Nef Hornet?

[JimIowa]

Hi New down here, normally up in handguns.
My Savage 10FP in .223 is a fine log range varmint rifle but a bit heavy for a walkabout rifle.
Have this desire for a light walking rifle that can be downloaded to 22 Mag Velocities for small game and still be loaded for close range varmint.
The Hornet in an NEF with a 6X scope seems to be just the ticket?

What kind of accuracy could I expect??
Would you reccomend this package?

[22KHornet]

Hello Jim.  I have a contender in 22 khornet and it works great.  While I have killed yotes with it, it is a bit much for rabbits and squirrel if you plan on keeping them, if you just want them dead then it is a great round.  I plan on sending my handi back next year to get the 20" barrel and get it rechambered for the khornet and then 1 more toy to tinker with :grin: .  If you do not reload you might want to start the hornet is cheap to load but cost  quite a bit for factory ammo.  Since you live in Colfax swing by th new Scheels, I stopped by there the other day and they had a couple of used handi's did not look at the caliber though.

[Joel]

A really good small game load I use is 4.0 grs of Unique/Rem 6 1/2 primers/Speer 45 gr varmiter...not the hornet bullet.  Velocity(book value) is 1500 fps.  ME is 226 ftlbs.  Shoots tiny groups at 50 yds with the holes touching and 1/2-3/4 inch groups at 100 yds.  bullet is 1" low at 100 when sighted in at 50.  Kills squirrel/rabbit with less damage than the 22 hollow point, and is only slightly faster than the old 22 WRF which used a 45 gr bullet at 1450 fps, and which I used a lot as a kid until the 22 Mag made it obsolete.
Found the load in Barnes "Cartridges of the World"(3rd edition) listed under the old 22 WCF, which was the predecessor to the Hornet.  A second load he lists is  the same bullet with 6 gr of 2400 for 1650 fps/273 ftlb ME.  Cases last forever with the Unique load, and the barrel is barely warm after 10 shots.  One thing if you do get a hornet....necksize the suckers, don't try and full length re-size them.  Unless you can  get the almost negligible shoulder right in the die, you'll get case separations after only 2/3 rounds; full power loads in this case.  With a single shot like the NEF, necksizing is all you need anyway.  Accuracy on mine improved with the 2and and Third firings, as the case conformed to the chamber.

[JimIowa]

22K, Yes I do reload for .223 in the Savage, .222 in a Savage 24 222/20ga
And would certaainly do so in the Hornet.
In fact I almost abandoned this idea when I saw the Price of Factory Loaded ammo. Talk About Sticker Shock! :-)
I have yet to get into the New Scheels, but was waiting till the new wore off a bit, and the State Fair got over.
I checked some prices on components through Midway, and it would not take long to pay for dies & Brass.
Hey Where in Iowa are You anyway?

Joel, Thanks for the load info, that was right where I was targeting velocity to be for small game. As A kid I shot an older friends Remington 22 Special, which I understand is a twin to the WRF.
Bud had used it in Western Kansas to take coyotes as a kid and he was a WWII vet so you can imagine how long ago that was.
Yes I would neck size only. One question though, on new brass it should be full length sized first time, Right?
I have a few loading manuals and have found loads from 1080-2623 fps for the Hornet, so there is lots of room to work. Not sure if I would back it down to 22LR velocity though?
I am starting to get Pumped up on this project, I wanted a Hornet 30yrs ago and bought the Savage 24 222/20ga instead. Funny how the Hornet keeps coming back on my want list!

[Paul5388]

Jim,

If the unloaded brass will chamber, all is needed is to neck size the new brass.  Ususally the dents and dings are in the neck area, so it would be hard to load an out of round neck.  I use the Lee collet neck size die and Rem brass.

[Joel]

Jim,
I used new Black Hills brass, and since it chambered easily in both my 24V and NEF I just necksized and chamfered the mouth like I always do with new brass.  No problems.  I personally don't see going down to 1080 for the Hornet..the old WRF/Rem Special velocities were what I was looking for.  Essentially I have a 100 yd squirrel rifle(if I can see them that far in these thick PA woods), and that keeps me grinning.
To me, the Hornet functins as a modern "Rook" caliber; I can load it down for small game, medium for turkey, and all the way up for other stuff out to around 150-175 yds.  Makes it one of the most useful calibers I own.  Seems I've read it's right popular up in the Canadien bush and even in the artic.Maybe I"m just a lousy shot, but seems a trifle light for polar bear, but I've hear of them being killed by the wee hornet.  
I bought my 24 in 1984 at the base exchange as I was retiring out of the Navy, for the princely sum of $240.  I'm still kicking myself for not buying another 24V in 30-30.   Can't seem to find them on the used gun racks anywhere around here.

