I am just starting to load for the hornet. I just purchased a Ruger 77/.22 Hornet. I have been handloading since 1964, but never for the Hornet. I purchased some Nosler Ballistic Tip, 40 Grain Spitzers and RCBS Competition Dies for the Hornet. Any tips on powders for accuracy and reasonably high velocity would be appreciated.

------------------

I noticed that Hodgdon Lil'Gun powder has the highest velocity. Does anyone have experience with this powder?

No experience with Lil Gun. IMR 4227 is hard to beat. Remember, it's not velocity your after with the Hornet -- any .22 centerfire will give you more of that. You're looking for quiet accuracy and economy.

Ruger 77-22H's seem to be tempremental. Look up some of the articals on taming them with barrel attachment adjustments, action pin bushings, replacement triggers, etc. They can be made to shoot, but you may have to work at it.

Mine has been rebarreled to .22 K-hornet and has a replacement trigger. It shoots like a dream, so it can be done.

Hello robbnsc,
I have a Ruger 7722VHZ also. I've bedded the action & first 2" of barrel, floated the rest of the barrel, replaced the trigger with a Spec Tech adjustable, and replaced the sear with a Volquartsen target sear. Firelapping the barrel made it easier to clean, not really more accurate.
The RCBS competition dies are very good, since the bullets are short and hard to start into the case mouths straight. You may also want to experiment with outside neck-turning.
Changing to Hodgdon's Lil'Gun was one of the most significant things I did to imporve accuracy. You can't fit enough into the case to develop pressure problems. I usually start at 12.5 grains, and work up to 13.1 or 13.2. I've tried IMR4227, H4227, H110, and W296, and Lil'Gun has been far better. Hodgdon doesn't recommend compressed loads.
My Ruger never liked the Nosler Ballistic tips. I've done very well with Hornady V-Max bullets, in 40 grains, seated about .020" off the rifling lands. They don't fit into the magazine, but who cares? I haven't had good results with the 35-grain V-Maxes, though. Another really terriffic bullet I've found is the Berger MEF's in 40 grains.
Also, I've gotten best accuracy using Federal #100 small pistol primers instead of small rifle primers.
Since the case is so small, I think sorting them by weight is worthwhile, too. Case prep counts a lot with the Hornet. Lil'Gun does seem to leave lots of black soot inside the cases, so you may want to use Birchwood-Casey liquid case cleaner, in addition to tumbling. Winchester cases are much better, in my opinion, than Remington cases for Hornet reloading. They're a little thicker, and a little more uniform in weight per batch of 100 or so.
Good luck with your Hornet. It's a fun, sometimes frustrating cartridge.
Regards, George.

[This message has been edited by George Capriola (edited 07-10-2001).]

[This message has been edited by George Capriola (edited 07-10-2001).]

I hunt groundhogs with a Ruger hornet. George has it pretty well summed up. Lil' Gun is the way to go. I use 12.5gr with a 40gr Vmax. I get about 3000fps, no signs of pressure and .5" groups at 100yds.. I have recorded kills with this combination out to 250 yds..

Have fun and happy hunting!

Thanks for all the info. I will shoot the Ruger and work from there. Glassbedding and a trigger are no problem. Also thanks for the loading info. I will try some Lil'gun and 2400, with the noslers and some Hornady's and see what shakes out.

lil gun and noslers worked best for me also.

In every Hornet I own Lil Gun is by far the great powder. Pressures are low and therefore case life is extended. Try 13.0 grains of Lil Gun, Remington 6 1/2 primers, and 40 grain Sierra Blitzkings, or 45 grain Hornady Hornet bullets. COAL should be around 1.82 or so according to how your gun is throated.
A good replacement for the Remington primers are CCI 400's. The mild primers help consistency of the small capacity case.
Case prep goes a long way to gain good groups. I always prep new cases by resizing then trimming. Then deburr case mouth and flash hole. I use a Sinclair primer pocket uniformer to recut the primer pocket, it is hard to believe how the primer pocket is to shallow and not square. Without that process we actually swage the primer into the pocket , not seat, try for yourself and be amazed at the actual seating feel. Okay, I may be a little anal at this Hornet accuracy thing but attention to detail is the only way to get the most out of the Hornet. It is a great little round. One other thing, my Low Wall has a twist of 1 in 16. It doesn't like 40 Grain Ballistic Tips, my guess is because they are so long. If anyone else has a view on that please let me know. Thanks
Have fun and hope this helps sorry for the longwinded post
Greg H

Try a set of Lee Collet dies. Once you do you'll swear by them.

Hey robbnsc, The above posters are giving you some excellent information on the old 22Hornet. Here is a similar thread on another Board: www2.huntinfo.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/004456.html

No doubt at all in my mind that this is a very finicky caliber. It can be difficult to maintain a fine accuracy level, even when you don't change a thing. But, you can have a lot of fun with them. Just don't get the impression they are Benchrest accurate.

------------------
Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

Thanks again for all the good information. Because the Hornet is a 150-200 yard varmit caliber, I do not expect benchrest accuracy. I have a Browning A-Bolt, Boss that shoots under 5/8" groups at 200 yards to use on days that I wish to be anal about accuracy. All I expect from the Hornet is: that with careful loading and some basic rifle tuning or bedding improvements, to shoot 1" groups at 100 yards.

I have a pre-proven Nikon 4.5x14 scope that I have mounted on the Ruger. I load carefully and have as set of competition RCBS dies to assure fairly straight bullet seating concentricity. I will shoot the Ruger as "out-of-the-box" with some starting loads and tune from there. Then start optimizing loads and see where it takes me.

I am an engineer who knows how to do process development and how to quantify group results. So, on with the show!

If you should run across a can of WW680 in your travels, give it a try with Nosler 40 grain ballistic tips.

I am impressed, you gentlemen are all very knowledgeable of the 22 Hornet and I concur with all advise. Lil' Gun is the best I have tried as well. With IMR 4227 a close second. I own a Ruger 77/22 Hornet and that rifle was the biggest disappointment of any rifle I have every purchased. I am a long time fan of the Hornet and own three of them. It had to fire lapped, hand lapped, bedded out to 2" on the barrel, floated and extensive trigger work done to make it shoot. My firt Hornet was a 340 Savage, purchased in 1975. Right out of the box it would shoot 3/4" groups with factory ammo or good handloads. My other one is an Anchutz 1432 and it is really nice and shoots very well as is. The Hornet is a great quiet acceptably accurate midrange round that will hopefully be around for a long time.