heavy bullets in 22 hornet

[vendetta333]

anybody ever try anything with 70grain+ match bullets in a 22 hornet? was lookin at the 17 hornet today, and my mind kinda went in the other direction (slow and heavy). anyway, any thoughts? obviously the barrel would have to be throated differently, and the bullets seated kinda far out, but any experience or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. not thinking of any REAL use for it, just ponderin' stuff.

 

[Kevin Thomas]

V333,

Not just a question of throating, but of twist rate. You could certainly do this, but you'd need to build the gun from the ground up just for this application. A longer throat, and a significantly faster twist. Remember, the Hornets were originally intended for 40-45 grain bullets, and most use twist rates that are suitable for those relatively blunt, stubby projectiles. I've seen many in 1x14" and a few in 1x16" twists. With the 70 grain bullets you're talking about here, I'd expect to need at least a 1x9" twist, or threabouts, depending on the bullet's profile. With the Match bullets you'd mentioned, you're talking about a fairly long, streamlined design, which will tend towards an even faster twist.

 

[vendetta333]

well yes of course, i should have mentioned that in the first post, but was wondering if anybody had done it?

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Not that I'm aware of, but I'll betch'ya its been done at some time or another. Only has to make sense to the guy who's footing the bill, no reason it couldn't be done!

 

[Fiftydriver]

I rebarreled a 22 Hornet for a customer many years ago. It was a Ruger #1 and he wanted to shoot the 80 gr VLD bullets out of it and drive them to subsonic velocity and use a suppressor. The rifle worked very well. It was actually a pretty consistant load that produced 1050 fps with the 80 gr. We used a 1-7 twist barrel that was 22" in length and threaded for a can. I believe he used an AWC can but do not know for sure.

Anyway, Max loads could beat supersonic by a fair margin but he worked with the subsonic loads mostly. It was easily a 1 moa rifle at 500 yards and at 100 yards it played with 1/2 moa with most loads. Not to bad for a ruger #1. It was a neat little rifle.

To do this we drew up a specific reamer for the project. He used Winchester cases so I drew the reamer up around those brass making it a very tight speced reamer in the body and neck dimensions. Normal 22 Hornet reamers are built very loose to old black powder specs in most cases which are VERY LOOSE and not good for case life or anything else for that matter.

If you do this, get a reamer made to the correct dimensions and you will be much happier with the finished product.

I personally prefer a 221 FB with a heavy bullet as it has a much stronger case if your looking to load to top pressures.

 

[vendetta333]

i started thinking about long range squirrels. according to the ballistics calc, it retains its energy like a beast! pluss itd just be a cool proj. thanx for the info!

 

[Fiftydriver]

REmember these heavy 22 cal bullets at low velocity will not expand much at all if any. One that may would be the 75 gr A-Max but I would not expect much on small furry critters!!! Will certainly kill them but will not be a "POP" when hit.

 

[vendetta333]

meh. as long as its humane, and with more energy than a 22mag, im sure any of them would be. plus, if there is meat left, that's always a plus! mmmm!

 

[Fiftydriver]

It would have a hell of alot more energy then any 22 Mag load.