bunch. It was, after all, the “... strongest shooting.” In 1888, Mr. Harwood was shipped a 22 W.C.F Winchester Single Shot by a Boston distributor, along with a couple of boxes of ammunition, some targets, and the request to test the gun for accuracy and to publish the results. In Iron Ramrod’s hands, the Winchester shot as accurately as the finest rifle cham- bered for the 22 Long Rifle, and possessed additional qualities. Not only was it the “strongest shooting,” it also shot flatter and had a longer point blank range. The 22-15-45 dropped two inches at 100 yards (“... which is about as far as small game is shot”) while the LR dropped more than 4.5 inches. Missing a rabbit at this range with the rimfire was fairly simple. A point in favor of the factory
loaded 22 WCF ammunition was that the bullet was inside lubricated. Also a consideration, the centerfire shell was reloadable. Harwood continued to be a devotee of this cartridge, and promoted it for some time. It was late in 1890 when he wrote in Forest And Stream that the 22-15- 45 “... was by far the best yet produced,” and added with a sly emphasis, “... but there is still room for improvement, the writer has no doubt.” With little fanfare Shooting And
Fishing carried the announcement of a new rifle cartridge in the spring of 1894. The column had the additional purpose of introducing the J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company’s solid frame falling block Model 44 Ideal, a new single-shot in the
rifleman’s marketplace. The rifle and cartridge received roughly equal ink. Considering it was unique, not
enough space was devoted to Harwood’s new shell, which was the 25-20 Single Shot case reduced at the neck to hold a 226" to 227" bullet. Here it is termed for the first time the 22-20 Hornet. The name Hornet was reportedly attached by A.C. Gould, Shooting And Fishing’s edi- tor. The buzz of the little bullet in flight reminded him of this insect, he said. The magazine’s reporter was bold enough to venture the prediction that the 22-20-55 Hornet would “... become one of the most popular centre-fire shells now made.” At the same time the public was notified that Mr. Harwood was prepared to take or- ders for single-shot rifles chambered for his creation. Besides making up special barrels to fit suitable actions, he would recut worn 22 rimfire barrels up to 23 caliber, for use with the unsized 0.230" bullet. The cost for this service was an affordable one dollar. Rueben Harwood could completely outfit the rifle crank who wanted to try out his ultra-modern cartridge. He peddled moulds, loading tools, bullets and cases. A nickel sent to Harwood’s shop brought the curious a sample case and bullet by return mail. Harwood had persuaded one of the am- munition makers (it may have been the Union Metallic Cartridge Co.) to draw up some special cases with the HARWOOD 22-20 head stamp. During this period, it was strongly
Left to right are: 25-20 Single Shot cartridge, parent case of the Harwood Hornet and the 22-3,000.
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hinted that Stevens might become in- volved in assembling 22-20 Hornet rifles at their factory. There is evidence to sug- gest that Ideal Manufacturing of New Haven, Conn., cooperated with Harwood as early as 1892 by agreeing to furnish reloading tools as a cataloged item. Ideal’s bullet shape followed closely the traditional pattern of the period and the basic bullet style offered for Harwood’s Hornet was the C.H. Herrick designed #22636, the standard bullet for the 22 WCF. It was available in 40-, 48-, 55-, and 63-grain weights. Interestingly, the #5 Ideal Handbook of 1893 suggests pure lead as the proper bullet metal, with a recommended diameter of 0.230". An- other source suggests a bullet diameter of 0.226", the standard diameter of the 22 WCF. Those who didn’t want to bother casting bullets either bought them from Mr. Harwood or used the 22 Long Rifle bullet, which was sold back then as a
handloading component. Ideal’s handbook lists 20 grains
of black powder as the correct charge with the recommended 55-grain bullet. Sixteen grains of black and the 63-grain bullet also made a good load. One Hornet user acknowledged that his favorite load was 3 grains of DuPont smokeless and 17 grains of Ffg. He shot a 55-grain bullet, alloyed one part tin to six lead. A pinch of smokeless powder was often used as a priming charge in Harwood Hornet handloads. Its primary contribution was keeping black powder fouling under control. Four grains of an unspecified “nitro” or smokeless powder, underneath 16 grains of black, was recommended by one 1894 correspondent. Harwood him- self used a duplex charge combining #1 Rifle Smokeless and Ffg Semi-Smokeless to give a hardened 48-grain bullet 1,900 fps, and 1,750 fps to the heavier 55 grain- er. He claimed nearly 2,000 fps for the 48-grain projectile when a duplex loading of Ffg under DuPont #2 Rifle Smokeless. The weight of the powder charges were unrecorded. Most likely the velocities were estimated, and perhaps a trifle optimistic. Some years later, velocities were estimated to have been in the 1,600 to 1,700 fps neighborhood. Comparatively, the Harwood Hor-
net was a flat shooter. When sighted at 50 yards, it dropped about an inch and a quarter at a hundred yards, or ¾" less than the 25-20 S.S. factory U.M.C. load with its 77-grain bullet. The trajectory of the 22-20, by 1894 standards, was de- scribed in the press as “very flat.” One shooter summarized holdover rather succinctly: “Just hold a little high when you think it ( the target) is over 100 yards, about ¾ inch above center at 150 yards.” In terms of accuracy, one reporter’s
Hornet placed ten shots in four inches at a hundred yards, six of them being in an inch and a half group. Another indi- vidual put 10 shots into a 2-inch circle at 50 yards. This was considered respect- able small bore black powder shooting a century ago. At first glance, it appears that Rue-
ben Harwood had a very unimaginative approach to case design. Judging by the overly long case neck, there seems to have been little thought given to using the volume of the shell to its maximum ben- efit. It looks as though he just squeezed the neck down until things looked right and called the job done. Circumstantial
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