Thread: Reloading 22 Hornet (The Original) – Optimal Canada Goose Load

Don't forget to share how that goes.

That's another (almost) 110 rounds of Hornet ready to go.
Had a couple of technical issues tonight.
First these 45grn HP projectiles came to me in an unmarked bag, so I have no idea on BC or COAL. They measure similar to the 45grn BEE so I choose 1.655 COAL.
Then I noticed that I was getting wildly varing lengths: 1.665, 1.600, 1.500.
So I measured all the projectile lengths. There seemed to be two distinct batches around, 0.518 - 0.522 & 0.510 - 0.512.
So I loaded the long ones to 1.665. Then did a second batch of shorter projectiles @ 1.660. But even the some of the second lot came out at 1.510! I'm.going to pull those and try again tomorrow....
What's your thoughts on what the heck is going on? And how many inches different will point of impact be at 50 metres?

Pays to check the pills made for hornet some were .224 and some were .223

If the weights the same and so is the powder charge, I'd expect the same poi. Assuming both are the same diameter, blips comment is a valid one and that would cause variations for sure

At 50 they will still be minute of goose.

@Micky Duck "Minute of goose!!!!" Hilarious �� �� ROFL!!!

Those 45 gn pills might actually be Winchester 46 gn pills that are sold specifically for the hornet.

In my hornet they pattern like a shotgun.
In my above post I should have said 40 gn Nosler Varmegeddon pills.

A tipped dumpy shaped flat base made for the Hornet that shoots and groups very well. Soft as the name implies and cheaper than Ballistic Tips.


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It may or may not be the cause of your situation, but some projectiles can have a shape variation where they taper to their pointed (or hollow pointed) tip. Soft point 7.62x39 projectiles was where I discovered this, it affects how far down the 'bowl' of the seating stem descends before it engages with the projectile. So if the engagement is early, it will push further, if it engages 10 thou later, than the OAL will be different by 10 thou.

Thanks @@longshot I kind of figured that as I was measuring and batch the projectiles. So then I ran the first lot of long ones after 1.665, then turned the micrometer down (say 10 thou) and ran the second batch of shorter projectiles at 1.655. The logic was, too keep the base of the projectile a consistent distance from the head of the case. Which means, in theory the size/ volume of the inside of the case remains constant, so pressure remains constant, so velocity stays constant and hopefully consistently accurate, or consistently in accurate.
What I don't know is, what affect does shortening the cartridge have on accuracy, given the projectile will be further away from the rifling. Probably not a lot in this calibre, at short range. But probably significant if your were shooting a 338 Lapua at 1000 metres.

"It will still be minute of goose at 50 metres!" Quote of the day @Micky Duck !!!

"what affect does shortening the cartridge have on accuracy, given the projectile will be further away from the rifling."

Personally that's all I would worry about. Keep it consistant if you can. But 0.005" won't matter a rats ars. They are big targets.

said it before and will no doubt say it again....if your seating die is contacting the olgive (curvy bit in the front) at same diameter of every projectile...in theory they will be plurry close to same jump to the rifling,reguardless on how deep into the case they are pushed if you dont change the seating die.

Yep that's how i do it Micky, for my Hornet, all seated to same, length depends on projectile profile/shape.
I have long given up, chasing the last tiny bit of accuracy, with seating depth and small powder adjustments,
Spent thousands on powder projectiles, chasing .010" Improvement, buying A better barrel to start with, cuts down on a lot of time, getting an accurate load.

Originally Posted by southernman

Yep that's how i do it Micky, for my Hornet, all seated to same, length depends on projectile profile/shape.
I have long given up, chasing the last tiny bit of accuracy, with seating depth and small powder adjustments,
Spent thousands on powder projectiles, chasing .010" Improvement, buying A better barrel to start with, cuts down on a lot of time, getting an accurate load.

