Stung by Hornet

[bkraft]

First post ever on an forum
What I'm looking for is a nice mild load that will shoot equally well in my two .22 hornets One is a 10" Contender the other is a Savage Md 40. Bullet choices are 52 gr bthp and 4gr V-Max. Want a load capable of taking down Rams if I decide to shoot fiels pistol and double as a mid to short range coyote load. I have used Lil Gun NOT IMPRESSED, lost case heads right and left. 12-13 gr Lil Gun Win cases, Remington S.R. Primers. Shot good ate cases, lower range of Lil Gun shot like c@#p.
Am considering either 2400 or 4227, Any suggestions out there??

[PlacitasSlim]

Try X-Terminator powder. I have been using it in some .22 calibers with good success

[stimpylu32]

bkraft

Welcome to GBO , if you can get your hands on some IMR4198 give it a try , it is the best powder that i have found for my 218 Bee and does very well in the Hornet with the 40 grain V-max and the 53 grain Sierra HPs .

stimpy

[RugerNo3]

It seems you have some answers on powder, but you should be using Rem small pistol primers with the Lil Gun loads. Yes, that's right. Case life will be nonexistent in the Hornet when full length sizing and using those rounds in a Contender. TC in their infinite wisdom cuts their chambers as much as .010" deeper, thus you have a built in headspace problem. Course you know you aren't supposed to use reloads in that firearm. They rely on the extractor to keep the case against the standing breech and with the small Hornet round in factory persuasion there are no safety issues. Factory loads are no problem, but full length resizing pushes that little shoulder back and it has to be reformed in subsequent firings weakening the brass at the web until it fails. Partial or neck sizing negates this problem, but rears its head when using the same reloads in the Savage bolt gun. Its chamber should be closer to proper headspace and the moved forward shoulder may not allow the loads to be interchanged. This interchangabilty issue is really not good as it leads to shorter brass life in many firearm combos other then the hornet. Dedicated brass and loads to each gun is the best, but you may get lucky with the info I've outlined. Good luck.

[Reed1911]

TC in their infinite wisdom cuts their chambers as much as .010" deeper, thus you have a built in headspace problem. Course you know you aren't supposed to use reloads in that firearm. They rely on the extractor to keep the case against the standing breech and with the small Hornet round in factory persuasion there are no safety issues. Factory loads are no problem, but full length resizing pushes that little shoulder back and it has to be reformed in subsequent firings weakening the brass at the web until it fails.

WHAT?! Boy-o-Boy where do I start, head space on the hornet is by the rim so the shoulder location is not a factor as far as safety goes (within reason), yes full length sizing will in fact reduce the case life. But NO THEY DO NOT RELY ON THE EXTRACTOR TO HOLD THE CASE I'll grant you that YOU may have a barrel that has a rim cut too deep, but that is not normal even by T/C factory barrel standards.

Interchangeability on any caliber is not recommended if accuracy is your hunt, if you just want an all around load for both you can certainly do it but keeping the brass seperate will be the best bet.

[stimpylu32]

bkraft

After re-reading your post , i feel that there is more going on than just a powder problem .

Was the Rem brass new or reloaded from factory ammo ?

Do you full length resize or neck size ?

What dies are you using ?

How does factory ammo do in both guns ?

Its starting to sounds to me more like a complete chamber problem in one of the guns , with one being way out of spec. causing the brass swell badly resulting in major brass fatigue during re-sizing . you may need to do a chamber cast and check head space in both to see were you are at in reguards to spec.

