22 K hornet

[dlmac]

I have a K hornet and 2 or 3 22 hornets. I have not chronographed the K hornet, so I really don't know what I am getting for the effort. 1. any favorite loads. 2. Is case life really improved? 3. Advice on case forming?

 

[Ridge Runner]

I have a K hornet and 2 or 3 22 hornets. I have not chronographed the K hornet, so I really don't know what I am getting for the effort. 1. any favorite loads. 2. Is case life really improved? 3. Advice on case forming?

From my research between the regular/standard and K Hornet:

The K Hornet offers about 50 to 100 fps more velocity than the regular/standard Hornet.

I currently only own a standard Hornet with favorite loads using 45 and 50 grain bullets.

More reloads per case out of the K Hornet with its more pronounced shoulder.

Case forming:

Only goes one way standard Hornet to K Hornet. Shooting a standard Hornet cartridge in a K Hornet forms K Hornet brass.

 

[Las3453]

The .22 K Hornet is a classic upgrade over standard .22 Hornet most folks who own both prefer it for the reasons below.

Favorite loads from real users and data

40–45gr bullets Sierra Hornet, Barnes Varmint Grenade, or Calhoon with H110 W296 10.5–11.5gr or Lil'Gun 12.5–14gr for 2,900–3,000 fps.

H4227/AA1680 11–14gr or Viht N110 9–11gr also shine. Start low, work up small changes matter in this case. 45gr Sierra H110 is a common accuracy champ.

Case life Yes, much improved over standard Hornet. The K's shoulder headspaces better less rim stretch headspace issues, so cases last 2–3x longer often 20–50 firings vs. 10–20 for standard Hornet with neck sizing. No frequent trimming needed either.


Start with standard .22 Hornet brass Winchester PPU are common.

Fire form in the K chamber Load mild e.g., 8–10gr H110 or Bullseye Cream of Wheat filler to blow out the shoulder safely lube cases lightly gun oil to prevent sticking.

Fire once aim at dirt safe backstop cases form perfectly.

Neck size only after for best life accuracy. Anneal necks every 5–10 firings if needed.

It's a fun, accurate varmint round worth the effort if you like tinkering. What bullets powder are you using now?

 

[dlmac]

The .22 K Hornet is a classic upgrade over standard .22 Hornet most folks who own both prefer it for the reasons below.

Favorite loads from real users and data

40–45gr bullets Sierra Hornet, Barnes Varmint Grenade, or Calhoon with H110 W296 10.5–11.5gr or Lil'Gun 12.5–14gr for 2,900–3,000 fps.

H4227/AA1680 11–14gr or Viht N110 9–11gr also shine. Start low, work up small changes matter in this case. 45gr Sierra H110 is a common accuracy champ.

Case life Yes, much improved over standard Hornet. The K's shoulder headspaces better less rim stretch headspace issues, so cases last 2–3x longer often 20–50 firings vs. 10–20 for standard Hornet with neck sizing. No frequent trimming needed either.


Start with standard .22 Hornet brass Winchester PPU are common.

Fire form in the K chamber Load mild e.g., 8–10gr H110 or Bullseye Cream of Wheat filler to blow out the shoulder safely lube cases lightly gun oil to prevent sticking.

Fire once aim at dirt safe backstop cases form perfectly.

Neck size only after for best life accuracy. Anneal necks every 5–10 firings if needed.

It's a fun, accurate varmint round worth the effort if you like tinkering. What bullets powder are you using now?

I have 2400 powder, several Ramshot varieties, Looking at ball/spherical powders and just ordered some LiL gun. Also scored some new fireformed K brass....probably will have to do some additions fireforming since chambers are very different with wildcats of any kind. Only have 40-45 gr Speer/Sierras.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I have a K hornet and 2 or 3 22 hornets. I have not chronographed the K hornet, so I really don't know what I am getting for the effort. 1. any favorite loads. 2. Is case life really improved? 3. Advice on case forming?

