Handi 22 Hornet 1:16 Twist opinions help wanted

[49FMarlin]

I just picked up a Handi 22 Hornet with a 1:16 twist,

Im looking for Mold recommendations

pet loads for squirrels out to 50yrds low noise

Jword bullet choice for a quiet round

I have on hand
unique,Bullseye, 4227,H110,700x

a member here is sending me some NOA 37g to try out
willing to pay anyone with any other weights before i buy a mold

I can't afford 2 or 3 molds so I'm looking for all you guys experiences to get me 1 mold i can use and have good results
mostly want it for backyard paper punching and squirrels at a quiet noise level

thanks
J

[dudel]

For squirrels, a 22 pellet powered by a primer. Quiet and low meat damage. Jacketed, Midway dogtown 34 gr over 2400. These combos work great out of my handi hornet.

[Jeff Michel]

I've had the best luck with the NOE version of the 225107 next best, 225415. For jacketed, I like the Sierra 45 Gr. rn/sp # 1210. Since your not going to be concerned as much with OAL, Hornady v-max 40 Gr has works well. As to cast loads..... Of all the cartridges I've loaded with cast, the Hornet is hands down the most difficult to get acceptable performance. I would suggest you may try small pistol primers. For me they made an enormous difference. Was I you, I would try starting data (Lyman 48 if you have a copy) and start low and work up to meet your parameters. Don't rule out 2400 if you can track some down.

[enfield]

Don't go over 45gr or it probably wont stabilize, I tried the Lyman 55gr and they keyhole in a 16 twist.

[49FMarlin]

Don't go over 45gr or it probably wont stabilize, I tried the Lyman 55gr and they keyhole in a 16 twist.

how did the 44 do for you?

[Screwbolts]

Don't go over 45gr or it probably wont stabilize, I tried the Lyman 55gr and they keyhole in a 16 twist.

It is entirely possible that not all the above information is 100% correct. I have a BRP mold that drops 47 grain boolitz that I have found and many owners of the BRP approved mold produced by NOE to shot light out from 500 FPS to over 2600 FPS in my K hornet. Now my K hornet will stabalize the hornady 55 gr FMJ but will not stabilize the NOE 225-55 that tips the scale at 62 gr dressed.

My K hornet is an old 322 stevens with a 1x16 twist, that I K'd. there is nothing written in stone.

You will find with a simple search of this sight many threads on the use of the BRP / NOE in Hornets. you will even find the origonal design thread of the BRP boolit.

IMHO I would not waste my time on any less than 5 cavity mold for a fun shooting hornet, I definatly would not consider a double cavity from any source of steel/iron/brass molds. Please make a special note of "IMHO"

Long live the cast.

Ken

PS: my brothers Handi Hornet is a 1x9 or 1x12, definatly NOT 1x16.

[49FMarlin]

It is entirely possible that not all the above information is 100% correct. I have a BRP mold that drops 47 grain boolitz that I have found and many owners of the BRP approved mold produced by NOE to shot light out from 500 FPS to over 2600 FPS in my K hornet. Now my K horney will stabalize the hornady 55 gr FMJ but will not stabilize the NOE 225-55 that tips the scale at 62 gr dressed.

My K hornet is an old 322 stevens with a 1x16 twist, that I K'd. there is nothing written in stone.

You will find with a simple search of this sight many threads on the use of the BRP / NOE in Hornets. you will even find the origonal design thread of the BRP boolit.

Long live the cast.

Ken

I've been reading for a week,,I'm beginning to overload, and even though I've saved some searches I'm starting to brain-fart on my findings
hence me starting my own thread

[Screwbolts]

49F, I hear you,

Ken

[runfiverun]

well your doing some research and you need to cut through what's what.
1-16 tells me a shorter lighter bullet/boolit will work.
and a heavier one might work, maybe sorta depending on it's shape/length.
I'd hedge my bets and go with the lighter/shorter boolit/bullet combinations.
your only looking to shoot out to 100yds anyway and at squirrels as the big game of choice how much lead do you need to kill a 6 oz squirrel?

[jeffkopf]

Great info!! Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences! I love this board! I have been cruising eBay for a .22 hornet handi barrel that won't break the bank so this info is great for when I find the right one!

[49FMarlin]

well your doing some research and you need to cut through what's what.
1-16 tells me a shorter lighter bullet/boolit will work.
and a heavier one might work, maybe sorta depending on it's shape/length.
I'd hedge my bets and go with the lighter/shorter boolit/bullet combinations.
your only looking to shoot out to 100yds anyway and at squirrels as the big game of choice how much lead do you need to kill a 6 oz squirrel?

Maybe i should just use my 45-70,,,lol

im in hopes the 37gr is going to work out, from what I've read the 55 doesn't do to well
but wonder about the 44gr

[Jeff Michel]

165230 6oz! :shock:

[35remington]

The 225438 will stabilize fine from a 1-16 but I personally prefer something with a flat point for squirrels at long rifle equivalent velocities as the roundnoses don't seem to kill as well.