Yep, some blokes wear out barrels trying achieve a level of accuracy that just isn't required.
The costs just don't justify it.
Trave l to range
Pay range fee
Bullets
Powder
Primers
Your time

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

Yep, some blokes wear out barrels trying achieve a level of accuracy that just isn't required.
The costs just don't justify it.
Trave l to range
Pay range fee
Bullets
Powder
Primers
Your time

Maybe. Depends what sort of kick you get out of reloading and spending time on the range. Also whether you are already successful in the field or not. If you only get to go hunting say a total of 7 to 10 days a year range time might be quite appealing. Maybe not so much chasing the last % of accuracy but certainly chasing knowledge of yourself and your firearm.

A bit of a story for you. I have a mate shooting a 7mm08. He goes with someone else, very experienced, deer hunting a couple of times a year. Usually comes back with venison. He had never taken goat and wanted to try some for the table. Took him out, mature pine forest, put him out front on a ridge, came upon a pod of 15 goats the same time they saw him. Obviously well hunted they were on the move right smart. By the time he got prone, at around 30m, and emptied his mag, he had one itty-bitty kid to show for it. I was some 80m back down the heavily ridge with a good side view of the goats as they ran down a spur. Off the shoulder with my 7x57mm I took 2 on the run. One shoulder shot, one kidneys as it was disappearing behind some timber. 86m shots. He saw me take the shots. After the dust settled and we had bagged some meat he told me he had never shot from the shoulder, always prone, and had no idea how to or confidence to try.

The short story is I got him to the range, starting with my Rossi Puma 357 and cheap 38sp , doing drills on 50m gongs from the shoulder. I got him to stand in his hunting ready position, either chamber loaded, safety on, bolt open or how he would normally be prepared to take a shot momentarily. I'd then call 'Ready, Standby, One, Two, Three, Four, Five". The scenario is an animal is about to walk into view, unaware of him and he has to go from his ready condition to firing condition and hit the gong before the five count. The count cadence is one second apart with 4 sec to hit the gong from the count of One.

At the start at 50m he was shooting at around the count of Three and regularly missing more than he hit. A lot more. So rushing. After around 50 shots he was nailing it with ease around the Four count to just before the Five count.. then we moved to 100m. Then swapped the Rossi for his 7mm08. He was shooting factory ammo and at 100m by the end of a pkt and a half he was confidently nailing the gong dead centre.

He took the remainder on his next hunt and came back with a couple of deer shot from the shoulder, around 80m and 120m. Chuffed as. Now of course he is keen on more range time, and reloading.

There are lots of drills to do on the range. Yes you can go thru some ammo. But if you go hunting half a doz times a year, have some hunts where you don't fire a shot even, and others where one or two shots put meat on table or trophy on wall, you would hardly be building familiarity with your rifle. Range time is not hunting but it gives the confidence and knowledge to not have to think to much about what you need to do when the shot opportunity comes. And potentially saves you from wondering how the heck you could have missed. If I only had 100 rds of ammo I'd be prepared to use 90 of them on the range to maximise the chance of getting 10 killing shots in the field.

Anyway, if range time is not your thing and you don't need it fair enough. A few of us do. It is a slippery slope tho. From hitting an 8" gong at 200m to a 4" at 600m is kinda like stepping on a steep Dunedin street coated with black ice. I've managed to avoid it so far...

@Jhon I fully agree with your method of training.
As I get more into this goose shooting lark, with center fire rifles, not shotguns, the more I realize rapid offhand shooting is essential.
Basically with geese you get one shot, perhaps two off the bipod then all he'll breaks loss and they are moving and the shooter is moving fast to keep them in sight, whilst finding a gap between tree to squeeze off.
This morning there were five geese on the grass and pond, I got all five with the 222 Remington. Only the first one was off the bipod.
The type of shooting is exactly what we used to do in our 20's. Rows of tin cans off hand as fast as you could. We also used to roll tyres down the hill, with a piece of cardboard stuffed inside as a target. The shooter would be at right angles to the travel of the tyre and be armed with a pump action shotgun, lever action or bolt action 22.
Perhaps that practice paid a dividend this morning

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