[Bacchus]

I'm doing some research on the 22 hornet cartridge and have some questions about reloading for it.

Initially shooting mostly at paper between 75 and 100 yards until I can develop a good load. BTW, acceptable accuracy for me is 1 MOA. Can I expect that?

Cases? Do you recommend once fired or do you buy new brass? How much trimming is usually necessary--full length or neck size?

Bullet weights--lighter ones (40 or 45s) or heavier?

Powders? What do you think of using 2400? I only ask about that specific powder because I already have some lying around.

[Khornet]

I don't load Hornet, just K-Hornet, a wildcat base on the Hornet with the shoulder moved forward a bit and angle sharpened to increase case capacity. I make my K-Hornet brass by firing-forming Hornet in the K-Hornet chamber.

That said, I use 2400 or IMR4227 generally.
I have only FL dies, but I deprime by hand with a deprimer rod from old dies with no expander ball, then FL size with no expander in the die so I don't distort the neck too much. The cases don't seem to grow very much, but after fire-forming I trim to standard Khornet length and then check with each loading. If you have true neck dies for Hornet I would use 'em.

45 gr is standard for Hornet, but there are 40 gr out there as well. You just have to try and see which does best. Some older Hornet barrels are .223, while modern are .224. I can't date my rifle, so I tried both, and .223 works best for me. There are heavier and maybe lighter bullets available but 40 and 45 gr are most common.

Lately I've been trying to work up some milder loads for squirrel; Khornet is too hot for them. I've been using Bullseye 3.0-3.5 gr with a bit of tissue paper over the powder to keep it in place against the flash hole. Works great, but I've yet to find the optimal load accuracy-wise.

Hornet is a great little round and very accurate with proper rifle and loads. AND a can of 2400 lasts forever--600-700 loads. Have fun.

[GooseGestapo]

Research heavily before plunging into the Hornet !
I't going to be a "LOVE-HATE" relationship.

You 'CAN' get MOA, but it will be a frustrating excercise.
My suggestions from soon to be a 30yr. relationship with Ms. Hornet....

1. Get an accurate rifle. A Ruger 77/22 Hornet, as new probably isn't, but can be made such. I've, got one, had 3. I would recommend a CZ-5?7, as in previous incarnations (BRNO Fox, has a good reputation).

2. Get a Lee die set with Collet sizing die. You'll eventually need the conventional die too, so get the deluxe set with 4-dies.

3. Try Hod.-Lil gun and AA-1680 powder for bullets 40gr and Heavier. H110 for 35gr pills.

4. Be prepared to be "Stumped", as Hornets are very individualistic, and no two seem to be alike.

5. If all else fails, have a gunsmith set barrel back and recut to .22 K-Hornet, and start over with new brass.

6. Plan on buying 100 Winchester brass to start off with, and plan on reaming primer pockets, flash hole's, and neck turn for best results. (my "best" brass is some S&B that required grinding my decapper pin to fit flash holes, but consistently produces my best Hornet-accuracy ever, without any case prep but tumbling.)

7. Try Winchester Small Pistol primers, but watch pressures, as pistol primers are thinner than rifle primers)

8. If all else fails, try full length sizing brass, and seat bullets to SAAMI max. of 1.723" with either Remington 45gr H.P., or Sierra 45gr Hornets, or 45gr Hornady "Hornet" SP. over 11.4gr. of AA-1680. Velocity is low at 2,470-2,500fps, but accuracy is always there in my Ruger 77/22. If you get the Ruger, expect to Send it to "Randy, at CPC, in Conneticut for the "Beyond bolt tightening" treatment. Mine hasn't gone yet but eventually will. cost is approx. $155.00, but is money spent that will be forgotten after the results are seen, so consider this part of the "aquisiton cost" of a Ruger. Mine has had trigger job, glass bedding, bore lapping, free floating of laminated stock, and still has "Bad Days".

GOOD LUCK !!

[caz223]

GooseGestapo, you sound like you've been there.

Ok Bacchus, here we go.
I tried making my 77/22VHZ a tack driver, but didn't have any luck.
I, too would recommend CZ bolt actions, or another european make over domestic.
2400, H110, and 4227 have all been good for me. (Also 4198 for light loads.)
Also, stick with one brass manufacturer, internal case capacity varies wildly from company to company.
The brass doesn't handle being worked very well because it is thin, so brass doesn't last long at all.
Also, .223 brass is cheaper, and .223 is much easier find an accurate load for.
.22 hornet ammo costs the same as .223 and isn't nearly as powerful.
But it has a lot of personality.
A 45 grain hornet bullet at 2600 or so has a very impressive ballistic trajectory, and the thin jacket and soft point offers impressive damage potential.
For example, when you hit a blackbird with a 45 grain .224 projectile at 3200+, it puts a nice clean hole in the bird, the bullet keeps going, and the bird falls over.
When you hit the same bird with a 45 grain soft point .22 hornet (.224 projectile at 2650), about 25% of the time the bird simply explodes, I don't know why.
It is well matched for the job at hand.
Long range accuracy at 200 yards with the .22 hornet is a cruel mistress, indeed.
I consider the hornet a 125 yard gun, but maybe you will have better luck with it.
It has better range and accuracy than a .22 LR and less noise and weight than a .223
a .223 is a 200+ yard gun, though.
I think the trick is not to try to make the hornet into something it's not.
***edited to addd 4227***

[Bacchus]

Goose,

What would you think of it chambered in an Encore?

