Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 22 High Power

How many of you have used the .22 High Power ammo from Sellier & Bellot? I'm interested in hearing comments on accuracy and reloading ability, especially case life. Also, does anyone have loading data they'd recommend. I have some of the Hornady 70 grain bullets (and a large secret stock of the older Speer's).

I've been shooting the S&B ammo out of my 1932 99G 22 Hi-Power.Very accurate out of my gun-I shot a 3 shot group that measured around 2.5 inches at 200 yards using a Lyman tang peep.

WB.

I haven't had much luck with S&B's out of my gun. Fair accuracy, poor case life. The head diameter (just in front of the rim) of these -and Norma's- is a few thousandth's less than domestic .25/35's and .30/30's. That translates into short case life with full power hunting loads.

Treasure that horde of old Speers (if they're .228"). You might try the 60gr. .228's from Buffalo Arms. They shoot wicked good in my rifle. The Hornadays are a paradox. On the one hand, I'm glad Hornady is still making them. On the other, I wish they grouped better in my rifle. Too long for the rate of twist (weight not having much to do with it). They shoot OK for woods-distance deer hunting, and can be somewhat improved upon by trimming 1/10" off the nose- which trick removes a surprisingly small bit of weight. Wheelchair Bandit has been after me to try the current 70gr. Speer .224". I will get around to trying them, because the Dude abides.

Gnoahhhh, Thank you for the details in your reply. I have also had poor luck with the Hornady bullet, especially out of a 20" barrel. Another .22 HP that I haven't fired yet is my 99G with a 22" barrel. That's the one I was figuring on using the S&B ammo in. Yes, the Hornady bullets were actually made for the shooters in Europe and their 5.6X52R rifles usually have a faster rate of twist than the old Savages. My Speer bullest are .228" and they are shorter than the Hornady's, much more .22 HP in nature. And, I also thank you for the short case life notes you sent, I was afraid of that. Even so, I might get some of the S&B for shooting because that will save my old original brass for a little while longer. Thanks again, 303mike

Obviously you're not a golfer.

BTW,I almost got to bust a buck with my 22 HP yesterday.Probably for the best that I didn't get him though,as I seriously doubt he weighted 60 pounds guts feathers and all.

WB.

Let me add some 'gas' to the comments about using .224" bullets. Many years ago I had a .22 HP that had a .22 Hornet barrel. While the barrel was properly marked for the Savage 99, and stamped with ".22 HP" it had a tight bore and a 1-in-16" twist. That gun would break cases on new factory ammo. So, I tried handloads with the 50 grain .224" bullets and bingo! That worked great. The only real problem was that the expander in the sizing die had to be changed or the .224" bullets were very loose in the loaded round. They were so loose they'd fall out, or, worse yet, possibley fall back into the case. That rifle was the typical "Imp", a take-down with the 20" barrel. Yes, I wish I still had that "funny freak" too. No, I've never tried the .224" bullets in a properly barreled .22 HP.

Mike
I Have 6 22H.P.'s
The S &B Does Very Well in 4 Of Them,,I Get 3/4 to 1In Groups at 100 Yds,,and 1 Inch to 1 1/4Inch Groups at 200 Yds.
The Other 2 Does O.K. with S & B but once in a while the Neck Splits,,,as Far as Norm Factory They all do Well,,My Roll My own does Even Better with Norma
I get About 2-3 Loadings with S & B,,The Norma I get 5 Or 6,,,

Reformed 25-35 Win Brass I Get 6-8 Loadings.
The S & B Brass is a Little Deference in Grade Of Brass as Far as Hardness and Thickness.

But Again as what ever Cost Effects you are looking at the S & B is By far the Cheapest as far as a Factory load,,Pending on what you are trying to achieve with them as far as hunting or just shooting.
Steve

Mike,
Both Ken Waters and our very own John Barness have found that in their respective rifles,.224" bullets weighting around 60 grains shot better than any of the .227" and .228" bullets they tried.

I have purchased some RCBS 22 HP dies and some Winchester 25/35 brass for reforming.This winter I plan on trying a variety of .224" bullets in my 99G,including Nosler 60 grain Partitions and Speer 70 grain semi-spitzers.

WB.

WB & Steve, Thank you both for your comments. Steve, yes, getting 100 rounds of the S&B ammo for under $100 (before shipping) is a pretty good buy. That's almost good enough to buy the ammo and shoot it without bothering to reload it. It deserves a try anyway. And WB, now I'll have to see if I have any .224" bullets in my dusty cache of treasures. Did Waters or Barsness have any comment about loose bullets in the neck of the case?

Don't recall,but any experienced handloader knows you'd have to change the expander plug.I ordered a .224'' expander when I ordered my dies.

WB.

"but any experienced handloader knows you'd have to change the expander plug"

WB, You're right there. Now I wonder if the .224" bullets would reduce pressures enough to help the brass last longer. Frankly, most of my reloading experience with the .22 HP is with cast bullets at lower velocities.

One question that kind of nags at me a bit, re: .224 bullets in the Imp. Does the undersize bullet "bump up" sufficiently in size, and quickly enough, to prevent gas cutting in the throat area with attendant erosion problems. If not, is it a big deal? My gut feeling is probably not, at least for occasional shooting. But what about if a guy embarked on a long experiment and ended up shooting, say, a thousand rounds?

Just a thought.

i wasn't happy with the performance of the hornady 70 gr. .227 bullet so i started trying .224 bullets. had good luck with the 65 gr. sierra gameking. i'll try to post a picture of the results. never posted a picture before so lets see what happens (i know, i spelled shot with two o,s).