.22 Hornet Load Development

[bkraft]

Heres the deal, I am working up a load for a 799 Remington in .22 hornet. My old load which perfromed great in a Md 40 Savage was 10.5 grains of IMR 4227 a Win. S.P. primer and a 40 grain V-Max. I have switched bullets to a 45 gr. Remington SPS(looks like a Core Lockt). The question is, which reloading data should I go with? Hornady's manual 5th Ed. 2000, shows this load well in acceptable limits, actually a mid-level loading. The IMR web site data runs the bullet weight from 8.5-9.8 gr, Lymans Pistol and Revolver Handbook (2004)is 10.0-11.3(Compressed). The Lyman load is for Contenders, which I will also work up the 45 gr. bullet for.
The action on the Model 40 did not appear overly robust but I never had any problems with pressure signs, at least with the 4227, Lil Gun was an entirely different story. ANY comments and advice would be appreciated.

[dieselman]

Start with the lowest and work up from there and let your gun tell you what it likes best. I've got an old Lyman man and it say's (for IMR 4227) 10.0gr to 11.3gr my 09 Hodgdon man says 8.5gr to 9.8gr I use H-110 myself. Good luck.

[manatee1947]

The old loads were developed by shooters, the new ones by attorneys,

[super mario]

you should be using Hodgdon Lil gun for the hornet.
Best powder for the hornet

[stimpylu32]

you should be using Hodgdon Lil gun for the hornet.
Best powder for the hornet

Not sure I agree with that , LG gave me nothing but fits in my Hornets , pressures were all over the place , speeds were also , same lots of brass , powder & bullets were poping primers on one round and not on the next , SD spreads were as much as 75 fps from round to round .   

Went back to 4227 and H110 , problems went away .  same bullet & brass , only difference was powder .

stimpy

[super mario]

were you using small pistol primers ?

[bkraft]

LiL Gun is bad juju for me! +1 with every thing Stimpy said and I used both samml pistol and small rifle primers. Upon the advice of Stimpy and I believe 44man I gave 4227 a try and problems went away, brass life extended life is good. If Lil Gun works for you good deal, but it sure didn't for me.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  I have shot little but 4227 in my hornet for 15 years...from 35 grains to 46 grains..accuracy is excellent ....

[zoner]

i shot 296 in my hornet with good results. As you approach the max charge try .3 gr increments and watch for pressure signs. My groups shrunk a little by switching from SR primers to SP.