Straight Shooter Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 What is the difference in a .224 Hornet bullet and a .224 bullet? I've read some guys loading a .224 bullet for their Hornets and getting great results. This also opens up my opertunities for different rounds. Will shooting a standard .224 round out a Hornet hurt it? What's the deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 I believe it has to do with exposed lead at the nose and frontal jacket thickness. Hornet velocities run lower than many of the other .224" rounds. So Hornet bullets are designed to open easier with more exposed lead and thinner jackets. Regular .224" bullets will work in the Hornet. Just stay with the lighter ones to keep the velocity up and to not eat up too much of the little case's powder capacity. If you'd load a Hornet bullet in a Swift or .22-.250 youd likely get a big "splat". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straight Shooter Posted April 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Cool! Thank you, that really explains a lot and clears things up. I am going to load up some Hornady V-Max bullets 40 gr. with the polymar tip. I read some article on this load in a Hornet, a couple of the replies were 250-300 yards kills on groundhog and prairie dogs. Also 1/2 groups at 100 yards loaded with Lil Gun. I can't wait to load these up and try them out now. Thanks again! SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Lil Gun is definitely the first powder to try in a Hornet. Forums member Uncle John is currently dialing a Hornet in. I know he's having brass issues. Maybe I can get a hold of him & have him provide soome of his expertise on the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straight Shooter Posted April 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 I know that I will not buy anymore nickel brass, I've had more problems with those than the standard brass. Finally getting my headspace and OAL set, it's been a piece of cake. The nickel brass how ever has been a pain in the butt to keep the bullets from leaning to one side as I press them in. I think it could be more on the lines of loading the Hornady XT's over the Sierra SP's since the XT's are more tappered and will having a tendancy to lean while being pressed intot he case. I can't wait to ge those Poly-tipped bullets in and load those up this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Actually, Uncle John's brass problems stem from inconsistent rim thickness (which is what the Hornet headspces on). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straight Shooter Posted April 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Do you mean the rim of the case, as in the bottom of the case? I did measure the thickness on some of my cases, they measured very consistant in the .060 to .061 thickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m gardner Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 If you have a modern 22 Hornet you can use any bullet that will stabilze in it. The older guns had slightly smaller bores and used .223 bullets. I believe they used standard barrels for the 22 rimfire. The Hornet bullets in .224 will work in them also but I never tried any others. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle john Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 I agree with the previous post as to bore diameters and bullets to use. Although I have been handloading since the early 1960's, I never had the opportunity to work with a Hornet until recently. I started with a Ruger 77-22 and it didn't please me, so I now have a CZ 527 which shows great promise. I have found out that brass is very important. The Remington brass I am using shows as much as .004 inch variation in rim thickness. I weeded out the odd stuff, and fliers have nearly disappeared. Winchester brass is usually far more consistent, but locally I haven't had time to come across any. I find that LilGun and a 35 gr VMax will put most of them in a .4 inch spot at 100 yds. I never use nickle plated brass if I can avoid it. Another thing that is important is the primer. Sometimes a small pistol primer will produce better results than a small rifle primer. Necks are very thin and fragile, so running a deburring tool lightly inside helps a lot in avoiding the crinkled necks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straight Shooter Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 I'm with you on the nickel brass, it pretty much sucks and I will not be getting anymore of that and just stick with the normal brass. I read several load charts last night and saw that some were putting 13.0 grains of Lil Gun behind the bullet. That has to be some kind of really bad compressed load. I even double checked my scales to see if they were off. That is good to know about the small pistol primers, I've got a few hundred of those and needed to get rid of them. I also have deburred all of my brass after trimming and had good results on the crinkle of the neck. Thank you for the information, Uncle J SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle john Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 I know we don't discuss actual loads on this forum, so I will direct you to the Hodgdon's website for loads on the Hornet. Many of the max loads listed are compressed, and that's not always bad. With any particular firearm, it is advisable to start at less than max, and work up, while watching for signs of excessive pressure. The first thing is usually flattening of primers, then cratering of the dent where the firing pin hits (caused by the flow of primer metal back around the firing pin)and finally, a difficulty in lifting the bolt to extract. Having a chronograph helps a lot to figure if you are in the right speed range. The bottom line is safety. A few more feet per second isn't worth a risk. It's a lot safer and cheaper just to buy a rifle with a bigger case that will shoot faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straight Shooter Posted April 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 I've been all over the Hodgdon's web site and reading all I can. I'm just very comfortible loading those amounts so I'll stick with what is safe and keep it around2,500 to 2,600 fps. The will still bust a varmit and do the damage I want. I appreciate all the info UncleJ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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