I have some 40 and 45 gr Sierra Blitzkings in .223 diameter 22 Hornet. What kinds of problems will I have shooting them in a rifle chambered for .224 diameter Hornet? I'm guessing maybe a slight loss of chamber pressure and bullet instability (accuracy?). Any experience out there?
Hornet bullets?
- Thread starter Sniper66
- Start date
- Status
dagger dog
Member
I haven't tried .223" jacketed bullets down a .224" bore barrel.
First you're going to have less bullet pull due to the sizing button on your resizing die, that means less pressure to make the bullet move, coupled with the blow by from having an under sized bullet I can't see them shooting that well.
Sell 'em or trade for brass to some one with an older Hornet.
First you're going to have less bullet pull due to the sizing button on your resizing die, that means less pressure to make the bullet move, coupled with the blow by from having an under sized bullet I can't see them shooting that well.
Sell 'em or trade for brass to some one with an older Hornet.
FROGO207
Member
Those were meant for the older rifles that were converted from .22 LR to hornet. All modern rifles use .224 bullets now. With those bullets the accuracy and power of the projectile will be sub par IMHO. Finding someone that can use them and selling them would work best. If you try to shoot them the sizing button will need to be replaced or shaped to .01 under the bullet size for good neck tension. You could try sizing them with the button removed and see what that gets you for neck tension. But do not expect great results with them.
hueyville
Member
I would trade you some .224 bullets if you want. I have a preponderance of 22 lr barrels laying around and a tool room lathe. Might be fun to make meself a real ol fashioned Hornet.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
That's very good results, are you sure your .22 Hornet doesn't have a .223" barrel?Update: I loaded several sample loads and shot a couple of very nice groups with the 40gr Sierra Biltzking (.223 diameter) using Li'L Gun 12.7g. Groups were less than 1/2". Now I'll test them on p-dogs
How many of these bullets do you have? It would be a shame to run out just as you perfect the load! lol
FROGO207
Member
I also am surprised at the results of the OP. Just goes to show you that anybody can get different results than the norm when handloading. I am glad it worked out with these insane problems getting the correct bullets these days.
scottishkat
Member
22 hornet .223 .224
I really enjoy shooting my 22 hornets. I have 2 CZ's currently and both are sub moa at 100 I have never shot .223 ammo from either but have a friend who owns a 1950's 22 hornet in M7O that I researched and found out was manufactured with a .223 bore. He was shooting factory ammo with expectable results and asked me to make him some ammo. I told him the bore was probably .223 and he should be reloading for the rifle. He said he shot factory ammo with the rifle for years with no trouble. I made him some with 50 grain Hornaday SP loaded with 12.6 gr of lilgun and 6.5 primers a 60% load. That old rifle shoots better than mine. I think there are alot of variations in barrels and bullets. Most of the .224 bullets I measured were .2235.
I really enjoy shooting my 22 hornets. I have 2 CZ's currently and both are sub moa at 100 I have never shot .223 ammo from either but have a friend who owns a 1950's 22 hornet in M7O that I researched and found out was manufactured with a .223 bore. He was shooting factory ammo with expectable results and asked me to make him some ammo. I told him the bore was probably .223 and he should be reloading for the rifle. He said he shot factory ammo with the rifle for years with no trouble. I made him some with 50 grain Hornaday SP loaded with 12.6 gr of lilgun and 6.5 primers a 60% load. That old rifle shoots better than mine. I think there are alot of variations in barrels and bullets. Most of the .224 bullets I measured were .2235.
- Status
