Thread: 22 hornet load worked a treat

hi all i have a couple of elderly 22 hornets one is a savage 23d made in the mid 1930s and the other is a bsa hunter late 1950s i have had mixed results so far but i have found that 12.5 grains of little gun and a small pistol primer 40 grain sierra bullet has tightend up my groups from 25 mm to between 8-12 mm at 50 meters i am quietly happy with that load both have excellent bores although the bsa has a small stain 3 inchs from the muzzle im not keen to shortend as it shoots great i have had the crown freashened up awhile ago.

great to read that my good man...really pleased you have a load sorted.

12.5 is the magic no in my hornets as well. Ive got some 40gn bullets, as far as Ive been able to work out they are winchesters of some kind but man they shoot. 35 vmax goes well as well

Thats cool. When I was a lad I used to dream about shooting a deer with a hornet " 'cos "the cullers did" - I likely read an article in the old NZ Outdoors magazine about it. I used to work in Tisdalls after school (and during the school holidays) and I remember the pkts of 50 rounds of Hornet - Imperial brand I think from Canada. And the Savage rifles in Hornet with pressed steel magazines. Tisdalls were agents for Savage. I seem to remember that the clunky bolts on the Hornet were rear locking. Later in my late teens I got hooked on to the .222. Thought I was the bees knees with that Brno.

I remember when I was young in aussie loading up about 60 rounds with a lee loader at a mates place for a nights roo shooting Id use a brno hornet and he had a brno 222, we did it a lot back then..

i got the rifle as a convertion project rear locking lug ment it would be a contender for a 9mm but when i looked at the barrel it was near spotless feeds well to i do have a pile of hornady 40gn pills and a few 35gn yet to be tried cheers

Nice grouping. Always satisfying to get a good result out of a Hornet.

I've got 2 Savage Model 23 rifles. One in 22rf and one in 32/20. I just missed a 25/20 (23B) in an auction a few years back. I've long since given up trying to find a 23D in Hornet. It's supposedly the hardest one to find.
The Savage Model 23's are nice rifles.

I had no succes with Lil' Gun and gave up on it even with my modern Savage Model 40 Hornet. Lots of velocity achievable but not so great accuracy. I got up to 12.4gr in my final loads. My best results are with VVN110.

i have a 23 in 22 and a few spares also i do know of a couple 32/20s salted away for the 9mm project which most likely wont happen now

I use Lil’gun for my 218 Bee. Similar load as your Hornet, 12.5gn with a SP primer. I mainly use 40gn V-Max projectiles. Lil’gun is a bit fine and it can leak through the side of my Lee powder thrower leaving a small pile of talc like powder under it. I’ve read various U.S. forums stating that Lil’gun is the go-to powder for the Hornet & 218 Bee. Claims that it gets more velocity with less pressure. Works for me, and maximises case life.

Supposedly impossible to overload a Hornet with Lil' Gun.

Originally Posted by zimmer

Supposedly impossible to overload a Hornet with Lil' Gun.

dont know about that one...its very fine powder,like 296 h110 any of them will fit more in a case than a stick powder
lilgun sure works well in .410 too

12.5 is a full case for me that's using a drop tube as well probably slightly compressed as well

well buggame...thats a GOOD thing......I stand happily corrected.

i use my trusty lyman powder thrower to lazy to way every charge case is full alright case brands seem to vary a bit mabe brass thickness is why 22 hornet and 44/40 are my favourite cals

Great hornet powder. I use 13 gns with 40 gn Nosler shots. SR primers and a light crimp. Bug holes.


Win mod 70. Pre 64. 1948 build.


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