making 22 K Hornet Brass

[sbirm]

Just wondering what is the best way to make 22 K hornet brass. Fire forming??? how does this effect barrel life. I have seen dies that use water to form the cases but have forgot who makes them, does anyone have any experience with these???

 

[tiriaq]

Fireforming 100 cases would put 100 rounds down the barrel - and rounds being fireformed shoot just fine, so it is not as if they are throw away shots. 100 rounds is insignificant compared to the life of a Hornet barrel.
Cases can also be fireformed in a FL die, threaded into a simple breech mechanism.
I have heard of hydraulic forming but have no details.

 

[SandRoad]

I will be getting a K-Hornet and asked the question before. Apparently, accuracy wise, there is only a minor loss in accuracy firing Hornet rounds in a K-Hornet chamber/rifle.

 

[Opcx6]

Just wondering what is the best way to make 22 K hornet brass. Fire forming??? how does this effect barrel life. I have seen dies that use water to form the cases but have forgot who makes them, does anyone have any experience with these???

Simplest way is just fire .22 hornet in K-Hornet chamber, case will come out perfectly formed. I once had a Brno in .22 Hornet and had it reamed to K.

Alternative is to load hornet brass with couple grains of Bullseye or other fast powder, fill rest of case with cream of wheat and cap it with a card or gas check and fire. I once made a bunch of .450 Alaskan brass from .348 winchester that way in M71 Winchester.

 

[Eagleye]

I have a K-Hornet in a CZ rifle, and it gives up nothing in accuracy when I fireform brass by shooting factory Hornet ammo in it. It will still put 10 shots in an inch at 100. I have a K-Hornet load that probably shoots slightly better, but the nice advantage it has is 200 fps over the standard Hornet. Regards, Eagleye [P.S., K-Hornet cases stand up better, too]

 

[H4831]

Hi Mr. Eagle. Do you use the standard .224 bullets, or the .223?
Or, are our barrels actually .223, like it says they should be? Too pesky for me to try and measure!
I have only used the .224, but it seems to me there is a bit more pressure showing, than what there should be, for the load I am using, and wonder if that has anything to do with it?
Merry Christmas, Bruce

 

[sbirm]

I plan on getting a barrel for a TC Encore, i was just wondering if that is the best option for fire forming??? i could just get a 218 Bee which would have similar balistics as a 22 K hornet. this would solve my fire forming questions.

 

[Eagleye]

Hi Mr. Eagle. Do you use the standard .224 bullets, or the .223?
Or, are our barrels actually .223, like it says they should be? Too pesky for me to try and measure!
I have only used the .224, but it seems to me there is a bit more pressure showing, than what there should be, for the load I am using, and wonder if that has anything to do with it?
Merry Christmas, Bruce

Hi Bruce; I have slugged the barrel on my ZKW465, and it is .224, regardless of what they say it should be. I do know that some of these have .223 barrels though, so maybe yours is one of those. Best to you, Dave.

 

[44Bore]

Some early hornet barrels were .223--as I recall they were re-chambered rimfire barrels. Virtually all new manufactured hornets were .224. K-hornets usually give better accuracy and much better case life.