current Lee .22 bullet. I cast a bunch or realsoft ones, gas checked them and use six grains of 2400, significantly more punch than the other load. That bullet, despite being a nominal 55 grains is actually shorter than the 225438 so it shoots fine in those old twist rifles.
Stevens 322,,,same hornet,as me!!16 twist,and will shoot all molds ive tried,,
Herb in pa
Member
Groups marked as #1 are with Hornet brass with 14 loadings mostly jacketed loads. Groups marked with #2 are fireforming loads with new brass, first measures .664" , second #2 measures .562". Groups marked #3 were fireformed brass with necksizing with first #3 measures .882" with 7 in .430", second #3 measures 1.300" with 6 in .298". Testing was going great with load #3 until a cold front rolled in and really kicked the wind up beginning with the last 3 shots in the first #3 group and really hampered me in the second #3 group. Chronographed @2228 FPS with a std dev of 21.56. I'll continue the testing as time and weather permits.
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Fun little stinker,isnt it?
The fed100 small pistol primer,plays a big part in my hornet,accuracy chases!!
I've owned a Hornet for years. M77 Ruger all weather. Not a super tack driver but works well for blackbirds and other yard pests. I load it like a .22 WMR and get good accuracy and good performance. Using a Lyman 225438HP. For quiet shooting and short range yard work, 3.5 grains of Unique does well. Longer stuff, the M70 .222 gets the nod. The Hornet's definitely worth messing with./beagle
