Hello,
I would like to know the pros and cons or the 22Hornet vs. the 22 k Hornet. I plane to put together a T/C Encore Hornet handgun and need to make a decession no which to go with.
thanks.

stephen b.

stephen b---

The K Hornet is probably the most sensible of all the thousands of wildcats.

The improvement not only increased powder capacity, it also moves the headspace datum from the rim to the shoulder.

This completely eliminates case seperations, makes brass last MUCH longer, usually improves accuracy, and they usually shoot well enough with factory ammo to make a seperate fireforming step unneccesary. Just shoot 'em.

About 1987 Ross Seyfried wrote a great Shooter's Insight column in Guns and Ammo that goes into more detail.

I've shot the K-Hornet since 1959 and would consider it as the ONE center fire caliber I'd choose if limited to just one rifle.

Thanks JBelk,
That's a positive recomendation if I've ever heard one. I'm sold on the K Hornet. I'm placing my order for one tomorrow.

stephen b.

The Hornet is one of the very few troublesome cartridges. It has very poor case life and very little flexibility at least compared to other cartridges. Lysle Kilbourns version of course is somewhat better but not nearly as good as a reduced load in say a .223

The normal CF .22 will be more accurate than a Hornet which may be the least accurate of all cartridges.

Read www.serveroptions.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000991#000000

Savage 99--

You INSIST on spouting the most ignorant shit I've EVER heard!!!

How many K-Hornets do you shoot? How many have you owned? How much experience have you had in rechambering and building them from scratch?

Most of all, why do you insist on opening your mouth when there's no knowledge to impart except some idiotic bull shit spouted by some writer with no more a clue about what he's talking about than you have? Really strange that you'd DO that!!

The K-Hornet is one of the all time BEST accuracy cartridges ever made. Notice I said "K" Hornet. I get over 3000fps from FIVE rifles, all but one (that has at LEAST 30,000 rounds through it) will hold sub MOA and a couple will shoot with a light varminter off the bench at less than seven pounds total weight.

Here. Try this---


That was the first and only group from a new CZ-527 that I'd just bedded, re-chambered and re-crowned.

I shoot more that 5,000 K-Hornets a YEAR. I get up to 12 loading on all makes of brass and can shoot MOA groups with mixed brass, bullets and GUNS..........with one third the powder charge and half the noise and recoil of the .223........and load them all on a Dillon 550.

While I somewhat agree with Savage99 about the Hornet being troublesome, I will disagree that the Hornet is a lost cause. Sure, they can be a pain in the rump to get to shoot, but they can be made to shoot. Sometimes it is at the expense of money, sometimes at time's expense, but if you're willing, they are able.

I spent close to three years off and on trying to get a Ruger 77/22 to shoot. I sent it back to Ruger a few times and I spent a lot of time and some money working on it, but by gosh, it is one helluva fun rifle now! Brass life is not as bad as one may lead you to believe... I have Winchester brass that is at ten firings now, and still going. That aint too bad in my book. With a 35 gr. VMAX, its around 2850 fps. Not greased lightning, but moving along at a fair clip. Terminal performance is great and I can hit a chizzler out to 200 yards with fair regularity. And working with a rifle trying to get it to shoot is part of the fun!

Now, with all that said, I have another Hornet that I am planning to ream out to K. They say brass life is better, they are a little faster, and a little more accurate. Seems like another thing to try, and once I get the funds, it will happen. But until that time, I am going to play with it as is.

Reduced loads are great and a lot of fun to work with, but the standard Hornet and the K are also a lot of fun...and they are another rifle in the safe! Go K and have a great time!

I wish I had the experience as JBelk! Guy seems to know what he's talking about. Awesome group with cold, hard facts behind it.

