Working With The 22 Hornet M.L. McPherson
fully support the case head. Avoid top- end loads in any gun with questionable headspace. Be aware that regardless of nominal headspace, top-end loads used in a gun with a rear-locking action will allow excessive case stretching, thus cases will separate after a few uses. Bolt lock-up on many Hornet-chambered guns uses the bolt handle — such de- signs are adequate for factory Hornet loads but do increase case stretching as one loads to higher pressure. Full-power loads used in such guns can ruin cases within a few loading and fi ring cycles. My best advice is that you refrain from using any handload in any Hornet- chambered gun that does not fully sup- port the case head. Dedicated readers will fi nd many
N
similarities between the text and layout of this article and my previous articles in this series, which covered the 17 Ackley Hornet, 17 Fireball, and 22 K-Hornet. This is deliberate, as a convenience to both the reader and to me. If I ever fi nd the time, I intend to add at least one more article to this series. That one will cover the 17/23 SMc™, which is a minimalist case that approaches 17 Remington performance. INTRODUCTION
As noted in previous articles in
this series, our editor, John Anderson, refers to use of small cartridges as “The Minimalist Approach.” His opinion, and one with which I agree, is that small cartridges work perfectly for many plinking and varminting needs. There- fore, these chamberings can be supe- rior choices. As the smallest commonly handloaded factory cartridge, the 22 Hornet (hereafter, simply the Hornet) is the classic example of the genre. Hornet advantages are numerous and include: Modest recoil; Limited barrel heating; Extremely long barrel life; Mild muzzle blast; Modest report; Usefulness in handguns; and, Minimum case and propellant
costs.
ever use any loads suggested here in any gun that does not
Final day at the range gathering data for this piece: Temperature approached 100 degrees F. An annoying shifting breeze was a mixed blessing. While it kept the bugs down it often resulted in a bit of horizontal stringing (when I did not recognize changes) or a blown shot (when a gust occurred during the interval between my brain issuing the “fi re” command and the bullet approaching the target — several-tenths second).
I could have included easier hand-
loading in this list but that is not necessarily true. While case sizing is unusually easy — I always have found neck-sizing only to be adequate unless one is trying to use reloads in more than one gun. Despite this, these tiny, thin- necked cases and small bullets can cause considerable grief — crushed case necks and pinched fi ngers can be common when using less than ideal loading dies (ideal dies are available and you can bet
that those are what I use). Forster, Redding, and others of-
fer a neck-only bushing die but I prefer the Lee Collet neck-sizing die. It has no disadvantages and it eliminates the need to change bushings when working with cases with differing neck thickness. Because neck thickness varies widely among Hornet cases (even among same-brand, same-lot cases!) this is a signifi cant issue. With the Lee Collet die, ideally preparing a fi red case for reload-
Tested 22 Hornet loads, left-to-right: 30-grain Barnes Varmint Grenade; Berger HP (tested 35- and 40-grain Berger HP loads were visually indistinguishable); Calhoon; 33-grain TNT; 35-grain Hornady V-Max; 37-grain Calhoon; 40-grain Hornady V-Max; Nosler BT; and, Sierra BK.
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