H&R .22 hornet.... something isn't right

[Wolfdog91]

Finally got around to loading up some jacketed at having this thing on a all case diet and well..... It **** good one minute bad the other so I decided to bore scope it aaannnndd

[Hannibal]

So, what you are describing as chattering at the beginning of the borescope video is really typical for a factory button-rifled barrel. Every Savage factory barrel I've ever looked at is like that so it's nothing to be concerned about.
However, at about the 7 minute mark in the video you run into some really nasty pitting caused by corrosion. And the further you proceed down the barrel toward the chamber it just gets worse and worse. The copper fouling you are seeing is the result of jacketing material literally being torn from the jacket by the pitting. You literally have chunks of landing that are missing due to corrosion damage.
Bottom line is that barrel will never shoot well. No amount of cleaning, hand lapping or fire lapping is ever going to fix that.
And it's not H&Rs fault. The previous owner failed to correctly clean and protect the bore before storing.

There's a lesson to learn here everybody. Don't put your guns away dirty and use a product designed to protect your bore during storage. Otherwise, you'll end up with a barrel bore very similar to what is in the video.

Sorry for all the bad news. It's permanently damaged.

[Wolfdog91]

So, what you are describing as chattering at the beginning of the borescope video is really typical for a factory button-rifled barrel. Every Savage factory barrel I've ever looked at is like that so it's nothing to be concerned about.
However, at about the 7 minute mark in the video you run into some really nasty pitting caused by corrosion. And the further you proceed down the barrel toward the chamber it just gets worse and worse. The copper fouling you are seeing is the result of jacketing material literally being torn from the jacket by the pitting. You literally have chunks of landing that are missing due to corrosion damage.
Bottom line is that barrel will never shoot well. No amount of cleaning, hand lapping or fire lapping is ever going to fix that.
And it's not H&Rs fault. The previous owner failed to correctly clean and protect the bore before storing.

There's a lesson to learn here everybody. Don't put your guns away dirty and use a product designed to protect your bore during storage. Otherwise, you'll end up with a barrel bore very similar to what is in the video.

Sorry for all the bad news. It's permanently damaged.

Yeeepp....now the thing I'm curious about thou is why does it shoot good with cast ? Well at least less terrible then jacketed.

[John Taylor]

Looks like it's time for a new barrel. A liner will work but the fastest twist is 1 in 14". Most of the original barrels are 1 in 16" which will only stabilize the 45 grain bullets. Early Winchester used the same barrels as the 22 LR and can build up pressure if .224" bullets are used. The chatter marks you see are reamer marks. The pitting was probably rust.

[Hannibal]

Yeeepp....now the thing I'm curious about thou is why does it shoot good with cast ? Well at least less terrible then jacketed.

Well I'd suggest you try this. Get some good copper solvent and clean all the copper out. Verify that it's gone with your borescope.
Then load your cast loads up and shoot a 10-shot group. And shoot a 10 shot group on 3 different days. Then look at your targets and you'll see what you've really got. Be brutally honest. Don't call the outliers pulled shots unless you know a fact you messed up.
That will give you an honest picture of what that rifle and load combination is capable of.

[dverna]

Man that sucks.

BTW, I had the same gun and caliber and could not get it to shoot. I also purchased mine used. Sold it after a few months of frustration. I wonder now if my barrel was like yours?

[sukivel]

Man that sucks.

BTW, I had the same gun and caliber and could not get it to shoot. I also purchased mine used. Sold it after a few months of frustration. I wonder now if my barrel was like yours?

I too have the same rifle in .22 hornet and it doesn’t shoot good at all. I have not shot it much but it’s on my mind to figure it out this summer.

It shoots 15” groups at 50 yards with factory ammo. If I remember, the bore didn’t look bad. Has a new Vortex scope that shot good on another rifle.

I don’t know, we’ll see. It’s a family hand over so I want to keep it.


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[Tracy]

Subbed your channel. I have an H&R .22 Hornet too, but got mine specifically for shooting cast.

[eastbank]

its a money pit, dump it and move on.

[RustyReel]

its a money pit, dump it and move on.

By dump it I'm hoping he actually means toss it in the dumpster, don't pass it on to some other poor shooter to deal with.

[rockrat]

DON'T throw it in the dumpster. Someone could use it as a "stub" barrel for making another caliber..

[garandsrus]

Wow…. You might want to look at getting it re-bored to a different caliber. Jes is commonly recommended and does great work. Maybe go to 25-20.

[Fitz]

I had Jess do a Ruger#3 that was born a 223 that wouldn't shot for nothing came home a 350 Legend that shoots cast better than Jacketed and keeps all groups under 1in at a 100 yards.

[square butte]

Wow…. You might want to look at getting it re-bored to a different caliber. Jes is commonly recommended and does great work. Maybe go to 25-20.

I don't believe Jes will do .25 cal - I wish he would

[Hannibal]

Not really. H&Rs use an underlug design that doesn't allow for a set-back. Besides, at least 1/3 of the barrel is heavily damaged and the chamber end is where the damage is located.

Reply to post #11.

[Outpost75]

Depending upon when produced, H&R .22 Hornets in 1970s were produced from reject M16 barrels which didn' t gage up. Measure groove diameter and twist. If 12" twist that is a clue. May be as large as .225 because barrels were culled before chroming bore.

[dverna]

Depending upon when produced, H&R .22 Hornets in 1970s were produced from reject M16 barrels which didn' t gage up. Measure groove diameter and twist. If 12" twist that is a clue. May be as large as .225 because barrels were culled before chroming bore.

Insight I was not aware of.

There is so much knowledge on this forum!

[John Taylor]

you can always stub another barrel to it or line it. H&R also made the same rifle in 30-30. I heard of a few that were re-chambered to 223 and they still didn't shoot well. Problem is, it would cost more to fix than buying another rifle.

[Hannibal]

Depending upon when produced, H&R .22 Hornets in 1970s were produced from reject M16 barrels which didn' t gage up. Measure groove diameter and twist. If 12" twist that is a clue. May be as large as .225 because barrels were culled before chroming bore.

Interesting. Do you happen to recall the source of that information? I'd like to read about it just for my benefit. I'm kinda a nerd when it comes to stuff like that.

[Larry Gibson]

Wolfdog 91

What is the twist rate on that barrel?