More info would help to solve the problem .

stimpy

[bkraft]

Stimpy, Brass had two or three loadings, Was new to begin with., full-length sized in Lee dies. Separation problems were in the Contender. Have slowed project down until I can control separation, don't really want a case going bad in the rifle. If there is a chamber problem its got to be the T.C, got it first. Hand loads that were only partially sized would NOT chamber in the Savage. Have only shot the Savage <30 times. By partially sized I mean I had set my sizing die to just work the neck.
I'm beginning to think that dedicated brass and neck-sizing only for the T.C. may be the way go, may even be worth investing in a set of neck sizing dies. Have not shot much factory stuff. Reloading provides an almost Zen-like calm for me unless of course it dosen't work then I revert to my linear Western thinking  and start to lose my temper:)
By the way to all who have responded to this post, I do thank you for your time and the information
bkraft

[alsaqr]

"Am considering either 2400 or 4227, Any suggestions out there??"

i use 2400 almost exclusively in my .22 Hornets.  Have not used 4227 in years although it seemed to work pretty well.  Hornet chambers can be very different in different makes of guns.  Rounds that are neck-sized only for my Encore will not fit any of my other three .22 Hornets.  My best shooter is a BSA Martini that has a tight chambered Winchester barrel.   My Encore rifle barrel is capable of 1 inch groups with 9-9.5 grains of 2400, a Remington small rifle primer, Sierra 45 grain bullet and a Winchester case.  It has not liked any of the hotter loads the i have developed for it so far.  May try 4227 in that gun. 

Like to adjust the full length die to re-size only about two-thirds of the neck.   

[Lawful Larry]

I use the Hornaday 35 gr Vmax bullet with WC820 powder.  I can get three shots into one hole at 50 yards and in a .24" hole at 100 yards.  This is in my CZ 527.  I Love this gun.

[rem2035]

bkraft
Where to start. I have a friend that shoots silhouette with two guns. One open sight and the other with a scope. He has to keep cases seperated for both guns. I think one gun will chamber but the other won't. When I used my FL RCBS sizing die to partial size I placed the decaping out as far as it would go and not hit the case head with the expander button.  I since have gone to neck sizing. With either way I do occasional chamber checks and to get a snug it.  I started out with 100 new cases and have gone through my first 500 bullets and now working on the next 500.
I use 4.5-4.6 gr of WSF behind a 52 gr. boattail hollow point or a 55 gr FMJ depending which range I am going to. The recoil and noise are less than my 22 Mag. Both these are in a 10" T/C barrel

[Hopalong7]

Shootin' 3 different 22 hornets here.  Two Contenders and one NEF.  Keep the brass separate for all three(as I do for any guns I have of same caliber).  Performance of all three picked up considerably(along with case life) when I discovered the Lee Collet sizing die.  Let's just say...I LOVE it and reccomend it to anyone.  Thanks Lee!!! GOOD SHOOTIN',  Walt 

[Larry Gibson]

First post ever on an forum
What I'm looking for is a nice mild load that will shoot equally well in my two .22 hornets One is a 10" Contender the other is a Savage Md 40. Bullet choices are 52 gr bthp and 4gr V-Max. Want a load capable of taking down Rams if I decide to shoot fiels pistol and double as a mid to short range coyote load. I have used Lil Gun NOT IMPRESSED, lost case heads right and left. 12-13 gr Lil Gun Win cases, Remington S.R. Primers. Shot good ate cases, lower range of Lil Gun shot like c@#p.
Am considering either 2400 or 4227, Any suggestions out there??

I've a 10" Contender, a 21" Contender and a Ruger #3. I have had and loaded for numerous other Hornets over the years. THE load that shoots well in ALL Hornets (the twist of the M40 may be too slow for the 52 gr BTHP) is 11.8 gr H4227 in Winchester o Remington cases, a CCI or Remington SP primer and the Sierra 40 or 45 gr .224 Hornet bullets.  The Speer 40 SP is also a very accurate bullet. Neck sizing the Hornet case is essential to good accuracy and case life. That is a "nice, mild load" that runs 2650 fps in the 22" #3 barrel and 2400 fps out of the 10" Contnder with the 40 gr bullets. If a Hornet won't shoot that load then it won't shoot.

Larry Gibson