[ 03-18-2003, 20:39: Message edited by: Trapdoor ]

Savage99, maybe I just live right but I have owned three Hornets and all were good if not great shooters. The worst was a NEF Handi Rifle with a 23 pound trigger pull, but it even gave 1.5 inch groups with most factory loads. My TC Contender carbine will give 0.5 MOA with what it likes. The CZ I just purchased has become my favorite rifle. It shoots V-Max's so well I am ashamed to post the targets. My brother owns a Browning Micro in .22 Hornet that shoots equally as well. I have read your continuing saga flaming the Hornet and do not understand your criticisms about its fussiness and short case life. I was given a box of Norma factory loads back in '89 when I purchased my TC. I have loaded those cases some 50 odd times, and they still have life in them. No I don't try to squeeze 3000 fps from my Hornets as I own other rifles that will deliver that speed if needed. But to me it is a great round that fills a need in my battery. It handles crows and 'chucks easily if limited to the sunny side of 200 yards, which covers about 80 percent of the shots I take. All of this and it is very miserly with powder. Give it another try, maybe it will grow on you.

Jack Belk,

I find your last comment rather rude. I have had a couple of Hornets and the were only fair as to accuracy and short on case life. I noticed that you did not reply on the portion of my statement about Hornet case life. There is a recent thread here also about short (5) K Hornet case life.

My most recent experiance was with a club member who doted on Hornets. He was a retired tool maker from Winchester and he had a large lathe and did his own chambering, threading and barrel fitting. He had made a rather accurate 7.62 X 39 on a 40X and he preached using Hart barrels. He shot Hornets at the range quite a bit and I would tease him as from what he got for results it was obvious that any decent rifle would outshoot his Hornets and mine.

It seems that this man, who has passed on, did not have your gunsmithing skill with Hornets and neither do I. So I, in good faith, posted what I use as a "Hornet" load.

You can take your direct insults and wash them out of your mouth. I won't take that from you or any man.

Don Martin

I think a lot of the complaints about the Hornet are caused by poorly chambered factory rifles. Factory chambers of all types are typically cut large. With the Hornet being such a small case, a little goes a long way, so to speak. With average runout, the percentage overcut is much higher for a Hornet than other rounds. With a good barrel and a good chamber, there is no reason a Hornet can't be as good as any other rifle, and has a few unique attributes due to its size. Sadly, there are few custom Hornets built today. In the fifties, it was one of the most popular custom chamberings due to the number os Martini's, Hi Walls, Low Walls and Steven available. With the current actions, there is little opportunity to build a Hornet custom, so most people base their opinion on factory guns, which often are not up to snuff.

Maybe someone should back WAY up and read the subject of the post.

Stephen B ask the pros and cons of the Hornet Vs the K-Hornet.

THAT is was I was responding to.

The 22 Hornet DOES have some problems. The biggest problem is that US and European rim thicknesses varied between guns AND ammo manufacturers.

To be SURE that all ammo fits a chamber the rim recess has to be at *least .070 deep, but some ammo has .055 rims. That means the cartridge *can't* be very accurate.

As Art S pointed out, factory chambers for Hornets are terrible ......and very minor dimensional variations become very large in effect as the available volume goes down.....

THAT is why the Kilborn Hornet is a totally different cartride. The K-Hornet (and all improved wildcats based on rimmed cartridges) are a GOOD deal.

Hornet and K-Hornet are as comparable as the 30-40 to the 30-06. There's THAT much difference in the two calibers. A fireformed K-Hornet headspaces on the shoulder and makes the rim as useless an appendage a bigger pain in the butt than it's hermorphadite brother, the magnum's belt.

A CUSTOM 22 K-Hornet is an absolute joy to behold. SAAMMI says to make reamers with .2455 necks.......unless you shoot really old RWS thick-neck brass, the neck can be .2425 and shoot American brass a whole bunch better with .003 less expansion and almost unlimited case life......but it does wear out. See below.

I've loaded and shot the K-Hornet since 1959 and never had a case seperate. (THAT is one of the Hornet's worse problems). I've never, ever trimmed a K-Hornet case. I throw them away when the necks split or the shoulder leaks, but most often I throw them away when I reach in the bucket and grab one without a primer. The pockets loosen after about 10 of my (hot) loads and at 12 to 15 firings the primer won't stay in the pocket and leaks WW-680 all over the bottom of the bucket and I have to chunk it.

