Help with 22 Hornet

[longrangebob]

Don't need neck sizing die ... just set up die HIGH to limit the travel so it just gets a light crimp to the bottom of Bullet, I used 4227 and AA1680 to good effect for many years - but what I have read would use lil gun if I still reloaded for Hornet ...

 

[JMW67]

what I have found with lil gun if your rifle likes it, it loves it if it does not like it its not worth a darn most I have messed with like it

 

[Hairtrigger]

I am pleasantly surprised that the lowly 22 hornet is this popular on a long range forum

 

[JMW67]

at 10 to 13 grains of powder and very cheap bullets its a hoot to shoot I could not tell you how many pigs I have killed with one over the years put it in the ear and its over my K hornet is twisted to shoot the 44 hammer hunter ear is not needed with this one

 

[Riceguy]

With my hornet and K hornet loads I flare the case mouth slightly. This avoids any miss alignment of the projectile crushing the case when sesting a projectile.
I use a full length sizer but only seat it to the depth of a seated projectile. Doing it this way I have gotten nearly 20 reloads out of a case. I also trim and anneal every 3rd firing though.

thanks

 

[sierracharlie338]

at 10 to 13 grains of powder and very cheap bullets its a hoot to shoot I could not tell you how many pigs I have killed with one over the years put it in the ear and its over my K hornet is twisted to shoot the 44 hammer hunter ear is not needed with this one

Which is what twist?

 

[JMW67]

Which is what twist?

It is a 12 twist benchmark barrel

 

[Frog4aday]

Bought a 77 Hornet when they first came out,2 inch groups was the best i could get.After many days working on problems i found 296 with 40gr bt win cases rem primers.Shot around 1/2 with that combo.

That's great you found a load that eventually worked in your Ruger 77/22. They can be 'challenging' but I found using the bolt shims made by Lance Shively worked magic on my guns. You can find them here: https://www.triggershims.com/ruger_m77.php

As for loading the .22 Hornet it's good to note that W296 & H110 are exactly the same powder. Hopefully you can find one or the other. If not, Lil'Gun is an option, too.

I've read of people using a 'regular' small pistol primer but I'd advise caution of that combo (CCI 500 small pistol primers & H110) as it failed to ignite in my .357 Mag loads. It was apparent the "regular" primers were not hot enough. Not sure how people using that combo in the Hornet are more successful (perhaps the primer strike from the rifle firing pin is more vigorous than the one from my GP-100?) but I thought I'd mention it, just in case.

 

[sierracharlie338]

It is a 12 twist benchmark barrel

Very nice.

 

[joseytoo]

40gr blitzking and LilGun is your ticket! I have a #3 ruger that LOVES 35gr vmax factory. Killed 4 deer with it this year, all neck or head shot, not 1 moved out of their tracks. Couldn't tell you how many deer and hogs I've killed with hornet over the last 40+ years

 

[arch408]

I have a .22H in a TC 10" pistol and TC carbine and Winchester M43 rifle. I've only used W296 and Rem 40gr. hp's because I had lots of both. Extremely loud in the 10" barrel. I mostly used it for prairie dogs although I killed a coyote once on a chance encounter. Haven't used the Winchester for hunting because I can't mount a scope on it. I bought 5000 40gr. hollow point bullets for my .22 TCM, but haven't tried the yet in my .22Hornet or my .218 Mashburn Bee. They mic .2235 so the jury is still out on them. I've also only used Small Rifle primers, and using Small Pistol sounds interesting. I don't crimp the bullets because the cases are so fragile and the shoulders buckle easily. I am thinking about crimping with the Lee crimp die to improve ignition, because it does not put pressure on the case body or shoulder. I also have plenty of 1680 data powder so I'm going to try that and Lil' gun.

 

[Dean2]

The guys advising you to do the bolt shim on the Ruger 77 are spot on. I never shot one that did not need this alteration and every single one shot WAY bettter after this simple fix. Why the hell Ruger doesn't address the issue after all these years baffles me.

 

[joseytoo]

I'm with Dean on rugers. I have owned a couple, and worked on several others for friends. Never saw one yet that didn't need shims, but I started before you could buy them, so I made my own. Finally gave up on 77 rugers! There are way too many that shoot good to be put up with the aggravation of something that won't shoot. Win 43, CZ, Browning, Ruger no. 1 or 3, low wall, Walther, Anchutz ; there are other options available. Not sure why Ruger don't fix that issue after all these years. No way I would ever advise someone to buy a 77 hornet! I have had very good success with Win. 680 in the hornet.

 

[bigbrad53]

Lil Gun and 40 gr Hornady is the magic.

Can't go wrong there. That's what I've shot for years.