My friend is fire forming 22 K hornet brass out of 22 hornet brass. He has a lot of brass but not enough bullets. I load for my ar15 so I had some extra 60 and a lot of 62 grain bullets. We can't find any loads for these weight bullets. He is using 2400 powder. Anyone know if there are loads for these combos? Can you even shoot bullets this heavy from a k hornet? Thanks in advance. John

The Lyman 48th Edition lists loads for the 55 gr jacketed bullets with 2400 - Start @5.8 gr (1591 fps) and max @ 6.5 gr (1752 fps)

Think you could start at 5.0 gr and ease up from there if desired. If merely fireforming cases, the 5.0 gr should work fine.

My old Hornady Third Edition lists a 55grain FMJ load with 2400, starting with 8.2 gr @ 2100fps and Max with 8.9 gr @ 2300fps!

As stated already, 5gr of 2400 should be enough "snap" to fireform them!

Good Luck;

Depending on the barrel twist rate, you can shoot 55's and 60's but they may just tumble in flight. Doesn't take much to fire form .22hornet cases, they are pretty thin walled.

ribbonstone hit on the key, as most hornets don't have enough twist to give stability to the heavier bullets. I can shoot up to about 50gr in mine, after that they seem to want to tumble.

George

ribbonstone hit on the key, as most hornets don't have enough twist to give stability to the heavier bullets. I can shoot up to about 50gr in mine, after that they seem to want to tumble.

George
Agree with Ribbonstone. My *3 Rug. will not shoot and stablize 55 grain bullets. It will with 52 gr. H.P., but it wants 40 grain bullets, and does quite nicely with 35 gr. Hor. bullets. That was true when it was a straight hornet, and is still true now that I have K'd the rifle. Good luck.
Paul

My friend is fire forming 22 K hornet brass out of 22 hornet brass. He has a lot of brass but not enough bullets. I load for my ar15 so I had some extra 60 and a lot of 62 grain bullets. We can't find any loads for these weight bullets. He is using 2400 powder. Anyone know if there are loads for these combos? Can you even shoot bullets this heavy from a k hornet? Thanks in advance. John

My standard hornet does pretty well with 60gr Hornady Spire Points on top of 11.6gr Lil'Gun. I have an old Speer manual that lists 52gr HP over 8.5gr 2400 at 2350fps as a max load. That velocity would not stabilize a 60gr bullet in 1 in 16 twist barrel.

Most of my 22 K hornets were fireformed from standard hornet cases without any bullet. I had very few shoulders that were not filled out fully.
Sorry;I evidently did not record these loads.I can't say for sure what the componants were.I am sure that no bullets were involved,because a cop tried to charge me with "endangerment",but failed.
Frank

I've done it both ways. Actually all THREE ways.

The no-bullet way with cornmeal filler works fine, but I have to take them to the range anyway (illegal to fire a gun in the city - and the law says "fire" doesn't mention "with bullets!"

The heavy bullet, light charge way also works fine. I used cheap military 55 FMJs over 3.5 of Bullseye. I simply fired them into the backstop without checking speeds or stability. Gave it up as a waste of components.

The load-em-up-and-hunt-with-em way worked best for me. I simply loaded Hornet ammo with regular Hornet recipes and headed for the ground squirrel fields. Came home with a bucket of K-hornet brass and a big smile.

Consider making a fire-form-bucket...would still be illegal as you are discharging a firearm, but no one would know unless you tell them. IF you are a good scrounge, it's nearly free.

A 5-gal. plastic bucket with a snap on lid...can buy one, but most construction sites have several empty ones (used to hold grout, cleaning supplies, etc.) and can often be had for the asking.

Fill the bottom with 4-6" of sand. Some locals have free sand at creek bottoms or river banks...it's a common fill used around here...but if you have to, can buy a small bag.

Fill the rest of the bucket with ripped/cut up pieces of carpet/carpet backing/etc. Again, usually piled up at the curb when someone is remodeling...often after a pipe burst, but sometimes just becasue the carpet is worn and ugly. Another freebie if you'll just keep your eye out on garbage day (toss a box cutter in the truck, makes it easier to haul once it's cut into chunks).

Cut a 3" round hole in the lid (some of the construction type come with a pour spout you can just punch out).

Glue/screw/staple a 6" square of rubber over the hole. Home Depot sells sheets for people who still like to cut their own gaskets. No one throws away sheets of rubber...but sometimes they throw away a bicycle inner tube. Cut flat and cut into lengths, can make a kind of over-lapping tic-tac-toe board across the hole that works just fine.

Cut a slit across the rubber (unless you did the bicycle inner tube trick).

Put on the lid tightly...duct tape the lid down.
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Use:

Just poke the muzzle in through the slit in the rubber gasket, down into the ripped up filler a couple of inches, and fire. Will make a dull "thump" that's about the level of a hand clap. Even when fire forming larger cases, it's a dull thump that isn't recognizable as a gun shot.

WARNINGS:
1. DAMPEN THE FILLER!! It will catch fire if dry, but the combination of damp filler and no air USUALLY smothers it. Hasn't been a problem if the fill is damp.
2. PLACE OUTSIDE after use near a hose (see #1).
3. NO LIVE AMMO! this is designed for corn-meal-fire-form loads. HAve used the bucket when testing .22RF semi autos by placing a metal plate in the bottom of the bucket (usually a round drain cover) and increasing the sand depth, but cannot recommend anyone else take that chance.
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Even with healthier charges, the noise level is not distrubing to neighbors. Will usually fire inside the garage. Have blown 7.62X39 out to dead stright (a step in making .401WSL)...303-0 to dead straight (a step in making 38/55's). MAking K-hornet from .22 hornet just doesn't take a lot of powder (not only a small case, but a thin case that easily fire forms).

Just be sure to dampen the filler...set it outside after use...and check it's level from time to time as it tends to shred from the blast and pack down.

Consider making a fire-form-bucket...
I have a 'firing tube' made from carbon steel pipe with sand then a 4140 steel disc then more sand. This is lined with scrap carpet and sports a bullet catching tube in the middle (also carbon steel/4140/sand) into which goes my test medium. The gun is fired into this thing by pressing the muzzle into a rubber cone on top of the lid. Definitely not recognizable as a gunshot! In fact, no sound at all. (Unless the 'test medium' is a steel plate - in which case it sounds like a muffled hammer blow on steel).

Just for your info my WW brass only holds 13gr LG. I shoot 40gr V-maxs in front of 13 gr lit by fed SP primers in my Savage model 40 and I shoot groups right around 1.5" at 200yards. That is all I need to kill gophers so I am happy.