[303Guy]

Don't go over 45gr or it probably wont stabilize, I tried the Lyman 55gr and they keyhole in a 16 twist.
That could be true but I suppose it depends on the boolit shape. My 16 twist hornet showed no sign of boolit yaw with 55gr RCBS FP but then I was driving them quite fast. I wouldn't use my load on squirrels (unless they were those mega-squirrels) because the accuracy was so-so. The castings weren't the best. I used 4227. For closer ranges they would have been fine but at 110 yds that I was testing them at, not so much.

The 22 air rifle pellet can be driven to hypervelocities. More impact damage and penetration than a 22lr. I have no idea of the accuracy at any distance as the pellets went into a space warp and disappeared. I attempted to support them by filling them in and out with candle wax. All I could recover was the hole they made in the particle board. I should try them again at less insane velocities.

[marlin39a]

I have the Ruger 77/22VHZ Hornet, 1-14". I just cast a potful 0f Noe 225107 yesterday from 50/50 range to linotype. All weigh 36.8 - 36.9. Going to install GC, size and lube in my 450 at .225. Hope to be shooting this week. I'm going to use CCI-400 primers and Lil Gun powder. I'm looking for 2400 fps.

[Dimner]

I have had good results with the Hornady (jword) .224 hornet bullet with trailboss. I can pick off a clothes pin on a snow fence at 50yards. That's what we use at my range to hold up the targets. Load was 2.5 grains of trailboss for 1200fps. Nice load that mimics the 22LR CCI Mini Mag.

As has been realized, you are going to have to stick with very short boolits with that slow of a twist. I have a 1:12 in my springfield M6 and I could not get the Sierra 45 grain 1310's to stabilize at .65" bullet length.

I did try the 225438 in the m6 with really bad results, but I think that was because they were undersized for my barrel. I need to beagle the mold.

[303Guy]

I'm hearing conflicting reports on stabilization. I'm thinking I should find my .224 RCBS FN boolits and gas check them and go test them!

I had never thought of Trail Boss for the hornet. At those velocities a 40gr RN should work fine.

But the 60gr Hornady spire point worked very well in the 16 twist over a stiff charge of Lil'Gun.

[w30wcf]

Welcome to the world of .22 Hornet cast bullets! The Lyman 225438 and NEI 45 (both weigh 47 grs in w.w)gr work just fine in a 1/16" twist barrel, from 1,200 - 2,700 f.p.s. The NOE version of the Ideal 225107 (39 gr) should work very well also.

The older version of the 225415 (52 grs.) shot well at 2,000-2,600 f.p.s. but would partially keyhole at lower velocities. The newer version (57 gr w.w) shot ok at the upper velocities but was not as accurate as the lighter bullets.

For small game I would suggest using a small pistol primer and trying 2.5 - 3 grs of bullseye under the NOE or Lyman 225438 or NEI 45.

w30wcf

[w30wcf]

Pic added....
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/w30wcf/Collector%20Cartridges/22bulletlineup.jpg

w30wcf

[Dimner]

I'm hearing conflicting reports on stabilization. I'm thinking I should find my .224 RCBS FN boolits and gas check them and go test them!

I had never thought of Trail Boss for the hornet. At those velocities a 40gr RN should work fine.

But the 60gr Hornady spire point worked very well in the 16 twist over a stiff charge of Lil'Gun.
The best part about trailboss in the hornet is the fact that I'm getting really consistent velocities on 10 round groups. 15 fps spreads. Which is a ton better than the 70-90fps spreads I was getting with full loads using LilGun.

Both were done with small pistol primers.

[303Guy]

The best part about trailboss in the hornet is the fact that I'm getting really consistent velocities on 10 round groups. 15 fps spreads. Which is a ton better than the 70-90fps spreads I was getting with full loads using LilGun.

Both were done with small pistol primers.
70-90 fps spread? Wow! I'm pretty sure I wasn't getting spreads like that with Lil'Gun. But then I was using 55 gr j-words with compressed charges over Federal SR primers. Velocity at 2740 fps. Pressure not so mild. R-P cases (larger capacity) and an over sized chamber. I didn't even size the neck - I have another trick I use. Case life indefinite. I do want to shoot cast in it but casting those little boolits is a challenge for me. Luckily there are those fairly cheap 55 gr 22 bullets out there.

I have a can of Trail Boss looking for a purpose.

[Dimner]

70-90 fps spread? Wow! I'm pretty sure I wasn't getting spreads like that with Lil'Gun. But then I was using 55 gr j-words with compressed charges over Federal SR primers. Velocity at 2740 fps. Pressure not so mild. R-P cases (larger capacity) and an over sized chamber. I didn't even size the neck - I have another trick I use. Case life indefinite. I do want to shoot cast in it but casting those little boolits is a challenge for me. Luckily there are those fairly cheap 55 gr 22 bullets out there.

