Zebulon said

Bert H. said

Zebulon said

If you are settled on the Hornet. Consider whether you can obtain a .224 liner with a much faster rate of twist for the rifling. 

I believe John Barsness recently had an article in one of the Wolfe Publications magazines about enhancing the Hornet’s performance with long, polymer tipped bullets that extend the effective range of the Hornet dramatically. 

I’ve used the Hornet for Rio Grande turkeys and it is near ideal for the purpose, which doesn’t ordinarily involve shots beyond 50 yards. But a varmint hunter could use more range than the 150 to 175 yard practical limit for 45 grain bullets at Hornet velocities. 

The new, long plastic tipped bullets look like a game changer. If you have the chance to alter twist rate,  at least consider it.

Bill,

There are a number of other ways to enhance the Hornet’s performance other than increasing the rifling twist rate.  I have been shooting and loading for the 22 Hornet for nearly 50-years now.  In fact, it is my all time favorite cartridge.

Instead of increasing the twist rate from 1:14 to something faster, it is easier to buy or load lighter weight bullets.  Hornady makes a great 35-gr and 40-gr V-Max cartridge and/or bullets for reloading.  The other option is to chamber it for one of the K-Hornet variants.  Just this afternoon, I loaded 100 rounds of 22 K-Hornet with 35-gr V-Max bullets sitting on top of 14.0 grains of Hogden Lil’ Gun powder.  The velocity is just north of 3300 fps, and it is deadly out to 200-yds.

Bert  

Bert,

Concur but if he’s choosing a pre-rifled liner anyway and .224, 1-10 or 1-12  is available, I’d prefer either to the old 1-14.  Given the consistency of today’s bullets, “over stabilization” shouldn’t be an issue.

We’ve been loading and shooting the Hornet for the same long while, albeit for different purposes. Varmint hornet loads are hypothetical for me because feral hogs are my varmint and the sadly ignored .358 WCF is my hog medicine. My goal for the Hornet has been a heavy FMJ at just under 2000 fps.  I’ll readily admit that wasn’t what Wotkins et al. had in mind. 

Like Hupp, I spend too much time at a certain Bass Pro and a different Cabela’s…… and things have followed us home. One in particular caused me to sell my rear-locking Anschutz hornet. If I’d kept it, I’d have rechambered it to one of the K wildcats, not for more velocity but to minimize case stretching. 

I’m going to work up a frangible load based on your experience with the 35 grain bullet, albeit with the slightly reduced amount of Lil Gun the SAAMI hornet will require. (Cabela’s had finally dialed in the ideal Ruger #1A configuration, which included a hornet chamber, a 24″ barrel, and an Alex Henry forearm.) 

I’m not sure, but West Texas wind likely blows harder than on your Olympic Penninsula., which could limit the utility of a 35 grain .224 load. Of course you may be using it on the Eastern plains or down around Medford, for all I know. 

I’ll report as events warrant.

Best, 

Bill  

As many of you know, I own two Winchester rifles chambered for the 22 K-Hornet, a converted Winder Musket and the Model 70 Super Grade that I bought last year. 

The Model 70 rifle was converted to K-Hornet by Lyle Kilbourn himself, and it is the original variant of that cartridge.  Due to the short neck length, it is best suited for 45-gr bullets or lighter. 

My converted Winder Musket really prefers the 40-gr and lighter bullets.  Because both rifles have a very robust action (strength), I can load the K-Hornet rounds for them quite robustly as well. 

If I were to build a third K-Hornet rifle, it would be on a high-wall action and a 26″ barrel with a 1:10 twist.  I would load it (experiment) with bullet weights up to 68-gr.

In the end though, when I am looking to shoot at distances greater than 200-yds, I reach for one of my two rifles (both Remington’s) factory chambered for the 222 Rem Mag.  My load of 26.4 grains of IMR 4064 under a 50-gr HPBT produces 3,450 fps and an effective 400-yard kill zone.

Bert

Zebulon said
Dang! If I’d known you were shooting the magnum 222, I’d have given you my 250 new Remington cases I finally auction on GB, after tripping over them for 30 years. In the late Nineties I’d bought a Kimber of Oregon Super America 84 in 6 x47 nobody else seemed to want and decided I could load for it. Ordered the brass but before it got here a friend put me in a headlock until I sold him the rifle. 

For handloading a bolt action 222 series, the longer-necked magnum case beats the .223 version for flexibility. 

Bill,

I started shooting the 222 Rem Mag back in the early 1970s (with my grandfather’s rifle).  I inherited his factory original Remmington Model 722 in the early 1980s, and my then father’s 1980 production Remington 700 BDL Heavy Varmint in 1999.  Both of them were serious “Triple-Deuce” Mag shooters, and I followed their lead.  

Many years ago we experimented with shooting the heavier match grade bullets (62 & 68 grain) in both rifles, but the accuracy was not as good as the 50-grain varmint loads.  We were very frequently able to squeeze out .25″ 100-yard shoot groups out of both rifles shooting the 50-gr HPBT Sierra & Nosler bullets.  I can still get sub .5″ groups out both rifles when I am having a good day.

Fortunately, we acquired more than 3,000 R-P, REM-UMC, Peters, and Herters cartridges & cases, and I still have (60) boxes of factory new 222 Rem Mag ammo (most of it is R-P in the green & Yellow boxes).  To this day, I still buy any factory new boxes of 222 Rem Mag ammo that I find… it is a sickness

Bert

Wayne72 said
Thanks for all of these thoughtful replies.  John Taylor replied and said he also is unaware of anyone making a .228 liner.  So I am thinking this:  Since I have a very nice prewar model 70 in .22 hornet already and it shoots very acceptable groups, I think I will convert this one to k hornet.  I am a gatherer of varmint rifles in different calibers so this sounds like a great idea.  Then I will begin the search for another 1885 in 22 wcf but with a good bore.  A quick look online found only 2 or 3 out there and at least one was shot out.  But why get in a hurry getting rid of my reloading supplies when I might find one someday?  Thanks again for the help.

If you need tips or information on reloading for the K-Hornet, let me know.  

Converting your Single Shot rifle from 22 WCF to 22 K-Hornet is about as easy as it gets… just a standard .224 liner and a reamer for the chamber.  Again, I see no reason to go with a twist rate faster than 1:14, as it is perfect for 30 – 60 grain bullets.  The K-Hornet shines very brightly with the 35 & 40 grain pointy bullets

Bert