Rolling Block 22 K Hornet

[gbehrman]

New guy here. This is a great site. I have a Remington Cadet or 1870's rolling block action barreled in 22 K Hornet which was converted from the Niedner made Hornet. Shelhamer stock. It is probably a good idea to shoot some light lead bullet loads considering the age etc. Problem is I don't know where to find any bullets that someone with experience would recommend. How about powder. It is old early (30's) probably .223" bore. It does Ok with light Unique charges and 45 gr. But I think it is time to lighten up to rabbit and squirrel level. Appreciate any info. Snapshot of the gun with its Fecker scope of unknown power. It was for sale but no takers on gunbroker. As they say "It ain't eatin nuthin" so I will enjoy it some more.128964

[richhodg66]

Take a look at this thread;

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?260184-NOE-225-45Gr-WFN

That NOE bullet is a winner with light loads. I've had good luck with the Lee Bator without gas checks using those light loads too.

Beautiful rifle, by the way.

[atr]

I have some Sierra 40 gr J's in 0.223 dia. would let you have cheap

[3leggedturtle]

I cant help you with bullets or loads, but what a sweet rig!!!! Todd/3leg

[Bigslug]

It was for sale but no takers on gunbroker. . .

Well. . .if you wanna have that conversation, my field mouse problem here is simply horrendous. . .

While I'm not an expert on the variations and limitations of the older rollers, I have played with a lot of Ackley-type cartridges. One of the advantages of the case design is that the straight walls direct the chamber pressures outward against the barrel rather than back against the breech face. As I recall, Ackley's proof-of-concept experiment involved converting the barrel of a .30-30 '94 Winchester, then jury-rigging the gun so he could shoot his improved rounds with the vertical bolt locking blocks removed. No bolt blowback, no explosions, etc...

So while I'd approach stiffer loads with a little caution, I wouldn't necessarily fear them out of hand.

[gbehrman]

thanks for the offer but I have a lot of them. I still have another Hornet and also a Niedner 22 Baby plus a Niedner 22 Magnum. My last load with the K Hornet was 9.6 of 2400 and 45 gr jacketed. It seems Ok.

[enfield]

The Lyman book shows, 7.6 gr 2400 in a K hornet as over 22,000 cup How much more would 9.6 gr be ?

[dualsport]

I have some Sierra 40 gr J's in 0.223 dia. would let you have cheap

I'm interested if they are still available. I have a K and a standard Hornet. One of them is going hunting with j bullets.

[Sgt Petro]

Just out of curiosity what were you asking on GunBroker? I've no idea what something like that would go for.

[gnoahhh]

I would try the Lyman 225438 and a pinch of Bullseye and go from there. Throat diameter will determine size of bullet, and rate of twist will tell you whether a heavy bullet will work. The Lee Bator would be one I would try too. It's relatively short with its blunt nose and may pan out for you even though it is a tad on the heavy side for a slow twist rifle. I like the Bator over 6gr. 2400 and a small pistol primer. Small pistol primers always work out better for me in the Hornet with light cast loads.

[JB Weld]

Out of my 22 Hornet, I shoot the Lyman 225483 over Trail Boss. IIRC the lubed boolits with GC weighs in at 52 grains. I got my best accuracy with 1.7 grains of TB. It was sub MOA. It is a subsonic load and it is hell on the limb chickens. You don't even need ear plugs. It just goes Pop and the squirrels fall out of the trees.

The Bator did not shoot well with TB out of my Hornet . I did get good accuracy with the Bator over 3 grains of Unique.

[richhodg66]

I would try the Lyman 225438 and a pinch of Bullseye and go from there. Throat diameter will determine size of bullet, and rate of twist will tell you whether a heavy bullet will work. The Lee Bator would be one I would try too. It's relatively short with its blunt nose and may pan out for you even though it is a tad on the heavy side for a slow twist rifle. I like the Bator over 6gr. 2400 and a small pistol primer. Small pistol primers always work out better for me in the Hornet with light cast loads.

I just had my first range trip with a new to me Stevens 322 in the Hornet using the 224348 sans gas check amd 1.8 grains of Bullseye. I only shot at 25 yards and only had the stock open sights to use yet, but she shot as well as I can shoot open sights on anything, I was impressed.

I wanted to use that NOE flat point that's been working so well in my 219, but it didn't want to feed from the magazine. Gonna try the Bator next. The Bator is heavier than the 225438 but it's shorter so it shoots well in my 219.

I've been developing a real love for the Hornet lately.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Unlike black powder 9.6gr would give a lot more than ninety-six seventy-seconds the pressure of 72gr. The burning rate increases more than in proportion to pressure, and put simple, that means that anything that tends to increase pressure is liable to increase it quit a lot. If you want more power than 7.2gr. I think a slower powder would be in order.

I think that action should stand a full power Hornet or K-Hornet load. I'm sure that barrel would be very well made, but heavy charges of fast powder are very erosive. I would want to know it is made of nickel or some other smokeless steel before using them.

The Hornet family aren't deer cartridges, and there is no point in trying to make them into one. They can do a lot of good work for flat shooting at long ranges.with low pressure cast-bullet loads. In a way the scope on this one is the problem, as it constitutes a seductive temptation to try for flat shooting at long ranges.

[JB Weld]

I have a scope with a BDC reticle that I am going to put on my hornet this spring. My hope is that I will be able to zero it with a flat shooting load (Something like Lil'Gun under a Vmax bullet), and still be able to shoot my subsonic loads (with the TB under the Lyman boolit) using one of the "drop spots" the BDC reticle. Right now, my Hornet is my favorite rifle to feed.

[gnoahhh]

[QUOTE=Ballistics in Scotland;3127317



The Hornet family aren't deer cartridges, and there is no point in trying to make them into one. They can do a lot of good work for flat shooting at long ranges.with low pressure cast-bullet loads. In a way the scope on this one is the problem, as it constitutes a seductive temptation to try for flat shooting at long ranges.[/QUOTE]

I agree, mostly. While I for one wouldn't take to the deer woods armed with a Hornet as my first (or second or third) choice, I could make do if necessary. Nor would I recommend it as a matter of course. I had an uncle in Pennsylvania (where such things were, and maybe still are legal) who used a Savage 322 .22Hornet exclusively for many years and killed a couple pickup truck loads of deer with it, mostly one shot kills- in the head/neck. It's the ones that fell outside of that "mostly one shot kills" criteria that made me cringe. In the hands of a cold blooded deadeye hunter it'll do the job.

Another instance that comes to mind was a salty old guy who guided me on a Wyoming hunting trip once long ago. His primary weapon was a nasty old Winchester M43 with open sights that lived in the open bed of his truck- with nary a lick of finish left on the battered stock and metal. He told me he had filled his tags every year since the 50's with that gun, and I had no reason to doubt him after we had stalked to within 50 yards of a small herd of antelope wherein I zapped a decently horned one with a .257 Roberts and he simultaneously shot a little doe for his pot.

[gbehrman]

Sorry Did not see this until today. I stopped the auction at $725 thinking it should be closer to $1000. Got some info in that regard over on the ASSRA forum/ Thanks for asking.