I have a can of Trail Boss looking for a purpose.
Yeah I seem to be having some troubles with lil gun. I'm using cci small pistol primers, ppu brass, full length resize, sierra 1310 45 gr spitzer. hand measured powder. Here is the data from a typical 8 shot string. This load is 2+ grains under max load

10.8 grains LilGun

Temp: 28 °F
BP: 29.71 inHG
Shots
# FPS FT-LBS PF
8 2670 633.28 106.80
7 2650 623.83 106.00
6 2719 656.74 108.76
5 2716 655.29 108.64
4 2636 617.26 105.44
3 2665 630.91 106.60
2 2716 655.29 108.64
1 2592 596.82 103.68
Average: 2670.50
StdDev: 45.19
Min: 2592
Max: 2719
Spread: 127


I'm beginning to wonder if I'm having some sort of chamber issue. Maybe too much headspace. I need to get it checked out. Could be less about lil gun and more about the high velocity. I need to try a different powder to see if the same issue happens.

Odd thing is.... here is a string with trail boss and the 225438 (really old ideal HP version)

Temp: 48 °F
BP: 29.64 inHG
Shots
# FPS FT-LBS PF
5 1405 0.00 0.00
4 1414 0.00 0.00
3 1405 0.00 0.00
2 1400 0.00 0.00
1 1414 0.00 0.00
Average: 1407.60
StdDev: 6.19
Min: 1400
Max: 1414
Spread: 14

[richhodg66]

The Lee Bator works great in both my 1:16" twist Hornets. It's nominally 55 grains but is actually shorter than the Lyman 225438. That Bator in front of 5.5 grains of 2400 works great, but I prefer then NOE 45 WFN I have which is plain based in front of 2 grains of Bullseye.

[Dimner]

The Lee Bator works great in both my 1:16" twist Hornets. It's nominally 55 grains but is actually shorter than the Lyman 225438. That Bator in front of 5.5 grains of 2400 works great, but I prefer then NOE 45 WFN I have which is plain based in front of 2 grains of Bullseye.
Shorter that the 438!! Spectacular. I was worried about the length. I'm gonna have to try that one. Thank you very much for the info.

[303Guy]

My Lil'Gun load is 13.7 gr under the 55 gr bullet. The powder fills to the top of the neck which I then compress down with a punch to make space for the bullet. That I think is what gives it a better burn. One person I spoke to used a double compress to get more powder in for his 35 or 40 gr bullet and was getting something like 3300 fps.

I would tend not to use Lil'Gun for cast boolits. With a 'normal' powder and a card wad set to the right depth in an unsized case, one can seat a cast boolit by dipping it in molten lube then placing it in the mouth. The lube will hold the boolit in place (not too soft a lube).

At one time, before I discovered Lil'Gun, I tried a duplex load using 4227 and Varget. Worked very well, quite fast and accurate. I used the above seating method which worked fine from the magazine.

[dagunnut]

The best performance in my handi-rifle 22 hornet hands down has been the 34gr Midway Dogtown bullet over 13.0 grains of Lilgun. I am about to start working on cast boolit loads with the Lee 55gr bator, the NOE 225107, and some others.

[JeffinNZ]

DIMNER: You should try a Winchester SR primer with the Lil Gun. Makes a HUGE difference. Ball powders like a very warm light.

[Chill Wills]

I have the Ruger 77/22VHZ Hornet, 1-14". I just cast a potful 0f Noe 225107 yesterday from 50/50 range to linotype. All weigh 36.8 - 36.9. Going to install GC, size and lube in my 450 at .225. Hope to be shooting this week. I'm going to use CCI-400 primers and Lil Gun powder. I'm looking for 2400 fps.

You got me thinking a little with this post. I have a Ruger 77/22 blue steel and walnut. All this time I thought it to be a 16-1 twist. Your post caused me to measure it (again) and repeated tries shows 13-1. I would guess operator error makes it a 14T or, manufactures twists are not always even inches. I am sure some rounding occurs.

If measured correctly I can expand the bullet options I try in this rifle.

My experience with cast so far has been very good compared to jacketed. Especially when contrasted with the full power Remington 46 grain loads.

[303Guy]

DIMNER: You should try a Winchester SR primer with the Lil Gun. Makes a HUGE difference. Ball powders like a very warm light.That might work. Try them. Lil'Gun seems to be a progressive powder in the hornet so a warm spark might be just the thing. A little resistance to boolit launch might help with ignition too.

Having said that, the 'general rule' with Lil'Gun in the hornet is a milder primer and tight neck grip so the primer doesn't push the bullet out before full ignition. Some folks have found improved accuracy and reduced ES this way. My principle was to use a plug of compressed powder to prevent premature bullet movement. Seemed to work. No good for cast as pressure would be too high. Or would it?

[Dimner]

I wonder if crimping may help with the resistance to bullet launch. I'll have to get testing. But first I need some cast bullets to test

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[leftiye]

So what primer (small pistol) is mildest?