Problems with WW headstamp .22 Hornet brass

[birch]

I just bought a bunch of WW super hornet brass from a Castboolits member. The brass is beautiful, but I am having trouble getting it to chamber in my gun.

I thought it might be too long, so I trimmed it back to size, and I am still having the same problem.

I have been using Remington and Hornady brass with only a slight neck size and no crimp. I decided that a full length size would do the trick, but it did not help at all. I am using Barnes .40 grain and have tried different seating depths thinking that they might be resting on the lead, but after carefull examination, that is not the problem.

Is there any chance that they are not taking a sizing? That is, maybe the brass has been formed to a specific chamber and now the brass has become too flexible and will bounce back a little when I try to reform it. I know the neck and body are almost the same size as my Hornady brass, but I cant accuratly measure the shoulder region.

Should I try to anneal the brass and then resize it? Thanks for all help. I can see why everyone who has figured out the .22 hornet is in love for life. They are a stubborn little round.

[Bent Ramrod]

How far into your chamber do the resized shells go?

In my experience, oversized Hornet chambers are the norm, and FL resizing ought to do the trick, unless something is wrong with your sizing die or its adjustment. The only other thing I can think of is a swollen base. This can happen if the shells lengthen too much and you go on shooting them with full power loads. There isn't much metal down there around the primer pocket, and it gives way under the excessive pressure. The shell holder keeps the base from going far enough into the die to swage back down. Normally, though, this effect also opens up the primer pocket and makes the new primers fall out when they are inserted.

Annealing shouldn't be necessary, unless your case necks are cracking.

[chrispy]

What brand of Hornet rifle do you own? I have found Euro rifles like euro brass, and US made rifles prefer US brass. Then Aussie made rifles are a law unto themselves. It is partly to do with rim thickness/headspace issues. I found this with one Sportco Hornet I owned, it only liked the thickest rimmed WW brass, not remmy, sako, norma etc etc. But then, even with WW brass I'd get a light firing pin strike. When I shimmed the bolt handle with a 5 thou shim (Sportco's headspace off the bolt handle), problems disappeared.

It sounds like you are doing the right thing with FLS, unless you want to try bumping it a tad shorter (technical term) to push back the shoulder a little. But my guess is rim thickness.

Chrispy

[country gent]

Another thing to check isnt a normal hidrence but I just ran into it with a 220 swift and new ww brass. Necks were a tad on the thick side. Loaded they were snug in the neck area loading ( you really notice this quick with a No 1 ruger). I resized the new brass and chambered easily, Loaded a round and snug to tight. Checked a fired case and a bullet wouldnt enter the case mouth. Neck Turned some to .0105-.011 neck thickness ( removed about .001 on a side) and the problem went away. Look for scuff marks on the case neck from chambering. Use a black magic marker and paint the side of a case chamber carefully and look for the rub marks. A scuff will really show up thru the magic marker. WHere is it tight at from start of chambering, middle or end of stroke? Stay the same or gets lighter or heavier? Look over marked case with good light very carefully for bright marks scuffs. The gradual body taper shoulder angle on the HOrnet make it a little touchier than the modern rounds. It is also a thinner case. A heavy crimp can swell the case just behind the case mouth making it snug also If you have a fired case ( fired in your rifle) check it with a bullet to ensure it has room to open up and realease the bullet.

[Three44s]

Does a sized only case fit?

You need to rule out seated bullet issues.

Also, if it's the base of the case sticking you could try re-chambering the same case a few times to see where if any you get bright marks on where it's "tight" .........

Three 44s

[NSB]

Was he using it in a K Hornet?

[birch]

It was not brass from a K-hornet. I just talked to the feller I bought it from and he assured me that it is all once fired brass that was purchased from Thomson Center before they moved. They were used to test fire Contender barrels. I believe him as all the primer pockets are still very tight and I have Hornady brass that has been reloaded 3 times with strong W-1680 loads and the primer pockets are already getting very loose.

I have a buddy who had the same issue and had to lube the inside of the case mouth as the expander ball was stretching the necks as it was being pulled out of the shell.

I havent had time to mess with it so far this weekend, but after the sunday morning political shows, I plan on getting this problem figured out. I will keep everyone posted as far as progress is concerned. I think that I probably am not the only person who has had this issue with different headstamp brass on the Hornet. Thanks for the help everyone!

By the way, I am shooting a brand new CZ-527 American. I have been told that the European Federation does not use SAAMI specs. They use a european system that has tighter tolerances in their firearms and chambers are a whole lot tighter than American firearms manufacturers use.

[dtknowles]

A couple weeks ago I had a .22 Hornet round that would not chamber in my Ruger #3. I was one of a lot of 40 rounds I loaded a few yes ago. I have not tried to figure out what was wrong yet but it was something around the base.

Tim

[Intel6]

Something I discovered about .22 Hornet chambers that many do not know it that they vary between gun makers. I am a hornet nut and own 8 guns in .22 Hornet. I discovered the chamber differences when I started reloading for them. My Anschutz chambers are different fron the chambers in my T/C barrel and my Ruger #1B. My Springfield M6 Scout has a chamber that matches the T/C so I am fortunate there.

The diffferences are in how long the neck is before the taper of the "shoulder" starts on the body of the case. I discovered this when I started using a Lee collet die to size my brass and had the collet crimping into the shoulder on some of the brass and not the others. I have had to adjust the way I neck size my brass to make it work.

This experience made me think of your issues. I fyou have some fired brass from your gun, compare it to the brass you got.

Neal in AZ

[rollmyown]

Measure and compare with factory finished brass and the published specs. you'll soon know where the problem is.

I'm also betting it's a rim thickness issue.