I shoot K-Hornets like a kid shoots 22 Long Rifles....by the carton. Just for curiosity I just "counted" how much brass I have to load right now for the annual ground squirrel season of two weeks (self imposed). ..........Sixteen point 8 POUNDS of fired brass.

On accuracy---- There's an old benchrest belief that normally works......Less case capacity equals accuracy. There's a demonstrable exception between with the larger 6mm Rem being more accurate that the smaller 243 Win. (that should stir up the 'my gun's better than your gun' crowd), and there's a matter of neck to shoulder relationship that makes the 222 more inherently accurate than the smaller, short-necked .221 cousin....but that might be the explaination for the 6mm/243 deal, too.

What I'm getting at is that the 22 K-Hornet has all the attributes of the best 22 caliber BR cartridge of all time, but I don't think it's ever been tried.

Brass would be a problem....it's too thin to turn, and always a smidge out of concentricity......but I might sort through a mess of brass and do one on a homemade action just to see.

As you can tell, I love the K-Hornet and have so LITTLE use for the regular Hornet it's hard to believe.

THAT'S why I get *really* pissed at people spouting the crap that's been written by armchair gun writers regurgitating what 'they' read in the Dope Bag by *another* armchair firearms "expert" in the nineteen thirties!!
The same, out of date, incorrect, and totally different from reality "facts" get recycled by those that learned what they "know" in a friggin armchair!

Rant mode finally drains energy source and reason again takes a (tenuous) hold............

JBelk, who does a good conversion job to K Hornet? You got me thinking I need one.

The .22 Hornet and .22 K-Hornet are well known for short case life. This thread is just one that illustrates this and the .20 K-Hornet must have an even larger shoulder to headspace on.
www.serveroptions.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=007851

It seems that Jack Belk tries to be everywhere correcting us. It's too bad that he did not get to the specifications and tolerances on this product. Having met Lysle Kilbourn and getting reloading advice from him I see I went to the wrong place. When Lysle found that I was reloading for the .222 Remington he complimented me on it. Something must be lost in the manners taught in some circles.

Lysle developed the K-Hornet Jr. also. It has a case lenght of 1.065" and his favorite load was 8.5 grs of 2400 that gave a 43 gr cast bullet 2200 fps. This is close to the .22 RF mag.

There is a market for such cartridges of low report and adequate power for pests at moderate range. I have found that the reduced loads work fine for me with powders made for the application such as 4759.

However what with the fact that the Hornet remains a troublesome cartridge perhaps a fresh start would be the best idea. A new cartridge with the appoximate capacity of a K-Hornet base on the .375" rim dia of the .223/222/221 cases seems appropiate. Sort of a BelkSSM if you would.

Savage99 -

Where in this thread does it demonstrate that the K-hornet has short case life? Because you say so? This is the same line of uninformed baloney you keep spewing post after post. Kind of like your post on another forum where you stated the .257 Roberts was a weak cartridge and that a rifle chambered in the roberts needed a long barrel and a bayonet. There is not a man anywhere to whom I put more trust in than Jack Belk when it comes to cartridge performance and design.

Bill Soverns,

The fact of short K Hornet case life is referenced in the link I provided. Did you read it? Do you accept that a .20 KHornet's case life is relevant or not? Belk danced around K Hornet head separations by mentioning that he overloads the case relevant to primer pockets. Since he has a special reamer that no doubt is better than what Kilbourn designed according to him and I have not seen his results I have to consider it true.

On the .257 Roberts. This is really funny. Of course I was fooling you with a mention that .257 Roberts owners should fix bayonets!

I believe that Bick Stick made the only reference to the K hornet in that thread, and he stated that he gets good milage from his despite his need for speed. A friend of mine has a K hornet and he gets about 8 to 10 reloads off his brass. I will have to agree that they are quite an accurate little round.

