Boolit size for a .22 Hornet

[terrytm]

Hi:

This is my first time at shooting cast boolits in my .22 Hornet.

Are the boolits best sized .224 or .225.
The bore is /224.

Thanks,
Terryt

[TD1886]

Hi:

This is my first time at shooting cast boolits in my .22 Hornet.

Are the boolits best sized .224 or .225.
The bore is /224.

Thanks,
Terryt

You mean your groove is .224. In that case I'd go with the .225 diameter bullet.

[dale2242]

I use a .225 sizer die.
My Hornet likes GC bullets cast from linotype, sized .225 and powered by Unique.

[Wm Cook]

I would pound cast to see what the free-bore measures and if that’s not practical for you I would tap an unsized bullet into the throat to get the free-bore dimension. I would size according to that.

What rifle, bullet, mold are you working with? Bill C.

[Hickok]

.225" works for me in CZ 527 Hornet.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

What gun?
The earliest 22 hornet rifle barrels were .223
I'm not sure exactly when, but at some point they were all made with .224 barrels.

I have a Ruger #3, I size my boolits to .225

[TD1886]

Looks like .225 gets the vote! Actually a little experiment with different sizes will determine which you rifle prefers. I have a CZ 22 Hornet and it's a rather new rifle and I would have thought that it would have the standard .224 groove and correct bore, it doesn't, it's very tight. Sure shoot good though. Maybe do a pound case which also catches some of the rifling to see what you're dealing with.

[Bent Ramrod]

I don’t know how “universal” this phenomenon might be, but I load both my Ruger #3 and my Low Wall Hornets with boolits as fat and long as will chamber in the cartridges.

This includes the Ideal 225462 out of the mould at 0.226”, and 228367, sized 0.228”.

Conventional wisdom says they’re not only too fat, but too long for the 16” twist in the Low Wall and maybe marginal in the 14” twist (IIRC) of the Ruger. But with a drop tubed charge of about 10gr of 4198, they come out of the barrels at just below 2000 ft/sec, are at least as accurate at 100 yards as the 45 and 50gr boolits, (often markedly better) and seem to land on plinking targets with a lot of “authority.”

[Larry Gibson]

I'm with Bent Ramrod. I use a .228 H&I die to size, if any, GC and lube my 22 Hornet and other 22 CF cast bullets. Started years ago with .225 but soon learned larger was better.

[Iowa Fox]

I'm with Bent Ramrod. I use a .228 H&I die to size, if any, GC and lube my 22 Hornet and other 22 CF cast bullets. Started years ago with .225 but soon learned larger was better.

Larry, What lube are you using on those bullets? Thanks

[Larry Gibson]

Larry, What lube are you using on those bullets? Thanks

2500+, Lars45s 50/50 or I still have some Tamarack and Javelina which are original 50/50 NRA lubes.

[StrawHat]

I have a Springfield Model 1922 built in August 1922 as a 22 Long Rifle, and converted to 22 Hornet at some point. It still has the original rimfire barrel that uses the smaller bullet. What I found, like Bent Ramrod and Larry Gibson, is the largest boolit I can load in the case and chamber gives me the best accuracy. The difference is noticeable but for hunting, probably not enough to consider important.

Kevin