tested new hornet...questions

[zoner]

just got back from a week at my "snowbird" house in Apache Junction, AZ( i'm from San Diego) and took my brand new hornet to Usery Mtn shooting range   I had 2 loads...40 gr Sierra Varminter,new Rem Cases, Win primers, 11 grains 296 and 45 gr Hornady SP,same cases and primers, 10.5 grs 296.....both of these loads flattened primers regularly and i can even see tool marks from the breech face on the primers...sooo i'm guessing i need to back off a touch on the powder(a half a grain?). does the hornet have some kind of inherent trait in reference to flattening primers or am i just plain too hot?  My transfer bar did not fall out, had good solid primer dents, no problems there but it will still flop back all the way down to the rear if i'm not careful(waiting for replacement part)....i have no trigger pull guage but i judged (by feel) that this trigger was plenty light from the factory and i would'nt mess with it but at the range i found that it needs work for more positive trigger control( it's heavier than i thought).....given the trigger pull and the probable hot loads i don't have any spectacular groups to report...i
need to shoot this thing alot more..improve my marksmanship and dial my trigger in a little...fine tune my loads and i'm sure it will be a great little squirrel killer...this is great fun and would like to thank you all for helping and inspiring me....( oh yeah, i voted for John McCain and am very proud of it)

[Swampman]

There is a nice article on the .22 Hornet Handi Rifle in this month's issue of Backwoodsman Magazine.

[gendoc]

just got back from a week at my "snowbird" house in Apache Junction, AZ( i'm from San Diego) and took my brand new hornet to Usery Mtn shooting range   I had 2 loads...40 gr Sierra Varminter,new Rem Cases, Win primers, 11 grains 296 and 45 gr Hornady SP,same cases and primers, 10.5 grs 296.....both of these loads flattened primers regularly and i can even see tool marks from the breech face on the primers...sooo i'm guessing i need to back off a touch on the powder(a half a grain?). does the hornet have some kind of inherent trait in reference to flattening primers or am i just plain too hot?  My transfer bar did not fall out, had good solid primer dents, no problems there but it will still flop back all the way down to the rear if i'm not careful(waiting for replacement part)....i have no trigger pull guage but i judged (by feel) that this trigger was plenty light from the factory and i would'nt mess with it but at the range i found that it needs work for more positive trigger control( it's heavier than i thought).....given the trigger pull and the probable hot loads i don't have any spectacular groups to report...i
need to shoot this thing alot more..improve my marksmanship and dial my trigger in a little...fine tune my loads and i'm sure it will be a great little squirrel killer...this is great fun and would like to thank you all for helping and inspiring me....( oh yeah, i voted for John McCain and am very proud of it)

well the reloading of the hornet is touchy for accuracy and reliabilty.
i have tried several combinations and have come to the conclusion of
factory loads perform best in my hornet.
but are much more costly
winny 46gr jhp work great for hawgs @ zero
with my mil-dot spotted on the first upper dot, the horny 35gr v-max and cci v-max are deadly on yotes
and other medium size critters.
i have never used my hornet for limb chickens (squirrels)
j-mc--#1 in my book!!!!!!!!

[Gohon]

In my opinion flattened primers are one of the most misunderstood indications of high pressure there is.  All primers will flatten to a certain degree.  Both of your loads are just at or slightly below max according to one reloading manual I have.  Drop one grain from each load and shoot them and I'll bet you won't be able to tell the difference in the primers of the two loadings.  Get a chance try some Lil'Gun in the Hornet.  My Hornet (Browning) really likes the stuff.

[LaOtto222]

I have 3 22 hornets - one of them is a handi 22 Hornet SL (super lite). I experienced the same thing you did with the primers, until I switched to CCI small pistol primers. I do not have access to my loading books right now, but the loads yopu listed do not seem to be that high. Try the small pistol primers, before doing any thing different. I get much better results using W296 than I do using Lil'gun. I really get erratic results using Lil'gun, the W 296/H110 give me much more predictable results. Of course my barrel is a SL and is 20". My Handi does not like boat tailed bullets. I tried and tried to get Hornady 40 grain bullets to shoot and they just are not going to do it. I have not thoroughly rung out my Handi yet, but WW cases, CCI 500 primer, 12.1 grains of W296/H110 (a beginning load for 33 grain Speer bullet) under a 36 grain Mid South bullet seems to be a very good combination. I am getting very good velocity and fair accuracy. I need to play with the powder a little yet to see if increasing or decreasing the load will really dial it in. Some experimenting with the crimp is in order too. Good Luck and Good Shooting.

[zoner]

thanks...i was surprised by the flattened primers mostly because i was quite sure i was in the ballpark with my powder charges...sounds like that is somewhat characteristic of the hornet....#1 i am using 296 because i bought it a while back to make heavy 45 Colt loads for my custom Ruger Bisley(.45 convertible with 4 3/4 " barrel) but never got around to using it so i'm basically using it because i have it... my ideas are that i would like to find a load with a good 40 gr bullet, getting a little more velocity from the 40 than the 45 gr bullet, and simultanously getting a little better wind drift capability than the 34-35 grain bullets...but I will also admit that i am full of bull and can get some pretty weird ideas at times..i think i'll back off half a grain and see what the primers look like,if they are still flattened then that is probably not a reiable sign of pressure in the hornet (i think)

[zoner]

oh yeah...one more thing in the past i have experienced problems with cci primers that being unreliable ignition with a couple firearms due to poor firing pin strikes( never had any such problems with winchester primers in the same guns) so i concluded that they were significantly harder than win primers and quit using them for that reason

[LaOtto222]

Then use Winchester small pistol primers. I tried Remington small pistol primers, but I got better results with the CCI. I have not had a problem with any primer in any of my handguns or rifles, but I know others have reported issues.