Hello from Scotland~

Ive seen a number of second hand Hornets at very good prices. Got me wondering about converting one to K-Hornet ?

How does one go about this, dies etc ?? I know you need to get the chamber re-cut, are there special K-hornet dies or can you simply use Hornet collet dies ??

How does case life compare to basic Hornet brass ?

Is there an ideal barrel length for Hornet/K-hornet ?

When i owned a Hornet i was not a reloader (now am)what is the best brass for Hornets ??

Regards Englander

K-Hornet requires the existing chamber to be reamed to the new shape. You will need new reloading dies to suit.

With advances in bullet technology you can extend the effective range of your standard Hornet by using 40gn Nosler Ballistic tips or if you want rabbits for the pot try the little 40gn solids from RWS. Hornady also make a range of light 40gn
22 calibre projectiles.

If you already have a hornet try some of the little ones before going to the expense of new dies.

I have owned both over the years and find that the standard Hornet is a 175yd small game rifle while the K will only add about 40yds to that.

My personal choice is one of the slightly larger cases like the 218 Mashburn Bee built on a little Martini Cadet rifle where 3300fps is achievable with the 40gn Nosler Ballistic tips.

ENGLANDER,
If my sainted Scot mother, born in Paisley, heard of a Scot calling themselves Englander, OOOH the ghost of the Bell's would raise up and haunt you.

Now to the serious stuff. The K-Hornet is a very nice modification. One thing you want to determine is the size of the bore. The Hornet started with a .223" diameter bore. Later it was standardized to .224". I don't know if this would create a problem with bullet availability in your area or not. Dies for the .22 K-Hornet are available through several companies, including RCBS and Redding. These two are the only dies I'm comfortable suggesting. Most companies consider the K-Hornet a non-standard calibre and the dies may cost more than dies for a standard cartridge. Forming cases for the standard model K-Hornet is pretty straight forward, just fire standard Hornet ammo in the rifle and you get K-Hornet case. If available there, I'd suggest Winchester cases. A friend of mine has a K-Hornet and is using Winchester 296 powder in it and claims great results.

If you need additional information, just Email me and I'll attempt to get it for you. I hope this information is of some help. Good luck.

[ 09-29-2002, 14:38: Message edited by: BigBob ]

Cheers Guys

Ive heard Hornet brass is thin or thins quickly,and does not last as long as other .22's ??

How many times could i expect to reload my brass ?? Would the K-Hornet brass last any longer ??

I would imagine collet dies are best for either Hornet.................

Regards Englander

Hi Englander,
reloading solutions direct have the k.hornet dies in stock:
01865 791307.
I would try for the quality brass such as : lapua, rws, norma, I know that rws make brass for the hornet, but am not sure about the others.
best of luck!!

Griff

Hello Englander,

I have a Bruno Hornet that I reload for, I use Winchester brass and Lil' Gun powder, you can push the Nosler and Hornady ballistic tips out around the 2900 - 3000 fps mark, it does tend to vary quite a bit with the Lil' Gun, but I have reloaded some of my cases 6 times and there is no sign of them giving in yet.

John

I have a Ruger No 3 in 22 K Hornet. It is a delight to shoot. I am using 40 grain V-Max Hornady bullets with AA 1680 powder. Velocity is 2969 fps. I use small rifle primers, insted of small rifle primers. This greatly improved the accuracy. I get 1 inch groups at 100 yards with mild recoil and a lb of powder last forever.

I re-chamber to "K" with a "T" handle and the barrel still in the receiver.
The sharper shoulder does help the brass last longer, as does the use of a LEE collet-type neck sizer.
You can modify the collet sizer with just a hand drill to shorten the area that grabs the cart. neck and squeezes it down on the mandrel.

I don't know how many loads I have gotten out of a particular case. I suspect in excess of ten, as I have never thrown one away yet.

Small pistol primers and AA1680 powder have given me the best results, as have "Hornet" bullets of fairly blunt profule and 45 gr. weight.

If you are shooting to eat, you might consider "slow openers" of maybe 50 gr. weight.
Normal bullets for .222 should work.

The Hornet is a great cart. made better by the "K" chamber.
My wife's grandaddy shot everything from elk on down with one to feed a large family.

