I use Unique for '22WMR type' loads in my Hornet, but was curious if our 'old friend' Blue Dot would be suitable. Hornady 35gr Vmax with 4.0gr Unique and CCI small pistol primer gives 1780fps and 0.4" at 50yd.(24" barrel)
Any ideas?

Regards....

......Titan

Titan,

It would be fun to test that is for sure! Too bad I don't own a hornet. Being able to turn my 223 into one, sort of negated me buying the Hornet.

It would be interesting to contact James Calhoon. That is where I got introduced to the 223 and Blue Dot. I know they make their 19 Calhoon based on the hornet and I wonder if they have done any testing.

He is a small outfit so to talk to the Main man is not a big deal. Probably will have to call you back since he is out feeding the horses or something of the sort.

website is www.jamescalhoon.com

cheers and good shooting
seafire

I didn't find any Blue Dot loads at Calhoon's. I'm split between Lil'Gun and H4227 right now, but would like to have an idea of a starting place with Blue Dot.

Paul,

What I do is to fill the case to the rim with blue dot, and then weight the powder on my scale.

I then figure out what is 40% to 60%. for light loads you can go down to 20% of total max.

Blue Dot is fairly close to 4227 and 2400 on the powder charts in burn rate, although blue dot is faster. You can take a look at minimum recommended charges for those two in a Hornet, and since it is a small case, I'd go one or two grains lower. I think it only holds 11 to 12 grains anyway doesn't it?

Keep me posted on what you find out Amigo!

Cheers and good shooting
seafire

Seafire,

I checked the Win. .22 Hornet cases last night and found a 10.0 gr capacity of Blue Dot. I decided on loading 8.0 gr with a 46 gr Win HP. That's .5 gr less than a starting load of H4227.

I'll probably check for function and excess pressure today.

Paul,

If you get this in time, I'd recommend NOT starting off with that much powder. I have found that 60% is max.

So my recommendations would be start at 4 grains ( 40%) and end at 6 grains ( 60%). I would personally start at 2 or 3 grains and load one or two rounds up in each and go from there. I know the Hornet is not a big case capacity, so a 46 grain bullet out of one of those cases, is like a 90 grain bullet out of a 223 proportionately.

I fear that the combo you mentioned will definitely blow the primer and end up with a stuck case if used in a bolt action.
Hopefully that at the worst.!

Just hope this catches you in time.!!!!!

seafire

I don't mean to butt in here but you might want to contact Rocky Raab over at www.huntchat.com . As he called James Calhoon and worked up Hornet loads with Blue Dot. He can give you the skinny on what to expect. Also ask about the Lee factory crimp and why. Also small pistol primers.

Seafire,



You didn't catch me in time! However, I'm still here to write this account of what transpired.



8.0 gr was the starting load with 46 gr Win HP's and CCI small rifle primers. I took one round out and test fired it with the breech on the opposite side of a tree! The primer looked OK and the case ejected without problems. So, I loaded enough to shoot a group of 3/4" at 50 yards. 8.5 gr and 9.0 gr are certainly too hot! I blew one primer at 8.5 gr and I think the rest loosened the pockets on new Win brass.



I guess you were right about an 80% load not being too good of an idea!







I found this at reloadingroom.com

Quote:

---

Want to make your Hornet into a .22 Mag?

Try these:





35 gr bullets 7.0 Blue Dot 2400 fps



45 gr 6.0 2100





As always, the usual reloading precautions apply. These loads are normal to warm in my guns, but should be worked up for your use. Use no more than 0.3 grain charge increases after backing down one full grain for start loads. Standard small rifle primers in all loads, although small pistol primers may also be tried. Good shooting!

---

Paul,

Glad there was no casualties on that outing!

I see some of my thoughts were correct then. However, it seems a Hornet with Blue Dot would be a real inexpensive round to load, and I think even if you could shoot it as fast as an M60, you still probably couldn't heat up the barrel on that one.

If you back them down to the 6 or 7 grains range, let me know how they chronograph and what the accuracy is.

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire

Seafire,



I shot some 6.0 gr loads of Blue Dot today. I used 3 cases that should have been scrapped and the primers leaked (I lost them in the rest of the cases until today!). The average velocity was around 1877 fps, but I really need to try that again with good cases. They were shooting very low compared to the Lil'Gun and H4227 loads I was shooting in the same session.



My original quest was to have a full powered Blue Dot load in the Hornet, not a reduced load. I shot a .67" group at 100 yards with Win 46 gr HP's and 13.0 gr of Lil'Gun today at an average of 2609 fps at 15'. That's going to be an impossible velocity, and probably accuracy, for Blue Dot to match.







I will still load a few more Blue Dots in good cases and will report on it later.



BTW, this is the Handi rifle I'm using on this project. 20" barrel on a shotgun receiver and forearm with 4-12X 40 mm Redhead scope from Bass Pro.

Paul,
Even I would have to admit that blue dot would not be my first choice in a Hornet. It is a small case. I think a 222 would be the smallest one I'd figure it would do a good job.

Although I have not shot 'Little Gun', every thing I have heard about it, makes it THE " TO GO TO" POWDER for a Hornet and K Hornet. Both in velocity and accuracy.

If you play with BD in the Hornet anymore, try 6.3, 6.6 and 7 grains and let me know how that goes. Maybe the case is possible to take that with the 46 grain HP.

If you shoot that bullet on game, I think you will be impressed with its performance. I sure was surprised!

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire

I finally made it out to shoot those 6.0 gr Blue Dot loads with 46 gr Win HP's. The 40 gr V-Max load with 13.0 gr Lil'Gun was shooting 2" high into 1.32", but these were an average of 2" low and grouped at 4.25". All at 100 yards.

Well a 4 inch group sure is nothing to crow about is it???

Seems like the Lil gun or that Unique load was the way to fly.

Thanks for sharing and posting that Paul.

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire