22 Hornet Reload Question

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After many years I decided to reload again. I used to crank out lots of loads using straight wall cartridges for Cowboy Action shooting. I now chose a Hornady "Lock n Load" Classic for rifle cartridges.

Loading the 22 Hornet for the first time, I am not sure how deep to seat the bullet. The picture shows the Hornady V-Max bullet seated in the cartridge just before the bullet cone starts. It looks a little deep to me, it measures 1.834" COL (including the plastic tip). This is still much too long based on Hornady's published COL of 1.723".

I will shoot these in a Ruger No. 3 and don't think the COL is that critical but assume that there should be some rule as to how far the bullet should be seated into to the cartridge. Can someone give me a good simple answer? Thanks so much.
 

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Dan in MI

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1st don't shoot me. I do not know what type of action a #3 is.

Magazine fed rifles your max overall length is dictated by what will fit in the magazine.

Single shot - many start with the .010 - .020" off the rifling. An easy way to determine that measurement is to seat a bullet REALLY long in an empty unprimed case. Put it in the action and close the bolt. The bullet will contact the rifling and self seat to max depth. Remove and measure. Then subtract how far you want the bullet off the rifling and load to that depth.
 

jkingrph

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The Ruger #3 is a falling block single shot, where the cartridge is loaded straight into the chamber, so seating depth is rather unimportant, other than the bullet should be seated enough to allow chambering of the cartridge so that there is no drag on the bolt when it is raised. Often seating the bullet way out, so it just contacts the lands of the rifling will give best accuracy. I have a #1, a larger heavier stocked version of the same action and that is the way I load for mine.
 

jkingrph

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1st don't shoot me. I do not know what type of action a #3 is.

Magazine fed rifles your max overall length is dictated by what will fit in the magazine.

Single shot - many start with the .010 - .020" off the rifling. An easy way to determine that measurement is to seat a bullet REALLY long in an empty unprimed case. Put it in the action and close the bolt. The bullet will contact the rifling and self seat to max depth. Remove and measure. Then subtract how far you want the bullet off the rifling and load to that depth.
The Ruger #1 and discontinued #3 use the same falling block action, they are single shots have no bolt with a camming action so the cartridge must be sized and bullet seated to allow chambering so the block may be raised into firing position.
 

contender

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NikA has likely hit upon the answer.

The poly tips are often longer than their lead tipped counterparts. Go back to your loading manuals,, and study the bullets used. It may show a difference there.

Dan also has posted an excellent piece of advice. However,, SOMETIMES,,a bullet will get stuck in the rifling, and not extract with the case. A (formerly) Stoney Point (now Hornady) tool allows for the checking of OAL of a chambered round & a particular bullet. Cerrosafe casting of a chamber can also tell you where the rifling starts in a chamber,, to allow seating depths to be adjusted.
But you can try a few rounds like shown,, and see how they feed. Then,, seat them out about .010 further out,, and try that. If that's good,, you can continue to seat the bullets out in ten thousands increments, until you get a round that won't allow the correct seating & action closing.
Deeper seating can increase chamber pressures,, while shallower seating can decrease chamber pressures.

Since you are using a single-shot,, I doubt you'll have any issues seating the bullet out a bit,, or "long" according to the charts. I'd just make sure you get a firm hold on the bullet once your crimp is applied.

Also,, a polite call to Hornady may get you some excellent information.
 

Johnnu2

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I have an older (9th edition) Hornady manual and it specifies the COL for several different weight V-MAX bullets for the 22 Hornet. Some are 1.810" and some are 1.830". The COL for NON v-max is absolutely different in my manual. It appears that you are referencing the wrong measurement for your V-MAX bullets.

IMHO,
J.
 

needsmostuff

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What weight bullet is that?
If it is a heavier bullet more designed for a 223 you are gonna run into issues.
Bullets designed for the 22hornet are typically 35 to 50 grainers (55 about max) with kind of a blunt nose .
 
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Thank you all for your good input.
@Johnnu2 You are correct, I only looked at page 144 of the current Hornady manual. I should have looked at Page 145 where my 40 gr V-Max detail is.
Thanks for pointing that out.
It appears that I can stay at or around 1.81" COL and be fine. As I am running a single shot, I assume I can be more flexible with length if I choose. I suppose the first range visit will give me more insight.
 

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Joined
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NikA has likely hit upon the answer.

The poly tips are often longer than their lead tipped counterparts. Go back to your loading manuals,, and study the bullets used. It may show a difference there.

