Post by Bullshop on Jul 6, 2017 8:55:38 GMT -7
I have a question for you. I figured you would be the man to ask. I am wanting to shoot cast bullets in my handi rifle. It's a 22 hornet. I figured I should stick with a lighter weight bullet. 40gr give or take. I just want plinking loads. Not looking for speed. 22 long rifle speeds be fine.
Now the question... Is it possible to have a bullet used in this situation to expand a little? Or does a harder bullet need to be used here?
I have purchased bullets from you in the past. Have always been very pleased with your work. You have a lot of experience in using what you make.
Thank you
Answer
G’Day Sir
You Sir are enquiring on a very enjoyable subject for me shooting cast bullets in a 22 Hornet. My favorite rifle happens to be a 22 Hornet and I shoot nothing but cast bullets in it. My absolutely favorite load uses a 50gn bullet of my design with a load of 2.9gn Accurate Arms #2 powder with the RP 1 1/2 primer in RP cases. This load runs right at 1550 fps from my rifle which nearly exactly duplicates the original 22 WCF load shooting a 46gn cast bullet with enough black powder to push it to the same velocity 1550 fps. I probably shoot somewhere around 2000 rounds of this load per year. With my vintage 1930’s rifle built on a Krag Jorgenson action and barrel with a 1/16” twist I am constantly ridding my pasture of gophers in summer and harvesting cotton tail rabbits for the pot in winter. My rifle has a period correct (nearly) Weaver K-6 mounted and is absolutely reliable with this load to 150 yards and if I call the range and wind right can push to 200 yards.
This bullet that I use is a plain base without gas check so is as cheap as can be made as the gas checks add $5.00 per 100 to the cost. The bullet design is a flat nose that I run in a moderately hard alloy at about BHN-15. I really doubt I get any expansion with a muzzle velocity of 1550 fps and impact velocity of who knows at any given range. A simple formula I came up with years ago to expect bullet expansion is bullet hardness in BHN X 100 should equal impact velocity. In other words a BHN-15 alloy will need a minimum impact velocity of 1500 fps to expand reliably. Even so I have not found my load lacking in terminal performance on small game likely due to the flat nose bullet design.
I can reduce alloy hardness to something about BHN-8 but then bullets may require a gas check for top accuracy at an equal pressure to the load I am using. A standard 22 long rifle load with 40gn bullet is doing 1300 fps from a rifle and only 900 fps from revolver so there is a good comparison. Its all something that has to be tested to know for sure what the outcome will be but I suspect that with the non gas checked bullet in a softer alloy velocity will have to be reduced to maintain good accuracy. You know how it goes, so much testing to be done but so little time to do it.
Anyway if you go here bullshop.weebly.com/ and scroll your mouse to the –more—icon at the top right of the page our caliber list will drop down and you can then search by caliber to see what all we have available in 22 caliber. I have numerous other loads I like in my Hornet most being closer to top end loads but the afore mentioned load is what I shoot the most.
Happy to help in what ever way I can!
The Bullshop
Daniel
Now the question... Is it possible to have a bullet used in this situation to expand a little? Or does a harder bullet need to be used here?
I have purchased bullets from you in the past. Have always been very pleased with your work. You have a lot of experience in using what you make.
Thank you
Answer
G’Day Sir
You Sir are enquiring on a very enjoyable subject for me shooting cast bullets in a 22 Hornet. My favorite rifle happens to be a 22 Hornet and I shoot nothing but cast bullets in it. My absolutely favorite load uses a 50gn bullet of my design with a load of 2.9gn Accurate Arms #2 powder with the RP 1 1/2 primer in RP cases. This load runs right at 1550 fps from my rifle which nearly exactly duplicates the original 22 WCF load shooting a 46gn cast bullet with enough black powder to push it to the same velocity 1550 fps. I probably shoot somewhere around 2000 rounds of this load per year. With my vintage 1930’s rifle built on a Krag Jorgenson action and barrel with a 1/16” twist I am constantly ridding my pasture of gophers in summer and harvesting cotton tail rabbits for the pot in winter. My rifle has a period correct (nearly) Weaver K-6 mounted and is absolutely reliable with this load to 150 yards and if I call the range and wind right can push to 200 yards.
This bullet that I use is a plain base without gas check so is as cheap as can be made as the gas checks add $5.00 per 100 to the cost. The bullet design is a flat nose that I run in a moderately hard alloy at about BHN-15. I really doubt I get any expansion with a muzzle velocity of 1550 fps and impact velocity of who knows at any given range. A simple formula I came up with years ago to expect bullet expansion is bullet hardness in BHN X 100 should equal impact velocity. In other words a BHN-15 alloy will need a minimum impact velocity of 1500 fps to expand reliably. Even so I have not found my load lacking in terminal performance on small game likely due to the flat nose bullet design.
I can reduce alloy hardness to something about BHN-8 but then bullets may require a gas check for top accuracy at an equal pressure to the load I am using. A standard 22 long rifle load with 40gn bullet is doing 1300 fps from a rifle and only 900 fps from revolver so there is a good comparison. Its all something that has to be tested to know for sure what the outcome will be but I suspect that with the non gas checked bullet in a softer alloy velocity will have to be reduced to maintain good accuracy. You know how it goes, so much testing to be done but so little time to do it.
Anyway if you go here bullshop.weebly.com/ and scroll your mouse to the –more—icon at the top right of the page our caliber list will drop down and you can then search by caliber to see what all we have available in 22 caliber. I have numerous other loads I like in my Hornet most being closer to top end loads but the afore mentioned load is what I shoot the most.
Happy to help in what ever way I can!
The Bullshop
Daniel