22 Hornet

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Glen Ring
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22 Hornet

Post by Glen Ring »

Jim Foral's article in Black powder News has me wanting a 22 hornet...again.
I see Ruger still offers that round in their #1 Single shot and was wondering how many folks cast for and load that round.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
Gussy
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Re: 22 Hornet

Post by Gussy »

I have a Browning 1885 low wall in 22 hornet. I load, but not cast bullets or black powder. They come up for sale occasionally and I'm not sure if there was ever a current Winchester version.
DeadEye
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Location: The Flatlands of Canada

Re: 22 Hornet

Post by DeadEye »

I had one for a short while. It was a Pedersoli mini-rolling block action. One of those spur of the moment impulse things. If I had just waited a few minutes longer the feeling would have passed. But then my friend Wayne wouldn't have had the enjoyment of getting such a good deal. Never got around to casting and loading for it, was still shooting factory loads when it changed hands. I really liked it and I think it would have been fun to hunt with but I was/am so busy doing other things I just didn't see that happening. Of course now I'm not so busy.

Paul
"My heroes have always been cowboys and they still are it seems."
mdeland
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Re: 22 Hornet

Post by mdeland »

If you like the Hornet Glen then you might want to keep an eye peeled for a 218 Bee as well. The Bee chambering was used in quite a few small single shot actions as well. Low Wall and Martini Cadet actions were commonly chambered in this round based on the 32-20 case.
Both are really neat little .22 center fire rounds and based on the same parent/grand parent case. Although both were commercial cartridges the Hornet still remains and the Bee never really caught on.
Interesting, these small center fire 22's.
mdeland
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Re: 22 Hornet

Post by mdeland »

Actually come to think of it I have a mold and some gas check silhouette slugs cast up some where around here in a box. Never did get around to testing the bullet out in my 22-250. The Hornets usually have a groove diameter of .223 I think though and most other 22 center fires are .224.
Gussy
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Re: 22 Hornet

Post by Gussy »

Yes, if you load for a Hornet, .223. If using .224 bullets, start with light/reduced loads. I was able to get a fair amount of . 223 Hornet jacketed bullets.
firefighter1990
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Re: 22 Hornet

Post by firefighter1990 »

The modern hornet as we see it today is the smokeless advent of the old 22 wcf. There's currently a Hepburn listen on gunsinternational in 22 wcf and I believe a semi custom one in 218 bee. Just search "hepburn" and they should pop up.

C sharps makes their 1885 low wall and maybe even the high wall in 22 hornet. With those I'm sure you can pick barrel twist and groove to fit your needs.

I have a modern hornet in a browning a bolt but load jacketed and smokeless in it. Once set up, its cheaper to load it than it is to buy most rimfire stuff. Hands down the most accurate rifle I have. Took it to a benchrest match and beat out a couple $4k 6ppc. Got a few dirty looks but it's a performer! I imagine a cast bullet and black powder would be dandy scheutzen rig!
Glen Ring
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Re: 22 Hornet

Post by Glen Ring »

I have always wanted a 22 hornet. I have had rifles in .223, .222 And took a lot of varmints with those...But in this stage of life a .22 hornet loaded with a cast bullet and BP or Pyrodex looks like a hoot.
There are those that talk, and those that act. Make a choice.
JeffFaldo
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Location: Kaycee, WY

Re: 22 Hornet

Post by JeffFaldo »

Have one of each in bolt guns. The Winchester model 43 in 218 Bee is an awesome little gun. It's a serious tack driver.
mdeland
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Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:47 pm

Re: 22 Hornet

Post by mdeland »

Being that the plan is to shoot cast bullets in the Hornet I don't see why having a groove of .223 would be any issue at all .
I once was tempted and probably should have picked up, a bull barreled Model 70 pre-64 Win chambered in Hornet.
The Bee would be my preference if jacketed bullets were to be used.
VBull
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Re: 22 Hornet

Post by VBull »

I recently re-barreled a High wall that was in .22wcf to .22 Hornet. The original barrel was a sewer pipe with no chance of cleaning up.
It wasn't too hard getting it to shoot under an inch at 100 yards with jacketed bullets. I've mounted a Fecker 4x small game scope but have used a 15x Lyman STS for load development. I used 2400, Accurate 2015, IMR4227 and the best results were with Accurate 1680 powder. Getting my powder measure to drop the 1680 powder without jamming up was a problem until I made a new small diameter measure for the Belding and Mull.

For a cast bullet I have the 45 gr. Lyman 225438 mold. Handling these little bullets after shooting .45 caliber is an eye opener. Getting these cast bullets to shoot as well as jacketed has not been completely successful yet. But getting close. Although I can push them much faster, the cast bullets seem to like 1900/2000 fps. Kind of a .22 magnum on steroids. When I get repeatable success I'll give black powder a try. Calm days to test loads has been spotty at best so not too much testing going on now.
mdeland
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Re: 22 Hornet

Post by mdeland »

Who's barrel did you use ? Was the groove .224 or .223? I was thinking that long Hornet neck would be real good for cast bullet use.
beltfed
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Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:07 am
Location: Central Wi

Re: 22 Hornet

Post by beltfed »

Funny thing this thread came up. I have been thinking about playing with my
Ruger No 3 ,22 hornet rifle with cast. I have several molds, including that 225438, and a 55 gr4 loverin, forgot the number
The rifle did good service for me for midrange Prairie Dog hunts in the past with Leo 12X target. Accurate out to over 225 or so yards with
45 gr J bullets. Key was taking off that darned band from around the forearm and barrel, and shimming up the forearm
so as the barrel is free floating.

Yet another project. Too many toys, not enough time. Just now it is my 38-50RH.
beltfed/arnie
VBull
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Re: 22 Hornet

Post by VBull »

The barrel was from an old gunsmith estate. He was fond of Buhmiller barrels so there is a good chance that is what it is. The blank was unmarked but is .223 1:16 twist so I can only use bullets up to 45 grain.
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Distant Thunder
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Re: 22 Hornet

Post by Distant Thunder »

I've had a number of .22 Hornets over the years, it's always been my favorite medium range .22 CF for varmints.

I did have a break open single shot many years ago that I shot cast bullets in. I don't remember the mold number but it was the Lyman 45 grain GC round nose. The best I got was between 1 inch and 1 1/2 inches at 100 yards for 3 shots with full power loads. That was really good enough for small farm varmint hunting at the typical ranges, maybe 150 yards.

I also loaded the same cast bullet very light, .22 LR velocities, and used it for small game, mostly squirrels and rabbits. It worked very well there too.

Some time later I developed an itch for a more accurate bolt action in hopes of reaching out for those little varmints using the full potential of the mighty Hornet. A LGS had a Sako rifle that I really wanted. The shop owner would not budge on the price even though it had hung on the wall for a long time. I eventually stopped trying to talk him down and moved on. Years later while walking through another LGS something in the used gun rack caught my eye, something really different. It turned out to be a Ruger 77/22 Hornet All Weather. It had a Nikon 3-9 scope, a sling and a spare magazine and I price that I could manage at that time. It went home with me that same day. :D

That began a long love/hate relationship between that rifle and me. Try as I did it just never really shot any better with jacketed bullets than my old single shot had with cast. Those Rugers have a number of designed in problems that prevent them from being very accurate. I tried all the fixes and made some small improvements in accuracy but no more. :roll: I free floated the barrel, shimmed the bolt, recrowned the barrel and did a few other things I read about. I continued to use the rifle as my primary varmint rifle and enjoyed the heck out it.

I took the rifle along on a couple big game hunting trips to Wyoming and would spend a few afternoons shooting prairie dogs with it. It did well out to 200 yards or so, but the winds made hits any farther out rather difficult. The stubby little Hornady 35 grain V-Max over a case full of Lil' Gun disassembled things pretty well. :shock:

:idea: Then one day I decided to pillar bed the action. That one thing did absolutely amazing things for the accuracy, cutting my groups in half. I went from 3-shot groups around 1 to 1 1/2 inches at 100 yards to groups at 200 yards just over and some just under 1 inch! Most of the 40 and 45 grain bullets would group 3 shots well under an inch at 100 yards and some under 1/2 inch.

With a charge of Lil' Gun the 35 and 40 grain bullets will hit 2900 to 3100 fps. These are not 400 yard bullets, but they are very impressive at 200 yards and a bit more. That is a far cry from the days when my single shot was tossing a 45 grain bullet out at 2500 to 2600 fps.

The .22 Hornet is still my favorite varmint cartridge, it just has more reach than ever and a more STING when it gets there! :D :D :D
Jim Kluskens
aka Distant Thunder
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