Dan also has posted an excellent piece of advice. However,, SOMETIMES,,a bullet will get stuck in the rifling, and not extract with the case. A (formerly) Stoney Point (now Hornady) tool allows for the checking of OAL of a chambered round & a particular bullet. Cerrosafe casting of a chamber can also tell you where the rifling starts in a chamber,, to allow seating depths to be adjusted.
But you can try a few rounds like shown,, and see how they feed. Then,, seat them out about .010 further out,, and try that. If that's good,, you can continue to seat the bullets out in ten thousands increments, until you get a round that won't allow the correct seating & action closing.
Deeper seating can increase chamber pressures,, while shallower seating can decrease chamber pressures.

Since you are using a single-shot,, I doubt you'll have any issues seating the bullet out a bit,, or "long" according to the charts. I'd just make sure you get a firm hold on the bullet once your crimp is applied.

Also,, a polite call to Hornady may get you some excellent information.
Thanks for your reply, I tried the chamber insert and was not able to retrieve the bullet with the cartridge. I also suspect that the bullet might move a bit (and provide a false reading) if one can actually extract both at the same time. I am interested in the Hornady tool, I will check that out.
A friend of mine uses 22 Hornet a lot, he says that he does not crimp the shell after the bullet is seated. I am used to crimping, using my straight wall cartridges in the past. Can you elaborate on the crimping? I bought a Hornady 2 die set, do I need to crimp and is there a crimp die I need to get? Thanks
 

Biggfoot44

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For bolt actions and single shots , the default approach is to use the Case Neck Tension to hold bullet in place . i.e. , Using neck diameter , neck thickness , and bullet diameter to maintain bullet firmly in place .

The conventional wisdom is that crimping can damage the bullet , and effect accuracy , but there is some debate by some handloaders and equipment mfgs .

For semiauto rifles , often bullets are crimped , using bullets with Cannalures for that purpose .

Added - For .22 Hornet , used only in Your rifle , your concerns are :

Chamber in your rifle
Not have bullet stick into rifling
Experement distance off the lands for best accuracy
 
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Johnnu2

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I do NOT usually crimp my rifle cartridges.... And especially not 22 Hornet because the case walls are thin and very fragile (I've crushed a bunch of them back in the day).

Just FYI,

J
 

contender

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Both Biggfoot44 & Johnnu2 are correct.

Crimping a .22 Hornet can be a little tricky,, (thin necks,) and the best is neck tension crimping. To assure a cartridge can be extracted,, and NOT allowing the bullet to get stuck in the rifling at the chamber,, there needs to be a firm tension or crimp to prevent a lodged bullet.
And as noted,, many rifle calibers do not use a cannalure & roll crimp. But to prevent bullet movement,, neck tension crimping is how it's done. Lee makes specific "factory crimp dies" for many calibers. That's often used by many folks. Others,, use the normal 2-die set, seat bullets, without adjusting it to where it starts a roll crimp.
Using regular dies,, you can have brands of brass with different neck thickness, and it can be a problem. I separate by brand, then adjust my die to allow a firm neck tension crimp. If I can't get that to work,, (bullets are easily pushed or pulled,) I get a different crimp die to correct the issue.
Just like what Biggfoot44 said.
 

langenc

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You asked about the bullet end of the cartridge. But many 22 Hornet loaders use small PISTOL primers in the Hornet w/ good results.
 

jkingrph

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Thank you all for your good input.
@Johnnu2 You are correct, I only looked at page 144 of the current Hornady manual. I should have looked at Page 145 where my 40 gr V-Max detail is.
Thanks for pointing that out.
It appears that I can stay at or around 1.81" COL and be fine. As I am running a single shot, I assume I can be more flexible with length if I choose. I suppose the first range visit will give me more insight.
For the single shot ignore the COL recommendations, As long as the cartridge can be inserted into the chamber and the falling block raised with any drag or pressure you are good. I have a Ruger #1 in .22 Hornet and I load cartridges to such a long COL that they simply will not fit the magazine for my little CZ 527 bolt action in that same caliber, conversely I can easily chamber cartridges in my Ruger which have been loaded specifically for the CZ. Published COL is to make for cartridges that should function through most bolt action rifles. Single shots such as the Ruger falling blocks and the break actions such as the Thompson Contendors are another animal alltogether.
 

JStacy

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you can take a piece of Hornet brass and cut a split into the neck then seat the bullet you want yo use and seat the round in your chamber. Then carefully remove the altered brass and measure the OAL and adjust your loaded length to be a couple of hundreds less that that total length.
 
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