Re: 22 Hornet Case Life Question

30 October 2004, 01:47

courtney plater

I also find hot rodded brass has a shorter life. I have noticed since loading Lil'Gun the "hot" ones now last longer too.

30 October 2004, 05:29

tiggertate

The Lee Collet die will also be kinder to your brass than a lot of conventional dies.

29 October 2004, 12:40

woody1

Depends, I think, on how you treat 'em. I've got Hornet cases that have been reloaded at least a dozen times and still going but I don't hot rod 'em and I don't size any more than absolutely necessary. Regards, Woody

29 October 2004, 10:28

pagris

Fellow Members: I have read that cases for the 22 Hornet do not last for many resizings. Does anyone have any experience to back (or disprove) this assertion? Thanks in advance.

30 October 2004, 12:55

Hot Core

Quote:

...I have read that cases for the 22 Hornet do not last for many resizings. Does anyone have any experience to back (or disprove) this assertion? ...

Hey pagris, I've got 35 years of "old experience" with them. Haven't had one since Lil'Gun has been on the market, so I can't speak for it.

The real problem with the 22Hornet cases is actually a couple of things.

1. They are very thin walled.
2. Not all cases are made to be a snug fit in the multitude of chambers available.
3. Normal reloading dies have to resize the case for the minimum dimensions.
4. Some people who have a 22Hornet try to load it to 223Rem velocities.

Those four things combine to shorten the case life on the 22Hornets. Any of them alone can be a problem, and when you combine them, the problem becomes more noticable in a shorter time.

If you happen to get a SAAMI Minimum chamber, a good close matching Die Set and don't try to turn it into something it isn't, you will get the best case life. Getting good cases is simply the luck of the draw. Sometimes they are just better.

This is one case where I never bothered to do a lot of "Case Prep" on, other than trimming, deburring and chamfering. Thet may have been a waste of time due to the typically short case life though.

I agree with the others though, your case life can be as short as 2 firings up to perhaps a dozen. If you go too many reloads though, it is easy to have a Casehead Separation inside the Full Length Die - and that is a LOT of fun!

If you have not bought it yet, the recommendation about "Downloading a 223Rem" is really excellent. Great accuracy at 22Hornet velocities, not tempermental, long case life and you can even jack the velocity up a bit if needed.

30 October 2004, 11:40

<eldeguello>

IMO, they suffer case-head separations after five or less reloadings, if you shoot full power loads. They last pretty long with a 45-grain cast gascheck bullet and 4 grains of Unique to equal a .22 LR rimfire load!