Anyonw own a 22 Hornet? Which rifle do you own(make)? How is the accuracy? Do you reload for it?

I own a .22 Hornet , well now a .22 K Hornet , I reload for both . This is a CZ 527 , and I am very happy with the rifle . I had trouble with accuracy in the Hornet case , groups averaged over an 1" at 100 m , I rechambered to the K Hornet with great surprise I got more than I bargained for . The groups shrunk to under .5" with the very first load I tried , The performance is also greatly increases . It wont help if I post data on the site , as I cant use imported powders ( they are not available here ) . I only have one powder to work with . My current load is 13 gr S265 (Local Powder) behind a 35 gr V-MAX , at 3150 fps , .354" at 100 m

Regards
Rudie

Is accuracy poor in the normal 22 Hornet in general?

Gidday There Ranger Dave, I own a Krico Hornet which I have had for 20 years and love it for its lack of recoil, low noise level for shooting around farmhouses and is a great calibre for Kids learning to shoot. They can be finicky to find a good load for, at the moment my most accurate load is 35g Hornady V Max,WIN680 powder (old stock)WIN cases and WIN small rifle primers. Consistantly under .75" @ 100Y and am confident to shoot it out to 200Y in the right conditions. With powders the old WIN680 is very close to Accurates 1680 ideal for smaller bullets,30-40g, where I'd like to try HODGDON LilGUN for the 40-50g bullets because of the reports I've heard. All the Best, Mick.

I ahve a cz 527 and it shoots great, I have leupold 3-9x50 Vari X11 and I load 11 grains of win 296 behind the sierra 45 grain .224 projectile. I use rem cases & rem 7 1/2 primer seated to an OAL of 1.71.

I use it for spotlighting from my ute. It has not had anything done to it at all and if I do my part it performs perfectly.

How many shots per case can you guys get from the 22 Hornet?

Well , I wont say that the little Hornet has poor accuracy on general. It just takes more playing around with components than any other calibre I know. Try some small pistol primers , as this made a great improvement on accuracy in my Hornet. Well the rest of the components you will have to go the tried & tested way.

Regards
Rudie

I bought 500 cases to begin with and have not quite got through all of them for there first fireing, I am through about 450. Interestingly they have needed trimming on there first fireing. I hope to get 4-5 firings per case. I agree with what rudie said about being fussy. Mine will only shoot with rem primers.

I own 2 Hornets, a Ruger 77/22VHZ and a CZ 527.
The Ruger, after glass bedding & trigger work, shoots pretty much under 1" at 100 yards. I've got a Weaver V-24 on it.
The CZ, well, I haven't had a chance to go to the range with it yet.
After a lot of experimenting, here's what I've come up with as far as an accurate load:
I use Winchester brass, it's thicker and more durable than Remington brass.
I've found small pistol primers to be more accurate than small rifle primers in all cases. I'm currently using Federal small pistol primers (the regular ones, not the Match primers).
After testing IMR4227, H4227, H110, AA1680, and W296, I've found Hodgdon's Lil'Gun to give the most consistant, best accuracy of any powder. By far, the greatest improvement to accuracy was switching to Lil'Gun. The Hornet case will hold about 13.2 grains. You can't fit enough Lil'Gun into a Hornet case to worry about the pressures.
I've gotten best accuracy using Berger 22/40 MEF's, and Hornady 40-grain V-Maxes have also been quite good. I'm shooting Moly-coated bullets now, with no difference in accuracy but many more rounds between cleaning.
I use RCBS Competition dies, and seat the bullets .020" off the lands. They're too long to fit in the Ruger magazine, and I'm working on the CZ magazine so it will accept longer cartridges.
I suppose I get 5-10 reloads per case, less if I turn the necks.
One other thing, I weigh the cases and group them into lots of +/- 0.1 grains. The Hornet case is very small, and a little bit of volume difference has a measurable effect on accuracy. Electronic scales are great for weighing a lot of cases quickly.
The Hornet is really a lot of fun to shoot and develop loads for. It can be frustrating some times, but it's my favorite rifle to take shooting.
Regards, George.

What Mr. Capriola said, except I didn't have to do anything at all to my Ruger.

I have a TC Contender in .22 Hornet that is a sweet little package. I originally purchased a box of Norma ammo and saved the cases for reloading. I settled on a load of WW 680 and Nosler 40 grain Ballistic Tips, always being careful to keep things on the mild side. I have reloaded those cases in excess of forty times, only loosing a few to loose primer pockets. I know this may sound like total BS, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this kind of life for Norma brass? Thanks.

