Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .22 RF alternatives

Oh dear.............I'm remembering a plaque behind the desk of Kelly Johnson who founded the Lockheed Skunk Works and designed a couple of aircraft which are legend. It said, "SIMPLICATE!"

John, I flubbed up at the start and suggested I'd not shot cast from the Hornet, and corrected myself later. Lyman 225438's of #2 alloy for fireforming a K-Hornet. My 50 yard groups just reviewed are not unlike your report, though they were many shots dedicated to forming, not a measure of precision. 30 or so in 2" groups and though I don't consider that a test, it is a ballpark reference. I have one string of 5 on a target that measures just sub inch so I'd call that in line with your findings. While useful it does not vary that much from previous experience with other cartridges, nor rise to the level of utility and precision I have in mind. As example, from my T/C Contender, .22 CB shorts, the hog whacker got a check on zero after a through barrel cleaning.



It is only in recent weeks that I've seen CCI CB Shorts available in the marketplace, this after several years of zero availability. Most other styles of short ammo were likewise not available.

My Hornet is a Model 54 that had the chamber recut by Mr. Kilbourn. It is a beaut, but not what I'd think of as a work-a-day .22 rifle for pests, plinking and knock-around activities. Nor were other Hornets I've owned in times past.

Apologies tendered if this presents as trying to make a simple solution complicated, that is not my intent. It is merely a search for an alternative that is compatible with existing platforms and perhaps useful to those many shooters out there that survived the .22 RF shortage and associated higher costs of ammo then and now. I did not have this objective in mind when the discussion began, and recognize one can, to some degree, modify and/or download other cartridges with some success. That implies one off production and custom tools. I'm looking at complimentary utility and flexibility in a single production package at this point. Something the industry might find useful from a marketing perspective?

After my second cup of Joe today I went out to the load bench and did something new. Pulled out the 'stuff' and set about finding out for myself how the basic capacities and relevant dims compare for the LR and .25 ACP cases. Measured some capacities as well, at least to the best of my ability to contrive. I do not claim high statistical accuracy here, just ballpark numbers.

Case Capacity, fired CCI LR SV brass defined at 100% load density w/o charge compression

WW231 - 3.1 grains
Bullseye- 2.8 grains
Lil Gun - 3.9 grains

It was quite a bit more capacity than I anticipated. I assume the loads for factory production are in the 1 grain range but have not pulled bullets to weigh the charge(s). So, in some cases we get relatively small velocity spreads with low density of charge. That tweaks my curiosity a bit.

The .25 ACP and .22 LR case are within a very few thou of the same length. I suspect the internal volume with seated bullet is similar. Lyman 49 suggested loads for a 50 gr. bullet in the ACP are 1.0-1.4 grains for both WW231 and Bullseye, with max load velocity 750 fps +/- 2 fps

Anyway, that's my drivel this AM before a full dose of coffee. I heard a rumor when I was young that Orville and Wilbur thought building roads was a tedious exercise and did not get to the point of expeditious travel. Their thoughts had a profound impact on my life.