However what with the fact that the Hornet remains a troublesome cartridge perhaps a fresh start would be the best idea. A new cartridge with the appoximate capacity of a K-Hornet base on the .375" rim dia of the .223/222/221 cases seems appropiate. Sort of a BelkSSM if you would.

I think Remington has already done this with the .221 Fireball.

I get 8 to 10 loadings with my 21" Contender and Rem brass, With WW brass so far I have some with 14 loadings and no sign of head separation. I have a shooting buddy that gets only 3 loadings with WW brass in his 10" Contender, he is getting almoust the same velocity I'm getting in my 21" barrel. He full length sizes his brass ever loading with no thought of headspacing in his Contender and loads them very hot, where-as I only size them enough to keep proper headspace and don't load them HOT. Ever load I've fired in my 22 Hornet shoots close to MOA even with cast bullet loads. I think some of the bad press about the 22 Hornet has come about not keeping the brass sized for proper headspacing and the difference in chambering deminsons.
Albert

The .221 Rem holds up to 17 grs of powder and the K Hornet about 12.5 from the same Speer handbook.

Lets have Belk design a .223 head diameter cartridge with the neck length that he wants to fill this niche. Give a faster twist too. The old .22 cf's are type cast with too slow twists at 1-14. Heck the Hornet is 1-16.

As Belk mentioned the rim thicknesses of the cases vrs the chamber rim dimensions are what has to be killing even the case life of the K versions. This is the kind of thing that John Ricks pointed out with the belted cases too.

Some sort of a small bayonet could be fixed to this new rifle also. This would make it a defensive weapon as well.

The preliminary .22 Belk is finished. The old South Bend made a case 1.1" long from a .223 and when the cut off shoulder is attached it holds 10.5 grs of RL 7 to the base of the neck. Now this case might be just right capacity wise but the neck of the .223 is way too short so we need a 35 degree shoulder and longer neck. A neck length of at least .300" is wanted maybe even longer so as to enable this to be necked to .20" and .177"

Such a cartridge would use the standard .223 bolt face and actions yet would have far less report.

With it's rimless design it will headspace well and be quite accurate. It might even be competative at 100 yd bench rest matches.

Savage:

I believe I have uncovered the cause of the incipient case head separation I experienced in my .20 Hornet Improved in the thread you linked to above. While I have yet to confirm, I believe the cause was that when I was neck sizing with my neck/shoulder bump die, I was inadvertently bumping the shoulder down a bit each time. Therefore, the advantage of headspacing off the shoulder was lost and I inadvertently created a situation where I was headspacing off the rim each time I fired a reload, instead of headspacing off the shoulder. I look forward to a serial reloading on a few rounds this weekend to see how long they last---but without bumping the shoulder.

Jordan

I don't recall what kind of a rifle you have but make something to check the headspace. I mean between the rim and the bolt face because unless it's solid there the first shot will damage the web anyway.

If it's a bolt rifle a way to make a headspace gage is to solder a small piece of soft solder to the case just ahead of the rim. File it small and close the bolt on it. Measure the crushed solder and that will tell you why the cases are stretching.

Of course your right about pushing the shoulder back. It's so easy to do. I take the firing pin right out of the bolt so as to get a better feel when setting a die.

Not true savage99 the case web on the hornet STARTS SOME DISTANCE AFTER THE THICKNESS OF THE RIM thus the web is in little danger. BTW I use both win/rem brass on my K-hornet and dump them after 10 loadings regardless. I headspace mine off the shoulder on a crush fit

Savage99 aka Don Martin aka Village Idiot, for god's sake talk about something you know something about and it is not rifles in any manner from your posts. The thread you referenced only proved you wrong. Go away and find a site devoted to stamp collecting. You are no longer even humorous, just a pest with no intellect or information.

I am not an expert on Hornet's or K-Hornets,so will just relate my experience with them.

