Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles ? about a 22 K-Hornet

recently was given a h&r handi rifle in above named caliber. along with dies and about 300 pieces of brass. What kind of performance can i expect to get and can anyone recomend a good starting load with a bullet choice? I have on hand both 2400 and lilgun powder but can go buy others to try

thanks
David

Never loaded for the K but am well versed with the Hornet. Lots of folks swear by Lil Gun but I could only swear at it. Never gave me the results they bragged about. I have had stellar results with 2400, W680, W296, and AA1680. I have found the Hornet easy to load for, but have never tried to squeeze 3K fps from that little case. Sub MOA was never very difficult to achieve.
All of the plastic tip 40 grain bullets have shot well for me but if forced to pick I would settle on the Hornady. Don't overlook some of those old Sierras or other makers that were designed for Hornet velocities. You might be surprised at their accuracy and performance.
To date I have only used CCI Small Rifle primers but others have said small pistol primers are the only way to go. To each his own I guess.

not really concerned about high velocity, just would like to get a decent reload worked up. pry get used on paper more than anything but cant see spending 45 a box for ammo, but like to keep it shooting since it was a gift from my grandfather

A number of years ago, I found a Ruger No. 3 someone had restocked and rebarreled to 22 K-Hornet. Initially, I didn't have the best results with Lil Gun and after trying several other powders, settled on WW 296. I didn't own a chrono at the time so never knew what velocities I was getting. I did seem to get occassional flyers with most every powder I tried and have been determined to get that resolved. Last year I found some information someone posted regarding Lil Gun and the K-Hornet which prompted me to give it another try. I'm glad I did - as much as I can fit in the case with a 40 grain V-max is giving me consistent 1/2 MOA in the 3400 fps range and no more flyers. My earlier results with Lil Gun I believe were due to not enough powder. I seem to recall reading somewhere you can't fit enough Lil Gun in the Hornet case to cause problems, though can't confirm that (going off memory here).

I initially used WW cases and tried some R-P as well. WW have a little more capacity, though both are pretty weak/soft. I've recently switched to PRVI cases which are much stronger than WW or R-P and have similar capacity to WW. The PRVI cases are a little larger outside dimension and fit my chamber better. I get a pretty noticable bulge at the case head with the WW and R-P cases, but none with the PRVI. The downside to the PRVI cases is that you lose a lot more to split necks on initial fire forming (over 20%). I resolved this by running a 6mm expander into the Hornet case, and then forming a shoulder with the K-Hornet die which gets the case almost formed prior to firing. I still lose a few to split necks, but no more than with WW or R-P (approx. 5%). A year ago, I couldn't find PRVI brass - just loaded ammo and disassembling to reform cases is a pain. Just recently, Grafs had bulk PRVI Hornet brass which I stocked up on. I just finished fire forming 400 PRVI cases a couple of weeks ago and likely have a lifetime supply ready to go. I think it was worth the effort, and from my experience is the best way to go with the K-Hornet.

JGray thank you, as said i got it from my grandfather and just would like to shoot it. he sent me roughly 360 pieces of brass already fireformed and a small assortment of bullets. am thinkin of some 45 gr sp to go shoot hogs with. dont run in to a lot of varmint opportunities down here. thanks again 4 the help

Case capacity increases when blown to the K Add 5% to a standard hornet.
IMO start at mid road to slightly over on a standard Hornet load doesnt matter which, work up and have some fun.
IME the K comes real close to a tri duece.

Enjoy

Swifty

will a k feed from a ruger 77\22 hornet mag with no mod just got a second 77\22 HORNET and donot need two of the same but thought a k hornet would be fun. sorry this is off topic but close

shot it a little today with factory 22 hornet loads, remington 45 gr hp. shot bout 1 1/4 in consitanly on the bench at 100yds. cant wait to get a load set up. just picked up 1000 40gr balistic tips. will let you know how it turns out

1-1/4" is good firing Hornets in the K-Hornet chamber - that should improve when you shoot formed K-Hornet brass. 13 gr of Lil Gun is a proven charge in the Hornet - I would start there with your 40 gr BT's and work up. 14.5 grains is where I stopped - that fills my cases to within 1/16" of the case mouth. I seat the 40 gr Vmax out a bit using just that last 1/16" of the neck to hold the bullet and I'm .020 - .030 off the rifling. 40 gr Bergers shoot almost as well as the V-max's - I do have some 40 gr BT's but haven't tried them yet, but plan to rectify that soon. After my initial frustrations figuring this cartridge out, this Ruger No. 3 K-Hornet is now my favorite ground squirrel combo.

Yes...btdt

The best powders for the Hornet or K Hornet are Lil Gun, AA1680, and H110/WW296. One might give better accuracy than the others, but Lil Gun seems to deliver. More velocity at a much lower pressure. hornet cases tend to stretch badly. The K seems to stop that. not having to trim Hornet cases is worth the cost of chamfering for me.

I load WW cases with l Gun and 34-40 grain bullets.

It's true that Li'l Gun produces less pressure and more velocity than any other powder in the Hornet case. Here's the data for Li'l Gun and some other popular powders with 40-grain bullets:

13.0 Li'l Gun, 28,400 CUP, 2826 fps
11.2 H110/W296, 41,800 CUP, 2795
14.0 AA1680, 50740 psi, 2785

My own present Hornet, a 26" barreled Ruger 1B, gets over 3000 with the 13.0 Li'l Gun load. I had a CZ K-Hornet for a while that would also get 3000+ from a 22" barrel. Accuracy in each rifle is 3/4" or less for 5 shots, often much less, using 40-grain Ballistic Tips.

Brass life with the thin Hornet case is also a lot longer with Li'l Gun than any other powder I've tried, no doubt due to the lower pressures.

if a fellow were to load some 40 or 45 grain soft points or fmj's how do you think the cartridge would preform on hogs? most shot now are under 50-60 yds and usually take a 22 lr and a 22 mag marlin. thinking this gun mite be the trick for some porkers in the marsh land where the ranges are a little longer.... thoughts?

david

Barns makes a 22 cal. 45 grain XLC.

Haven't tried it yet, but plan to load some for close range deer hunting.

Read the writeup in the Barns manuel. Sounds like this bullet has been very sucessful in Africa on small planes game.

Virgil B.

7 or 8 year ago.. but loaded up some in a 223, for a local youth, at 22 Hornet speeds, with the 45 gr Barnes X...still have most of the box..

it dispatched a blacktail in short order...probably 100 yd or less shot...

I have taken a couple deer with a 22K-hornet. Load up some 45grs Barnes TSX and drill shoulders.

Exactly what he said but I only size the first 1'4" of the neck. You can do this with the full length die by just backing it out but better yet is a bushing neck die and throw away the expander button. Case life will skyrocket and groups can get really tiny.

That's exactly how I size my cases--but the tiniest groups I've gotten in the Hornet have been when using a Lee Loader! It neck-sizes the brass VERY sraightly. Five shot groups average under 1/2", but have shot several in the .3's. The best group had 4 in .18"--but I pulled the 5th out a little, naturally!

Happens to the best of us The more I read about these K Hornets, the more i want to get one for P-Dogs. Whats the max effective range using a 40gr V-max do you think?

The longest prairie dog shot I've made with a Hornet (standard or K) is 427 yards, and it wasn't a barrage. As I recall it was the 3rd shot, and the first two didn't miss by much. That was with a 40-grain Ballistic Tip, from my Ruger No. 1B, which has a 26" barrel so gets about the same velocity as a 22" K-Hornet.

On a calm day, I regularly shoot prairie dogs out to 250-300 yards with 40-grain plastic-tip bullets from a Hornet.