Ruger m77/22vhz also. didn't do anything other than polish the sear.

Shoots Hornady v max factory loads inside of .750" @ 100yds. I don't even consider reloading at this time ,I just put the brass away for later.

I own a Ruger 77/22 VHZ as well. Mine has been generally accurate and easy toi work with. I have 2 loads that have served me well. First I 40gr. Vmax over 11.9 grains of Win296 Winchester cases and sm pistol primers. this gives consistant 200 yard groups of 1.6"(as long is the wind is low)and velocity of 2915 fps for avg.. The other load I use a lot for squirrels is a 50 grain HornandaySP over 10.3 grains of AA1680 velocity is right at 1900 and 50 yard (good tree squirrel range) groups of .4" over 5 shots. I have not found the rifle or cartridge to be fussy at all.

Mine is in Encore rifle topped with Leupold 2-7 V -I, a joy to shoot and walk around with. It can be very accurate if I pay attention to it's diet. Early on I learned that it likes Remington factory 40 grain loads best. The Sierra 40 grn. Hornet bullet (in .224 not .223) is the most like the one in the factory load, over 13 grns of 'Lil Gun, Winchester cases and CCI small pistol primers. The Sierra bullet is relatiely short so I can't set it our to the lands but that doesn't seem to matter. What makes the biggest difference is that the cases must be pre-fired. Virgin brass produces patterns rather than groups.

I rarely see anyone who owns the BRNO ZBK-110. Mine is the Deluxe model (European-style humped stock), in .22 Hornet. It's topped with a Ruko 3-9X40 scope. With the excellent handloads I get from my favorite gunshow ammo vendor (35 gr V-Max) I can put three shots inside 3/4" at 100 yards consistently. Winchester softpoints are far less accurate, though okay for small game hunting. My only gripe is that this rifle has a horrendous trigger pull from the factory, so had to be stoned&polished. It is a break-open single-shot, similar to the H&R though striker fired with no hammer. I like it.

Seadog, I have a BRNO ZKW 465, it has double set triggers so no trouble in that department, and it is a joy to shoot. I usually load Nosler or Hornady 40 gr ballistic tips with 13 gr of Lil' Gun. Last week I tried the Hornady 45 grain "Hornet" bullet, 13.2 gr Lil' Gun, Winchester brass, CCI SR primers this gave me 2802 fps and 1" at 100 yards and 21/2" at 200 yards, that was the fault of a flyer, honest. I think this is going to be my new hunting load as the energy retention figures look impressive.

John

I have a Ruger No 3 Single Shot in 22 K Hornet. Using small rifle primers, Hornady 40 grain V max bullets and W 1680, I chronyed it at 2969 fps. It is a mild load in my rifle and shoots under 1 inch groups at 100 yards. Until using the above it was a 1 1/2 to 2 inch rifle.

Hi RD. My hornet is a Kimber 82. Still looking for the magic load. The best so far is Win brass, 11.5 gr of IMR 4227, 40 gr Nosler BT. Still not as tight as I want it. I'm loading some Lil Gun right now, and I'll let you know. I think the Hornet is a fussy little beast, but it sure is fun to shoot. - Dan

I'm looking for a non kicking target/varmit rifle. The lightest kicking CF rifle I own is the 30-30, next 30-06.
I don't fire the 30-30 much anymore. The 30-06 wears me down after a while.
222, 223, 243, 22-250 and the hornet is what I'm looking at.

Ranger give the hornet a go you will like it. I have a Hornet & a 22/250 and that pretty well covers my small game needs. I also have Brno Model 2 .22lr.

I have a Ruger .22 Hornet VHZ and it shoots under 1" with 40 gr. V-Max, 13.0 grs Lil-Gun and R-P brass with Federal sm. pistol primers. I clocked the loads at 2950 and hovering around 3/4". If I were you I would either get a CZ 527 or check out the new NEF .22 Hornet that comes without sights and is a heavier barrel than the original they made in Hornet.

Just converted my Anschutz1432 22 Hornet in 22K-Hornet, +/- .5" groups preconversion. On Saturday I hope to test it. And I hope to have the same accuracy or better.
I always reload my cartridges.
bye

I don't own one yet, but I will. I will most likely turn it into a K Hornet too.