Over a period of about 50 years I have owned the following Hornets that I can recall off the top of my head:

- M54 Winchester Super Grade w 20-X Litschert
- Savage M19-H w 20-X Lyman SuperTargetspot
- Savage M219 w 4X Redfield
- Savage M23-D w K10 Weaver
- Martini Cadet barreled by 1961 Wimbledon winner Earl Burton, with 14-X or 15-X Lyman Targetspot (can't recall which magnification it was)
- Martini Cadet-sized action by Francotte
- BSA Majestic, can't recall scope
- TCR '83 w Weaver T-16 (still have it)
- Brno miniature Mauser, can't recall designation

and these K-Hornets:

- Savage-Anschutz 1432, can't recall scope
- Martini Cadet, Hart bbl, w Weaver T-10 (still have it)

I may have forgotten one or two. Of the 11 listed above, only 3 ever reliably shot below MOA for me. They were the standard Hornets in the M54 Winchester, the BSA Majestic, and the TCR'83 which I still have. My current K-Hornet Martini may eventually shoot MOA, but it sure hasn't so far.

I found my Hornets all shot better with slightly lower loads than the ones listed in the old books.

For instance, a commonly called for load was 10.0 grs. of H-2400 with 45 gr. bullets. Mine all liked 9.0 grains of 2400 better. I suspect, but don't know for sure, that the old loads were developed with balloon-head brass. My lower loads may have worked better for me because I was using the lower capacity solid head brass. I do know that in factory unimproved Hornets, 10.0 grains of 2400 would often open Winchester primer pockets with one shot.

One interesting thing (to me, anyway) was that on the Martini that Earl Burton barreled for me he used a Stevens 416 .22LR barrel...and for some reason the only ammo I found that that rifle would shoot really accurately was "liberated" USAF survival ammo...with the full patch bullet. I got the ammo from M/Sgt. Burton (USAF). Perhaps he throated the rifle for that ammo?

I never worked a lot with the Hornets, as I always found it easier to get as good or better accuracy with .222s, .223s, and even .220 Swifts.

These comments are not to knock Hornets. They are fun to shoot, and I try to never be without at least one. But if I wanted easy accuracy, I'd take a .222 or a .223 any day.

YMMV

[ 03-21-2003, 10:39: Message edited by: Alberta Canuck ]

Alberta Canuck--

I've never seen any Hornet or K-Hornet that shoots 2400 or H-110 for beans. Try AA-1680 or Lil Gun in the HIGHER pressure ranges.

I've owned more Hornet-based rifles than you and every one shot best with the very top loads listed (or more). Even .223 barrels (like the M-54, M-70, M-43, Sav. 340 and 219, BRNO ZKW, and the Anshultz, can shoot .224 bullets well if the velocity is high enough.

BTW-- THe early Ruger Number Threes were .223 bore diameter, too.

.......and I'll stand by my statement that the advantage of rechambering to K Hornet overcomes every one of the reported "problems" of the standard Hornet.

BTW--- I don't own a K-Hornet with a tight (.242) neck. When rechambering factory barrels you're stuck with whatever neck they already have. That's usually at least .245.

THE BEST thing about the (K) Hornets is that I can carry a thousand rounds of ammo on a walking jackrabbit shoot without falling through the crust.

I've only owned 2 hornets, both Ruger 77-22, neither was worth a @#$%. I had wanted one for years for the few that I had messed with, belonging to friends,were all very accurate. My last one, which is a heavy barreled Ruger, I had recrowned, rechambered to the K-Hornet, the bolt worked on and a trigger job. Now it's the most accurate rifle I've ever owned. I load LilGun and the 35 grn VMax. I don't understand the gripe about Hornets being hard on brass. I have loaded some 14 to 15 times before I chuck it and I'm running the 35 grn VMax to 3150 fps. Guess I didn't know hornet brass wasn't supposed to last that long! LOL

I think this whole thread is a perfect example of "YMMV".

I am not in a contest with anyone to see who has owned the most or least Hornet derivative rifles, nor do I think that has any particular importance to the reporting at hand.

I was posting what my experiences have been...and have done that.

