99 Savage Hi-power

[hydraulic]

Does anyone know of a source for jacketed bullets for a 22 Hi-power. I see that Montana Bullet Works makes a gas checked cast bullet but that's the only thing I've found so far.

[NoAngel]

I would ask someone like BT sniper and come up with a swage die.
Looks like you could bump .224's to .227
It's only three thousandths. It shouldn't be that big a deal and for the investment in a die, it would open up a BIG world for your Hi-power.

[Scharfschuetze]

Speer used to make a .228" 70 grain bullet for the Hipower. I used it on a boar hunt in Australia in a Model 99.

I have no idea if they still make it, but a check of their on-line catalog should let you know.

Check this link out for a lead at Huntington:

http://www.huntingtons.com/store/pro...roductid=20091

[Reverend Al]

Sellier & Bellot from the Czech Republic load the .22 HP (known as the 5.6x52R in Europe) in boxer primed reloadable brass with a proper sized 70 grain soft point bullet. There should be a S&B distributor in the USA, but you might look into that? It might be possible that they could source the S&B 70 grain .228 diameter bullets as a reloading component too? Failing that the S&B ammunition is very reasonably priced so you could buy a few boxes of their 5.6x52R loaded ammo to shoot while you continue to hunt for proper sized bullets to reload later? There are sources for 70 grain .228 bullets up here in Canada from some small, home based bullet swaging businesses, but unfortunately with the current ITAR cross border shipping regulations related to anything to do with rifle reloading components it would be impossible to export them to you in the USA.

[Reverend Al]

Here is the Sellier & Bellot link:

http://www.sellierbellot.us/products...product?id=165

[hydraulic]

I am obliged for your responses. I'll check them out and let you know what I find.

[rintinglen]

Hornady was the last manufacturer of jacketed bullets for that caliber. Unless you come across some on the shelf some place, you may be out of luck. Graf and sons shows Sellier and Bellot fmjs in stock as cartridges only, no components.
NOE has a couple of .228 boolit molds in stock. Which is why it is good to be a caster.

[gnoahhh]

I shoot more .22HP than probably any man alive. I may be exaggerating, but not by much, I have three Savage .22 HP rifles, all takedowns, with five barrels between them. God, I love the HiPower!

Hornady 70gr. .228's- seasonal at best. Used to be everywhere, getting hard to find. That's ok because they don't shoot well in the old slow twist Savages- they are too long to stabilize, unless you're at high altitudes where they work better. I modify them though by shortening them to .750" and then they work fine, are accurate and kill cleanly.

Speer 70gr. .228's- If you stumble onto any, grab them. 'Nuff said. Discontinued for a few years now. They are a semi-pointed design and as such are short enough to stabilize in the 1-12" twists of the old Savage rifles. Very accurate.

RWS H-Mantle's- Ditto the Speer's. Trouble is they show up in the U.S. rarely.

Sisk .228's- long defunct. Wonderful bullets. Came in weights from 45 grains to 80 grains. The lighter ones up to 70 grains work best. Awfully rare now too. Full sealed boxes often command "collector's" prices- if you find some 70 grains, buy them no matter how much you gotta spend. The 70's are shaped like the Speers and RWS's and stabilize well.

I sometimes buy S&B and Norma ammo just to get the excellent bullets, if cheap enough, and throw away the powder charges. The Europeans load their HP's (5.6x52R's) hot, and cases don't last long as a result. Sometimes you might stumble onto Norma 70 grain bullets.

The magic number with any .228 bullet you find is .750"- the maximum length that will stabilize in the Savages at any altitude/temperature. .700" is better. I made a file trim die to shorten those that need it. A PIA, but whatcha gonna do?

I am constantly on the prowl for .228 bullets and have gotten lucky a lot. Right now I have around 3000 bullets of various flavors on hand which I hope will last me. I'm tired of looking for them!

Best bet: get a couple molds for general plinking/target shooting and save the sweet jacketed ones for hunting. Your barrels will last longer to boot. Standard protocols for casting/sizing/shooting cast bullets apply here. Nothing special about the HiPower in that regard. (Except length. Make sure the mold throws bullets .750" or shorter.)

Powders: for hunting loads I stick with 3031 and 4895. Don't bother hotrodding them, deer die just as well even if the bullet is traveling a couple hundred fps slower. I plan on trying some of the new generation powders when I get the chance. Or not. For cast, all the usual suspects work fine. Alas, my favorite for cast is 4759...

Brass: best bet is W-W .25-35 brass. It's showing up again here and there. My advice would be to find some and stock up for the long haul. Simply run .25-35 brass into a HP full length die and shoot them. The weird double shoulder that creates snaps out upon the first firing. You may also want to adjust the die so the first firing does so by headspacing on the shoulder not the rim. Your case life will improve. .22HP brass can also be made from .30-30's but is kind of a PIA, but it works well. Keep your loads moderate and brass will last twice as long.

I think of the HP as the ballistic close-twin to the .223, as far as utility and killing power and useability in the deer woods.

Hope this helps.

[blixen]

Gnoahhh, great piece of wisdom. I agree on 4759-- what's your option now that it's no longer made?

[gnoahhh]

Well, I squirreled away 10 pounds of the stuff, so I won't fret for a little while. RL-7, 2400, 4227 should work fine for mid-range loads in the HiPower. I shoot a lot of Unique in it too, with cast bullets running 55-60 grains. Works swell.

[ericp]

Buffalo Arms used to sell 60gr Hornady soft points that they bumped up. I used those until I made a bump die with no complaints.

Eric

[Texas by God]

Gnoahhh-I ended up with a bunch of Sisk .228" 63&70gr bullets in a trade. Sized down to .224" they work great on deer. They are still kinda common at D/FW gun shows as Sisk was in Iowa Park, Texas. I'll dig them out and see if I have any unsized nes left andoffer them up here. They rival modern bullets for accuracy. Best, Thomas.