[Gordon]

I been shooting .22 Hornet since 1959. I still have my uncle Estel's .22K hornet on a BSA small martini action with a 10x Lyman Supertarget spot. This rifle was made in 1952 and I STILL have some loads made in 50's with 13.5grains of 2400 behind custom 40 grain bullet. These chrono right at 2900fps and are HOT but accurate. The old brass splits from time to time . BUT lil gun powder is the way to go these days. The 35 grain poly tips are The bullet. They can hit around 2900 fps with mellow loads in a .22 Hornet chamber (they go well over 3000 in a K hornet. Sellior& Bellot brass IS good and Winchester brass is good too. I have a Krico mannlicher carbine that shoots 1/2" with most good loads! I have a Uberti Rolling block pistol in .22 hornet that is neat and a M-6 scout rifle and a contender barrel or two. The little case must be carefully resized as explained above, and pressures increase pretty fast per grain SO BE CAREFUL.;)

[E357]

I have a TC Contender with a 10 inch bull barrel. I don't resize the cases at all, just size about one half the neck. I let the chamber determine the OAL - which gives me very long lengths (won't do for magazine feed guns). I also "Index" the cases as I load - the headstamp in the same direction. I like HP-4227 for moderate loads and Universal for ultra light quiet loads. 1 MOA is very easy with 40 to 45 grain bullets (light wind). I start with virgin brass and do full case prep and never try to hot rod the weak case.

Elliot

[Bacchus]

What do you mean by "index" the cases by headstamp?

I don't want to hotrod an already hot cartridge, but I do want some performance from it...

[E357]

By "Index", I mean that I always place the cartridge in the chamber the same way - with headstamp in the same position as previously fired. Because the cases are not resized you get a perfect fit this way.

Elliot

[pumpgunn]

A note about old Hornets. The first Hornets had a bore diamiter
.223, limited bullet selection. Loaded some with .224 bullets and
they would not chamber.

The new Hornets are .224, good selection of bullet weights.

Have shot numerous deer with the old .223 Hornet. Don't reccomend
this, Eskomoes shot polar bears with Hornets, they let them get
close.:what:

[GooseGestapo]

Bacchus:
My experience with the Encore is zilch, but I had a T/C Contender in .22 Hornet back in the mid '70's while I was going to college and was my second Hornet. Most of what applies to it applies to Encore as well.

These have perhaps the best cut chambers you will encounter. Mine would not chamber any brass previously fired in any other Hornet I've encountered. It was also probably the most accurate of the bunch, but since it had only a 10" barrel, its utility was limited. I did put a 2.5x T/C Lobo scope on it and routinely got 3/4" groups at 50yds. Most of the work it was put to, was shooting pigeons and other Urban vermin utilizing air-rifle pellets and CCI magnum small rifle primers. (Read center-fire air-pistol !!!)
(there were many speculations in the local news paper regarding the cause of the massive pigeon 'die off' in west Auburn,Al that year, -shortly thereafter I decided it might be good to let the pigeon population recover).

At the time, IMR-4227,Herc2400, H-110/Win296. and Winchester 680, and IMR-4198 was "It" as far as powders suitable for the Hornet. All my efforts were directed at H-110 and Herc2400. I believe the T/C preferred the Herc2400 for accuracy (8-9gr w/40-45gr bullet). NOTE: NEW 2400 IS SOMEWHAT FASTER THAN OLD HERCULES 2400 SO USE ONLY "NEW" DATA.
Velocities were somewhat higher (but didn't have a chrono back in those days) with H110, but H-110 was much more "fickle" for charge weights for accuracy. I never used much IMR-4227 but It was still one of the generally preferred powders at that time. Now though, all are distant 2nd's to the Hod. Lil-gun. My loads with little gun usually get 2875-2925fps with 45gr and 3,000-3,050 with 40gr Sierra HP (my favorite accuracy load is 12.5 Hod.Lil-gun in S&B w/ WSP,and seated to 1.740")
You will probably have a much easier time with the Encore than any other of the available guns, and If you decide to "get shed" of the Hornet, you'll only need to trade off or swap out the barrel.

The Hornet is one of the cartridges I truly "Love" to tinker with, and I've killed a lot of game with the Hornet, including over 20 deer. I however have to differ with the previous poster about it's performance on small game. I have found the performance to be very bullet dependant. It is truly devastating on small game/varmints with the 35gr Hornady V-max., however the 45gr Hornady "Hornet" is no more destructive on gray squirrels than a .22lr CCI mini-mag HP. On deer, both those I've shot and some I've confiscated from night-hunters/poachers, the 45gr Rem. HP and SP factory loads and equivalent handloads, actually perform more like a miniature .30/30wcf., in that there is moderate expansion; with most broadside chest shots completely penetrating and leaving a quarter size exit wound.

The Hornet is an excellent small-light game/varmint cartridge, but not the most accurate of cartridges/rifles. But it is really fun to play with as it cost only about 65% of cost of loading .223. (But who would really notice the difference of 0.09 per shot vs. 0.14 per shot ?)

For max accuracy with minimal effort go with the .223, in the Encore

If you want to really increase the versatlity, try some cast bullets through it loaded to original .22wcf velocities (1,550)-makes it a reloadable .22WRM.
I consider the Hornet a 200yd +/- varmint/small game cartridge, rangeability varies with accuracy of rifle and size of game, and of course the speed of the cross winds!