Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 22 hornet loads??

I just got into reloading a little bit (picked a fine time to buy stuff LOL) but I have a couple questions about working up loads for my Ruger 77/22

I have 36 grain V-max , 45 grain HP/BEE varmint , 40 grain bltz King and some 40 grain sierra bullets to try and some Lil' gun and Win 296 powder.
Right now I have only used the 36 grain v-max and lil' gun powder Do any of you guys have any suggestions about different loads I can try? I am trying to find a fairly fur friendly load. Thanks for any input

12-13 g of Lil' Gun and the .224 Sierra 40 g hornet bullet is what works in my savage. I'm experimenting with a light crimp from a Lee factory crimp die. Also, try small pistol primers, your groups might shrink a little.

I hear good things about 13 gr of Lil Gun with 40 gr bullets - seems to be a proven Hornet load that gets discussed a fair amount. I don't have a standard Hornet but do shoot a K-Hornet. W296 used to be my favorite powder, but Lil Gun seems to work a bit better now that I have it dialed in. I've shot a variety of 35, 40 and 45 gr bullets but the 40 Vmax is my favorite.

While it took awhile for me to find a load that would shoot under a 6" group, I finally settled, for now, on 13.0 grains of w296 speer 33 grain jacketed hollow point. Although I cant comment on the fur friendliness as I have yet to shoot a critter with it. My 77 is very finicky, i have tried everything from lil gun to 4227, bullets weights from 30 to 45, shimmed the bolt with .003 & .004 shims, with a 1" group with the above mentioned load being the best, but I have very much enjoyed all the shooting it has provided. They are fun little guns!

Try AA1680 if Lil Gun does not give stellar performance. I never had very good luck with it in any of my Hornets. My go to load is AA1680, CCI Small Rifle, and a Hornady 40 grain V-Max.

I also have been told to try Small Rifle Magnum primers with Lil Gun if it did not give great results. Have not had a chance to test them out yet.

I've had my Ruger M77 Sporter since the early 1990's. Originally, it would shoot solid 2" groups with IMR4227 or factory loads. Then I tried Lilgun, mainly because Hodgdon says it gives higher velocity (true) and very low pressures (42,000psi for most powders vs 32,000psi for Lilgun), and I got 1 1/2" groups. I then switched to small pistol primers and the groups shrunk again and then I added a Timney Spring and Sear kit to improve the trigger. Now, it easily shoots sub-MOA.

I did the same Timney and loads for my buddies Ruger and had similar results.

My best accuracy is a 52gr Sierra Matchking over 11.7gr of Lilgun, Win case and Win spp. Velocity is 2,650fps.

My coyote load is a 45gr Barnes XLC over 13.0gr lilgun, Win case and spp. Velocity is 2,900fps.

ha ... I think it's interesting because I was told to drop down to the small pistol primers with Lil' gun. the mags would definitely be worth a try.

moral of the story is don't get married to one particular combo if it isn't working for you.

I agree that AA1680 is the other avenue you should pursue if little gun won't git er done. the Sierra and hornady manuals insist that H110 is good stuff in the Hornet, but i've never tried it.

I honestly haven't had any trouble getting my savage to group, although I've read plenty of tales of woe. mine does well with 40 g vmaxes, the aforementioned 40 g sierra's, and also the 33 g speer. heck, mine shoots the .223 sierras about like the .224's, cant really tell a difference.

Tried H110 and WW296 with mediocre results. Velocity was OK but accuracy sucked, with the absolute best only around 1.5 inch groups.

I've always liked those ruger 77/22 hornets in the sporter configuration, but I'm afraid to get one due to the accuracy reports. The savage 40 I've got is a great shooter, but it isn't portable and svelte like the ruger.

yeap 13gr lil'gun seems to be magic in a lot of hornets , I use a pistol primers (standard) and have got about the same accuracy results with the 30gr barnes VG as I do a 35 v-max , I do think it shows like 14.4gr lil'gun being max load with the 30 VG but you will have to "viberate" the case to get all that powder in there

13 grains of Lil Gun and any bullet under 45 grains is a winner in mine. It especially likes the 40 grain z-max/v-max bullets.

The three Hornets I've owned have all shot very well with 13.0 Li'l Gun and 40-grain bullets, as in 1/2" to 3/4" for five shots at 100, and the one K-Hornet I had did the same with a little more LG.

With the 30 Varmint Grenade I had better luck with H110--which by the way is the exact same powder as W296, so if a Hornet won't shoot with 110 it ain't likely to with 296.

Thanks guys one thing about it if it dont like the lil' gun or the 296 it will just have to wait until the powder ammo shortage slows down some...
I had a buddy tell me and send me some magnum pistol primers in it but watch them for piercing.
ldholton I loaded some up with 12 grain lil gun and they seem pretty full,14.4 would fill them up with out a doubt lol
Thanks for the info guys.

13 g of lil gun fills it almost to the brim, but it compresses down nicely when you seat a boolet. the 30-33 g bullets have very little bearing surface. they don't need to go down far in the case. so yes, you can basically fill the case up completely with lil' gun and still seat one of them.

My Hornet is one of the (apparently) rare ones that does not like 40 gr NBT or V-Max and L'il Gun. At MD's suggestion I tried H110 and lighter bullets - works great, last trip to the range I put 11 34 gr Dog Town's into an inch, (8 into 3/4).

There is a very good article on the Hornet in the November 2012 edition of Guns, available to read online here:

http://gunsmagazine.com/digital-editions/

It was written by some Loony who actually tried several different primers with (to me) surprising results.

That is the one thing I have not fooled with much, is switching primers. i use Rem 6.5's cause that is what I have. A buddy has the All Weather Model that shoots extremely well with just about anything loaded with H110 or W296. His didn't like the Lil Gun either.

I use 6.5 primers in Winchester cases, 1680 and those inexpensive little 34gr. HPs from Midsouth or Midway ($41/500). I get lots of shooting for little $$. I crimp with a Lee Factory Crimp die, too, to help ignition a bit.
Under MOA is normal for that load in my CZ. I also use the 40 Sierra Hornet bullet with the same components, it shoots about as well, just more $$ for the bullets.

The only load I have loaded for my Hornet is the 45 gr TSX, it is extremely fur friendly, busted a coyote in the chest at just shy of 90 yards, the bullet came out beside his bunghole with less than a dime sized exit wound.

My load is 14 grs of Lil-Gun, I use a drop tube and seat the bullet in two separate operations, I know it sounds silly but, my M-70 Hornet is a 16 twist and I want to push the bullet as fast as possible to get all the stability I can get.

Velocity from the 24" barrel runs 2922 fps.

Gunner

gunner,

That's very interesting! I would have bet against the 45 TSX stablizing in a 1-16 twist at any velocity.

Not surprised, however, that you can use that heavy a charge under a 45-grain bullet. A ballistics-lab tech I know said that light TSX's produce the least pressure of any bullet hes worked with.

Yessir, and getting nice [round] holes in paper out at 200 tells me it's still spinning true.

Gunner