@dlmac
After using a K Hornet for 10 years I have found the following.
Case attrition with new Remington cases ( the only brand I use) runs around 30-35%.

To avoid this I run all my new cases thru with a 7mm tapered expander in my die.
Then replace with the standard .224 recapping rod and full length size. This does two thing. Firstly expands the neck and shoulder area then when resized in a K Hornet die puts a false shoulder in it and it comes out looking like a mostly formed case. Doing this cases loss went to zero.
I then anneal after first firing.

In my particular rifle I used cheap 45 fn projectiles and the max load for the standard Hornet. These were very accurate and cases came out perfectly.
The load I settled on for my K Hornet was the 40gn V Max and12 gn of ADI2295/ H110 this gave me very close to 3,000fps and sub half inch groups, 3 shots can be covered by the base of a Hornet case. This load is dynamite on little critters and has also accounted for a few wild dogs with behind the shoulder chest shots.
Unfortunately my gunsmith out a slow twist barrel in my rifle and it won't stabilise 50 grainers but the little V Max are great.
I did try win296 whilst it gave good rest it was a very dirty powder .
Others have had good success with Hodgons Lil' Gun but I found no matter what load I used velocity was all over the shop from 2,800fos to 3,600 fps. Admittedly that was only 4 shots but that was enough for me. I knew it wasn't a chrono error because I run 5 shot of 22 subsonic over it to check before doing any testing. Thing is NO CASES showed any sign of excess pressure , strange. Admit it was a hot day and it's supposed to be a temp sensitive powder but not that bad.
Those little VMax fly very fat ( for a Hornet) and I have no result landing shots in a fix head target at 250yds or popping soda cans at 300 .
A great little round but does need attention to detail.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The .22 K Hornet is a classic upgrade over standard .22 Hornet most folks who own both prefer it for the reasons below.

Favorite loads from real users and data

40–45gr bullets Sierra Hornet, Barnes Varmint Grenade, or Calhoon with H110 W296 10.5–11.5gr or Lil'Gun 12.5–14gr for 2,900–3,000 fps.

H4227/AA1680 11–14gr or Viht N110 9–11gr also shine. Start low, work up small changes matter in this case. 45gr Sierra H110 is a common accuracy champ.

Case life Yes, much improved over standard Hornet. The K's shoulder headspaces better less rim stretch headspace issues, so cases last 2–3x longer often 20–50 firings vs. 10–20 for standard Hornet with neck sizing. No frequent trimming needed either.


Start with standard .22 Hornet brass Winchester PPU are common.

Fire form in the K chamber Load mild e.g., 8–10gr H110 or Bullseye Cream of Wheat filler to blow out the shoulder safely lube cases lightly gun oil to prevent sticking.

Fire once aim at dirt safe backstop cases form perfectly.

Neck size only after for best life accuracy. Anneal necks every 5–10 firings if needed.

It's a fun, accurate varmint round worth the effort if you like tinkering. What bullets powder are you using now?

@Las3453
The only time the shoulder is use for headspace on the rimmed Hornet/ K Hornet is if you have a BRUNO FOX that has headspace issues ( common in these rifles) , that way you can use the shoulder to hold the rim back against the bolt.
Otherwise the case headspaced off the rim only like every rimmed case. Like most rimmed case rim thickness can vary slightly from brand to brand, usually not enot to cause a problem.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I have 2400 powder, several Ramshot varieties, Looking at ball/spherical powders and just ordered some LiL gun. Also scored some new fireformed K brass....probably will have to do some additions fireforming since chambers are very different with wildcats of any kind. Only have 40-45 gr Speer/Sierras.

@dlmac
2400 is a good powder. It got its name because it gave the 46gn bullet 2,400 fps in the Hornet.
Be careful with Lil Gun.
Small increase in the Hornet case can put pressure up very quickly. Work up in .1 gn increments.
Bob