Based on my own experience, and no one else's, my own private choice were I to go for easy accuracy in a center-fire .22 would be a .222 Remington.

My choice for a light weight, low recoil, tolerably accurate factory gun (1/2 MOA), for "walk-around" varminting would be my Kimber (of Oregon) Cascade Classic .17 K Hornet. In the 19 years or so I have owned it, it has served me well, and I have no immediate cause to discard it.

Were I currently interested in the finest levels of meticulous BR shooting with jacketed bullets, I would choose some variety of either the .22 PPC or the 6 m/m PPC... As I am partial to the .22s, it would likely the be the .100-short .22 PPC for me, unless I wanted to be able to buy over the counter, prepped brass from at least a few sources. In that case I personally would choose the .242 neck 6 PPC.

I tend to agree that almost any small bore cartridge can be made to shoot exceeding well, if 'smithed exceeding well. Perhaps the same is true of any larger cartridge too, so long as the recoil is well tolerated by the shooter.

My penny,
even if the topic seems to be a little relaxed;
In the last two weeks I begun the study of the loads for my 22K-Hornet. The rifle is an Anschutz mod 1432 that I converted using a finisher made by Clymer. A friend of mine halped me modifying the tool so that we can use it by hand. We worked slowly and gently last summer, and only now I have the wish, more than the time, to explore the new world.
Two Sundays ago the first test after the production of fireformed case has been done with the 52grs Sierra MatchKing bullet, CCI primers 8.8grs of VV N110 powder in a RWS case. Ten shots rapidly fired (too much people at the range) gave me a 30 millimiters total group, but 5 shots were all together.
Yesterday I arrived with four loads, from 8.5 to 9.2grains loads. The 9.0 grs load gave me a 13.1mm group, agagin threee togeter and the other two very close. I had this result easily, in only two test. If I'll have the same results in the next session... I'll have the result that I searched for a lot of time.
The play has begun, I have some powder to test, some lenght change and all the tricks that you well known, but in this moment I have to give my vote to 22K-Hornet
bye

I'd like to jump in here and relate my positive experiences with the plain ol' Hornet. I realize that I've opened myself up to the potential of public derision, but the Hornet has done everything that I've wanted of it.

I'm firing a 55gr bullet from a 10" Contender and it will group well inside 1" all day long. In fact, my groups are usually between .5"-.75" for 5 shots @ 100yds. These results, to somewhat refute JBelk's statment were using WW296 (not EXACTLY labeled H110 but close enough for me). Please understand that my goal is not extreme velocity but only to keep velocity in the 1700-1800fps range from the short barrel. I have fired much of my brass 5 or 6 times with NO stretching and subsequent case separations. I have been measuring them each time because of the reputation that I've read about. I have not seen it though. Keep your loads mild and many of the complaints about the Hornet may just go away.

B_Koes---

I've never thought of heavy bullets in a Hornet but I can see where you hit an a great combination.

Just a theory here----The long bullet has enough .224 diameter sticking out the front of the case to fill the throat and thereby support the front of the case and keep the base against the breech. In effect you've done exactly what improvement to Kilborn does; Move the headspace from the rim to the front.

Do you get any expansion with that load? What do you shoot with it?

I shoot squirrells and skunks around the house with Aquilla 60 grain sub sonics. What you have is the same principal.....lots of energy with less velocity.

I may try that and see how it works in a K-Hornet rifle. I have thousands of 55 gr BTs that I don't shoot in anything else.

Sure nice to see everyone get's along here. But I must confess that for years I let writer's bs and horror stories from people who didn't own one keep me from trying a hornet. Fortunately I bumped into a fellow with a little experience ( hand's on ) and the rest as they say is history. My first rifle in Hornet is an Anschutz mod. 54 Meister Grade, 6X20 Leupold,40 gr V Max--13.3gr LilGun--3000ish on an oehler 35p.Length of bullet precludes using the magazine but the results speak for themself. After careful break in my first 5 shot group was in the .2's ---this rifle consistantly shoot's 1/2 inch or less (no exageration).The most fun I had that entire year was 3 day's spent paraire dog shooting with an old buddy who'd told me for year's how I was crazy for wanting a Hornet. The look on his face while he was eating that crow was priceless! New powder's and bullet's have truly changed the complection of the Hornet ballistics, accurate rifles have alway's been accurate. To make a long story short , by this time the genie was out of the bottle (so to speak )once you realize you've been duped and there is no boogie man the storie's just don't scare you any more ! My next rifle rifle was a Cooper Montana Varminter K Hornet , another Leupold "presto" another 1/2 inch rifle in my gun safe--it's easy---all it take's is a good rifle . Hearsay has it (in all due respect)Ruger Hornet's seldom shoot without a lot of tweaking---it's in the rifle not the cartrige! Is the hornet the most accurate round ever made? No , in a good rifle will it outshoot the bonehead pulling the trigger? 99 time's out of 100! My advice don't listen to nay sayers , who know's what their reloading practices are or if the guy can even hit a bull in the butt with a banjo. I've shot the small stuff almost exclusively for the last 3 or 4 year's (including another Cooper Varminter in .17 Mach IV,and .17 HMR in a CZ-- Their wrong about .17's too!!!)what a gas!!! Hornet's and K Hornet's will do 90% of the shooting a guy does on paraire dogs, gophers, and rock chucks. I will admit to only getting about 7 or 8 shot's per case in my K, but think about this---I get 3250 out of 40 gr V Max's or 40 gr Blitzkings, my Cooper has a tight chamber so believe it or not I'm using 12.3 gr LilGun to do it. Cases cost next to nothing I segragate them by weight in 100 lots. Figure 700 firings for 100 cases 12.3 gr powder 700 bullet's and primers--cheap shooting---Shoot Safe---montdoug

[ 04-30-2003, 05:16: Message edited by: montdoug ]

Here below i've put the final result of my work on my rifle, an original 22Hornet by RWS and the 22k-hornet fire formed in my modified Anschutz and then resized in a redding dies (note the light ring on the case body)
I think that it is a good result. And it shoot well!



Bye

I managed some rotation before upload on server, maybe it is better



bye

Stefano:

That bright ring near the base of the cartridge is evidence of incipient case head separation. Hornets brass is thin. How many times has this brass been fired? Be careful.

Jordan

I saw that ring and I think it's just the end of the chamber. Most of the time an insipiant head separation shows at an angle. That ring looks too uniform and continuous.

Better to check it out with a feeler gage anyway. At some point that Hornet may separate anyway if the headspace is run of the mill for what you get in hornet rifles.

Just saw this thread, and it appears everyone is pretty much having their own opinion of the Hornet/KHornet debate.

Here's my .02,

I do not own a k-hornet buy I am considering getting one in a 20-22 inch barrel for my contender.

I have owned a hornet in a 10 inch and 15 inch contender barrel for over 17 years and it has proven to be one of my most accurate cartridges when using 9.6grs of 2400 and the nosler 45gr hornet bullet.

At 50 yards, it will consistently put 10 rounds through a 1/2 inch bored out hole and at 100yds will stay under 3/4 inches.

From what a few of the guys here are saying, I may have lucked out and got a good barrel or it may just be that the custom contender barrels are that much better than production rifles. I don't know.

I do get around 8-10 loading before I have to disgard brass.

Again, just my .02

HBL

I've been following this thread for quite a while.

I've just been recently able to shoot my barrels in .22 Hornet and .218 Bee (now there's a good alternative to the K-Hornet). I've been using L'ilGun and the Hornady 35 gr. and 40 gr. VMAX bullets. Great stuff! These are fun cartridges and give good performance without a lot of work or cost.

One interesting thing is that the Winchester factory HP load in the Bee shoots very close to the same POI as the 35 gr. VMAX and 14 gr. of L'ilGun.

************************************

I should add that the Hornet is in the truck right now, 'cause it works.

[ 04-27-2003, 02:40: Message edited by: Hobie ]