You might consider loading cast bullets for edible game and to lower ammo cost, while saving your jacketed bullets for "serious work".

Don't let anyone tell you a Hornet won't shoot well either. I ahve had several that would regularly shoot under and inch at 100 yds.
I have shot ground squirrells out to 235 yds. with an old 23D Savage with a 4x AO scope on it. (The target is at most 1 1/2 inches wide.)
I am not a great shot and would not benefit from the added range of a .222 etc.
The Hornet will do all the varminting I need, and then some.

My newest one is a re-barreled #3Ruger with a gain-twist 1:15" 27" barrel of fairly light weight/contour, and a Brit. style 2-point sling.
THis is a great varmint rifle with this sling set-up. It is still a bit heavy to carry.

I am looking for a Rossi break-action in Hornet to re-chamber as more of a utility rifle/cal. taht I could count on to 150 yds. for ground squirrells and feral dogs, cougar, etc.

Dave .32-20

Englander:

Lots of good advice has been posted here. I had my Ruger converted to K and have never regretted it one bit. Definately try both small rifle and small pistol primers when developing loads. One often benefit of rechambering is an immediate improvement in accuracy. Case life is extended as well.

I neck size only for about .200 down the neck and never have problems. Hodgdon 'lil gun has proven to be a stellar performer in the Hornets. I use the 35 gr Hornady V-Max for maximum effect on prarie dogs.

You may even find your rifle shoots very well with factory hornet ammo while fire-forming cases.

Best of luck and please keep us updated.

Ben H

Found a set of C-H dies in 22 K Hornet in the shop...excellant shape for $20.oo plus shipping...email at janehal@yahoo.com

Englander : I use regular Hornet Lee Collet and Dead Length Seater Dies to reload my K Hornet. I just use a stack of washers on top of the Shell Holder to control how far down the neck I resize. Before the Collet Neck Sizing Die, using an RCBS Full Length Resizing Die, I was only averaging about 10 reloads / case. The Collet Die has extended that to an average of 30 reloads / case. In my K Hornet, Case failure mode is always Neck Splitting, and the Lee Collet Die reworks the neck an absolute minimum. I am aware of several different K Hornet case designs, so before laying out big money for a benchrest Seater make sure it matches your chamber. The Lee Collet Die Set works well for me. My best loads average 3/4 to 7/8 MOA, in spite of an overly long throat and liberal neck clearance.

The Hornady 40 gr. VMAX does well in the 1 in 16 twist barrel above about 10 deg.C. Below that temperature I frequently have stability/accuracy problems. The Nosler 40 gr. BT seems to stabilize about 20 deg.C, so I have not used it much. My 40 gr. loads are mild with Muzzle Velocities of around 2700 fps. I like H4227 powder.

Hi Englander

Well everything good has been said about the K Hornet , and I cant realy add much to whats been said. Only thing i can add is that I am a very happy customer since I had the conversion done , with our local powder ( we only have 1 for the Hornet & K Hornet ) i could not get a 45 grainers anything over 2340 fps without accuracy dropping off. Since the rechambering I push a 40 gr Nosler BT to 3000 fps with 7-10 mm groups at a 100 m , Hornady V-Max to 3185 fps with same accuracy , 45 gr Hornady Hornet to 2910 fps with .5 " Groupings. I have taken game up to Blesbuck with it but would not suggest it as anything but a critter gun . My own max range with her is about the 250 yds mark.

Good luck
Rudie

Englander,

I have shot the K-Hornet on prairie dogs in Wyoming for three years now. The piece is an 18" Contender carbine in .224 bore. My load is small PISTOL primer, 11.5 grains Alliant 2400 powder, Nosler 40 grain Ballistic Tip bullet set against the rifling. This give me right at 2800 f/s. I have it set up with a Leupold fixed 12X scope. It routinely shoots 1/2" 5-shot groups at 100 yds, and is very effective on the PD's out to at least 200yds and an occasional one beyond that.

To date I have fired 2300 rounds in this carbine and get 8 loads from Winchester brass before they start to go. The first sign of failed brass is partial head separation even though I am carefully headspacing on the shoulder.

Like the guys above have commented, a pound of powder goes a long way, there is no recoil, the noise level is low and it is a TON OF FUN TO SHOOT.

Don Shearer