[JimIowa]

Now a question about the Lee Collet Die, On another site I read that this die requires a stron press. I am currently using a Lee Reloader press.
Should I upgrade to a stronger press to use Collet Dies?
The Reloader has done fine with the .223.

[Paul5388]

Jim,

I'm using a Rock Chucker with my Lee collet dies, but they only need 25# of pressure to make them work right.  I would think Lee would make their press so it would work with their dies.  If it doesn't, you can get a Lee Cast Iron Classic for about $50 that will handle anything you want to do.  That's less than half the price of a new Rock Chucker and the Classic is probably a better press.

[JimIowa]

I really think the Reloader would be fine too.
Since I have only used it with .223 & .222 and I polisht the inside of my case neck with 000 Steel wool and have never put a strain on it.
Living in a state where centerfire is restricted to small game & varmints, I have really had no use for a Big Game Centerfire( Deer & Turkey are Shotgun only in Iowa).
I may get a Classic Cast anyway and set the Reloader up with the Seating Die. 25lbs is really not that much effort anyway?

[Awf Hand]

What type of lifespan can I expect out of the cases on the 22 Hornet?

I've been considering the upgrade to the K-Hornet, and I understand the case life issue is a lot different.

[22KHornet]

Hey Jim I live in Polk City now but my family still lives in Afton.  There is also a guy running around here from Indianola by the name of Scruffy.
 
As for case life on the khornet the only problem I have ever had was crushing a few while reloading :oops: .  I am not sure why some people knock case life it seams that somewhere someone is talking bad about some cartridge.  I have started using the hodgens lil gun for the khornet and I like it.  If you go to the hodgens web sight they list reduced and max loads including pressure for it.
 
PS I of course would recommend upgrading to the khornet :grin: in fact if after the first of the year I can get enough people interested than I would like to do a deal like we did with the max reamer this year. :mrgreen:

[ScatterGunner]

awf -

if you (i) trim the cases, you can get 10 - 12 loads easy. with my 22 hornet, if i don't trim, 1 - 2 loads and the necks split and they are land fill after that.

i also shoot lyman 45 grain gas checked cast bullets, but the trimming is really a factor with my hornet.

sg

[oneredbarn]

If you buy the K Hornet dies could you neck size a standard hornet with them until you had the barrel reamed for the K Hornet? I would think you could because the case would be smaller but would it still be true enough in the resizing die by not touching the sides?

[oneredbarn]

If you buy the K Hornet dies could you neck size a standard hornet with them until you had the barrel reamed for the K Hornet? I would think you could because the case would be smaller but would it still be true enough in the resizing die by not touching the sides?

[Paul5388]

I have never trimmed a case in 30+ years of reloading.  Therefore, I have never trimmed a Hornet case and yet I have already lost track of the number of times I have reloaded the Hornet brass.  I haven't used anything besides the Lee collet die on the Hornet.

I'm loading a 40 gr V-Max with 13.5 gr Lil'Gun, CCI 400, Rem brass and 1.935" OAL  If I do my part, it will group under a half inch at 100 yards out of a 20" SL barrel, at 2750 fps.

[ScatterGunner]

generally i don't trim cases. but when i first got my hornet, i noticed a lot of cases were splitting at the neck after 1 or 2 loads, mild loads too, nothing hot. it may just be that my barrel has a short throat or some dimensional thing that likes trim-to-length cases. i use the collet die too.

i'll probably catch one for this, but i don't think going to the k-hornet is worth it, for all the work you may get 50 - 75 fps more velocity. i guess the only attraction would be that the case head spaces on the shoulder instead of the rim.

sg

[JimIowa]

22K, Polk City is not far at all, I work on Hickman Road in Des Moines.
Afton, I used to hear a lot about, an old family friend(now decesed) Tom Goin, was from there.

Joel: Your mention of the Hornet as a Rook Rifle, got me to doing some research. The things that made it practical years ago, are just as valid today. I am 25 miles from Des Moines, and City Folk are moving to the country. Bringing along their City Paranoia of firearms, quieter cartridges are less likely to stir up trouble
We even had one build a new house right next to the Gun Range I belong to, then petetion the County to close us down because of the noise.
Thankfully the Couty Supervisors told him the Range had been there for 25yrs and he could have built anywhere on his 160 acres and been out of sight of the range if it bothered him. His Choice/His problem!