I have a Daniel Fraser single-shot .22 Hornet with 1/17" twist. It has never shot factory loads for sour apples, and I have found only two loads that shoot acceptably in it. One uses a Hornady 45-grain pointed softpoint. The other uses the Lyman .224415GC and 4 grains of Unique, giving .22 LR performance. I'd say that a standard .22 Hornet is a tough case to get good performance from, but the K-Hornet seems to be a lot better. If there is such a thing as an inherently INACCURATE cartridge, it must be the standard .22 Hornet!!

eldeguello,

1 in 17 would seem to be kind of on the slow side for the hornet. I wonder if that has anything to do with your troubles.

Regards,

Chad

I just tried a load that more or less replicates a 22 WRM, but with a bit more thump. I have some Reloder 7 to use up, so 11 grains of that in new RP Hornet cases, CCI SR primer and 45 gr Hornady #1210 Hornet bullets, produce 2031 fps and 412 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle, this is out of my BRNO ZKW 465 with a 1 - 16" twist bbl. Now I realise this is not an earth shattering load, but, I like it, it is accurate, 5/8" @ 65yds, and shoots rabbits in the head at 150 yards with what seems to be a fairly flat trajectory. The most pleasing bit is that I can reload the Hornet as a WRM cheaper than I can buy WRM ammo here in the UK.

John

What I would try for that 1-17" twist would be some 33 & 35 gr. V-Max bullets. With 13.0 or more grains of Lil-Gun and small pistol primers. Realizing that those bullets are about 100-125 yd bullets as they run out of gas fast after 100 yds.

Hi people,
as I wrote here I am to give feedbacks.
I love the work that I have done (22Hornet ->> 22K-Hornet), the first impression is that it is a true improvment, easier and sweeter to reload than original. I think that I had an improvment also on precision, but I'confirm this impression after a serious session at the range, in the past week end it has been a fireforming session and not a testing the best for precision load session.
More feedback in the future.

bye

I shoot a .22 Hornet in a 10" T/C Contender for IHMSA field pistol (as do many other shooters around the country). It may be a somewhat difficult caliber to load for as I put together many different loads (maybe around 15) and only 1 would shoot < 1" @ 100yds. Some of the loads were decent as they hovered around 1.5", but I was looking for better. It should be noted that the Contender uses a 1:12" twist rate on all their centerfire .22's so it will shoot heavier bullets a little better.

I have not had a problem after a few times reloading, but I'm using very mild handloads and using a Lee collet die which doesn't cause the brass to grow when resizing. I see no reason my brass will not last for many more reloadings based on current results.

R Dave,

These discussions about the Hornet are always interesting. It seems everyone who tries one is either very happy with it or very frustrated. I have shot the K-Hornet for about three years now. It is an 18" T/C Contender carbine set up. I originally went through an extensive load development exercise during which I discovered the key to being happy with it.

rudie and George, both of whom posted above are right on the money on this one. The key to such a dimunitive case as the K-Hornet or the standard Hornet is the primer. If you have too strong a primer, it will leterally blow the bullet out of the case and into the barrel before it gets a fire started in the powder. The result is very poor velocity standard deviations and poor accuracy. The solution as rudie and George have pointed out is to use the weakest primer you can find. They and I use a small pistol primer. Then after that, use a fast powder (I use Alliant 2400) and if you can, set the bullet to touch the rifling. All these things work toward slowing down the departure of the bullet until the powder has an opportunity to sent it on its way. The result is that velocity standard deviations will drop to less than 10 f/s and accuracy will really improve.

Good shooting

Don Shearer

I just bought a Bullberry 20" Contender carbine barrel in .22 K-Hornet. Being a lefty, actions set up to handle the Hornet are almost impossible to find (even Cooper doesn't make them ).

I expect to use bullets 40gr. and under most of the time, with an occasional 50gr. TNT thrown in for good measure.

Will using small rifle primers in conjunction with the H110/W296, IMR 4227, and AA1680 with W-W brass and light bullets I plan to use be a good idea?

TIA,
George

George S, try the small rifle primers and the small pistol primers and see which is more accurate in your rifle. The small pistol primers work best in my Ruger. Also I'd try some Lil-Gun which gives outstanding velocities and low pressure so case life really improves. Lil-Gun seems to work best with bullets above 40 grs. I use 13.0 grs for the 40 gr V-Max,45 Nosler & 50 gr TNT's. Pressure doesn't seem to be an issue and as the bullet weight goes up the velocity drops accordingly. The 50 gr is at or near the limit of what my Ruger will stabilize. First time out with the 50 gr TNT's I shot groups ranging from 5/8-3/4. So I was happy with the results.