Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles .22 K-Hornet question for RockyRaab, et. al.

Some months back, I used a load out of Hodgdon's magazine-style reloading manual for my .22 K-Hornet, and though I followed it to a tee, I had problems. I used Lil Gun and Winchester small RIFLE primers, as called for. Right off the bat, I had primers that fell out of the pocket upon opening my Contender G2. I stayed well within the powder parameters, so this had me perplexed.

Recently, after reading some other posts, I began to wonder if using Winchester small PISTOL primers might alleviate this problem. What say you?

BTW, I went to 2400 and I found an accurate load and no signs of over pressure.

Thanks.
DAL357

Haven't used any Win. small rifle primers in years, but have seen some posts recently where folks were saying they thought they may be a little undersized as they seated to easy?? If that is the case it may be part of the problem. Also have noticed that LiL Gun varies some from lot to lot and you may have a fast lot, does'nt take much in that small case to make a big difference, as it sounds a lot like high pressures causing problems. I would use a small pistol primer of another brand and back off that powder charge about 2 grains and work back up at not more than half a grain at a time.

I used that load and seated the bullet way out and in to fit in a rotary magazine and had no probleems with primers??????

Could be a combination of things, really. Slightly softer brass, slightly smaller primers, slightly hotter lot of LilGun... I'm surprised that you had better results with 2400, which has always been too hot for me in any Hornet.

I'd try the small pistol primer, but not Winchester. ALL WW primers are too hot for the Hornet. CCI, Fed or Rem primers are much milder. And try cutting down the charge by a half-grain. Also, if you're not using the Lee Factory Crimp Die, try that also. A good firm bullet pull can actually smooth out the ignition/pressure rise.

Once again, my favorite recipe:
WW brass, FL or partial FL sized
Rem 6 1/2 rifle or CCI small pistol primer
13.0 LilGun
40 or 45 gr Hornet bullet of your choice
Lee FCD

Thanks for the replies.

It looks like I'll try some SP primers, probably a pack of CCI's, mainly because that's what the local Wal-mart has. (Pity, I've got a couple of thousand WSP primers, but I guess I'll save those for the .38 Spl. load my Python seems to like.) Then, I'll start, again, at the lowest recommended charge and work my way up. You know, I never did make it to the max loads I made before I noticed overt signs of excess pressure; the problem started with my mid-range loads of Lil Gun. I can't believe that my batch of Lil Gun would be THAT much hotter than usual to cause the problem, but I can't totally discount the possibility either. I guess the only way to be totally sure is to start over with different primers.

I have an old cannister (cardboard body with metal ends and a plastic spout) of 2400 powder from the late '80s that I used for the alternate load. Maybe its age has mellowed it? Anyway, once that is gone I have a couple of recently-manufactured 1-lb. cans to use. I hope they're as accurate as the old stuff.

Once again, thanks to all for the help.
DAL357

P.S. Can I use a .22 Hornet Lee Factory Crimp die for a .22 K-Hornet? (I just found it yesterday while attempting organize my reloading room/workshop. I forgot I had it because the regular Hornet barrel and dies it went with have been sold.) If so, great; if not, I have a .22 Hornet LFC die for sale.

I also have cans of older 2400 - the cardboard one as well as the really old metal cube one. When I was reviewing my Browning Micro-Medallion, I shot factory stuff just fine and then moved into reloads. The first one I tried used the original Hornet recipe of 10.0 2400 under a 45-gr bullet. Fired ONE shot. Got a lot of gas and smoke out of the receiver (great design protected me, but I still felt hot gas on my face) and when I opened the bolt, the case was black, the primer was completely gone and there was a tiny burned spot on the breechface.

Bottom line: even old 2400 is dangerously hot with today's other components - and I'm told that today's 2400 is a wee bit hotter yet! No more 2400 in my Hornet, thank you.

And yes, your Lee FCD will work just fine with a K-Hornet. I don't know how they manage it, but all or most of their standard FCDs work fine with "Improved" versions of that brass as well. Serendipity strikes again, huh? I'm told that the Hornet FCD even works with the Fireball, but I haven't tried it yet myself.

I can concur with those saying the Win primers are troublesome. I have had their large rifle, large rifle magnum and large pistol primers (all of the new "gold" color) seat way too easy in every case I have used them in. I have not had any fall out after firing!
There were some lots of Lil'Gun recalled because they were way too fast, but that was when the powder was first introduced.
2400 is a good powder, but maxes pressure faster than Lil'Gun in almost every cartridge both are used in. Blast is less with 2400 than Lil'Gun, especially in handguns.