Playing more and more with my reloads, actually im kind of bent on exploring every single avenue i can to get the best performing load made. The powder Im using is the australian version (identical) to H4227. Rifle 77/22, remington brass.

What primers are the better choices for the 22 hornet. CCI, winchester etc, small rifle/small pistol, 6 and 1/2's, bench rest... And most of all, why ;)

Thanks

I hate to tell you, but the answer varies from lot to lot. I remember a few years ago one particularly wimpy lot of RWS primers was being snatched up by benchresters. In a prepped case with powder full to the top, it turns out, the less primer influence the better. I would avoid magnum primers of any description in these small casses for that reason. Stick powders will ignite more reliably with a mild primer than ball powder will, so stay with that, despite the more difficult metering. The consistency issue, especially in that small case, would seem to argue for benchrest primers, but they aren't always the mildest, nor are they always best in every case. It's that lot problem again.

So, what you really need to do, in my view, is start by prepping the cases to maximum physical consistency. Use flashhole deburing and primer pocket depth and profile uniforming to get consistent ignition with a minmal primer, especially if you try a ball powder. Sort out average weight ones and sort them for neck and casewall runout. When you have 20 or so tight cases selected, use them, neck sizing-only, to start trying different primers. When you find a primer that produces the smallest groups in these select cases, quick run out and buy several year's supply with that same lot number. Keep the select cases for trying out other new lots of primers as they become available. That way you'll find another good lot before your first purchase runs out.

Always liked the CCI BR4's, myself.

I use Winchester 6 1/2 primers. Why ?, because I use Winchester 296 powder. Why both ?, they are "in stock" more often than not.

Cheers

Mark

Unclenick is correct that the milder the better for MOST instances. There are always exceptions to everything in reloading, it seems...

But the reason why is simple: a strong primer will unseat the bullet before the powder is ignited. The effect is like having every bullet seated to a different depth. That in turn makes a large change in the case volume. Percentage-wise it's quite large in these tiny cases. So ignition and eventual pressure also change as though you had different powder charges in each load also.

Combine all that and you see why loads with strong primers can be much less accurate.

ps for markone: Did you mean you use Winchester primers or 6 1/2 primers? Because 6 1/2s are made by Remington. The rems are very mild but the WWs are hot.

Thanks, Im using the winchester ones at the moment too and im not liking them at all, but they were the ones I grabbed a spare pack of. I might see if i can take them back and swap for the CCI bench rests.

Thanks, Im using the winchester ones at the moment too and im not liking them at all, but they were the ones I grabbed a spare pack of. I might see if i can take them back and swap for the CCI bench rests.

CCI BR's will cost a little more, so you'll have to pay the difference. Their reputation is good. I have been using Federal BR's (205M, 210M) happily in different guns, but notice there are now several loads on the web that specify they only hit peak accuracy with the CCI. I'm sure this is going to depend on the powder and bullet and gun and the other usual reloading variables, same as always. Welcome to the land of empirical testing.

Haha thanks

I did read on the instructions of my new collet die set, that W296 should be used with magnum primers.

I got a box of the BR4's to try out as well as some 40gr V-max projectiles. Sadly the 40 grainers are quite long so I have had to seat them back further to fit them in the box magazine on the ruger. I think they will probably get developed into a single shot load when i seat them further out.

Looks like the 35gr v max are going to be my projectile of choice from now on. The 45gr sierras are too slow with the powder I can obtain. Still have to get through 70 odd of them though but that serves a use for the winchester primers.

Shame you cant buy half a dozen projectiles and primers here or there to do your testing.

One of the bullet mfg'rs used to package bullets in 25 ea. packets and a powder mfgr. did the same with powders. Think they both discontinued the practice as not cost efficient or lack of interest.

I load using Win-296 powder in both the regular Hornet and K-Hornet and prefer the Remington 7 1/2 primer - because I get me best accuracy with that one....

A

If you are going to use a ball powder, I recommend you get one of the inexpensive flashhole deburring tools. I found deburring made a significant difference to accuracy from ball powder in the .308, and no measurable difference with stick powders. It is just something else to promote consistent ignition.

In that same vein, you may also want the try the trick of peeling one ply of toilet paper loose and cutting it to cover the flashhole before adding powder. This keeps the fine powder from getting down into the flashhole and packing the primer (which has the same effect as varying firing ping impact). Apparently the interference with ignition from the paper is more than compensated for by the improved consistency, though it may work better with magnum primers. Try it and report back.

Good thread.....I'm going through the same process with my newly acquired 221 Fireball (kind of in the same league as the Hornet). I've just started experimenting and am having good success using Hogdon Lil Gun powder and Federal 205 primers. This was a load recommended in one of the gun rags as an accurate load. The first batch of 12 reloads was shooting all shots into the 10 ring at 100 yards and I haven't even started tweaking it yet. The bullet is the 50 grain Sierra Blitzking and I set the seating depth about .010" off the lands.

A really nice thing was I charged the cases using a Lee powder dipper (1.0 cc) per their load chart calling out LiL Gun powder and so far so good. I just finished preping a batch of 40 brass....flash hole uniformed, primer pocket uniformed.....the flash hole looks big compared to the size of the primer and I can see where a fine ball powder like Lil Gun can easily make its way through the hole. I will say the 221 case appears to be a very robust little case. I'll give the toilet paper trick a try.

One thing about the Lee dipper, it was somewhat static charged and I had to wipe it down with a Bounce to keep the powder from sticking to it. It appears to be very consistent.

Yeah, Flashhole - any new plastic like the Lee dippers will have the static cling until you use the anti-static cloth or wash them in degergent soap and let them dry without wiping. As soon as they get a good coating of graphite from the powder, the cling will disappear.

Li'l Gun is a great powder for my .22 Hornet. Would imagine it will do equally well in the .221 Fireball, .218 Bee, .219 Zipper and similar small capacity cases. The single layer toilet paper is a trick I will incorporate in my next Hornet loadings and check out the difference.

Did the toilet paper thing this afternoon. I loaded 40 total rounds, 12 of which had a single thin sheet of TP over the primer so as not to get powder into the primer cavity. Kind of tricky getting the TP pushed down into the case but a Q-Tip did the trick. The only difference between the loads was with or without TP. I shot four 3-shot groups with the 12 TP loads and compared them to 3-shot groups without TP. I did not notice a difference in accuracy one way or the other, both with and without TP shot equally well. What I did notice was I had two of twelve loads with blown primers. I thought this highly unusual since all the loads had a good tight fit on the primer. I didn't find either of the blown primers, just a very black primer pocket. All the other loads shot as expected, no signs of over pressure or errant shots.

kdub - If you see a noticible difference please let us in on it. I might try it again but I was getting one ragged hole with and without. Shooting distance was right at 80 yards. I like the way this gun shoots but the synthetic stock has got to go in favor of a rigid laminate.

Brad Y

I hope you don't think we're hi-jacking your thread but you asked a really good question and we're trying to get an equally good answer.

Think the difference will show up on a chronograph better than downrange. I'll try to remember to take one of mine to the range when ready to try this. Might be a while, as I've got several other irons in the fire right now.

Think the difference will show up on a chronograph better than downrange. I'll try to remember to take one of mine to the range when ready to try this. Might be a while, as I've got several other irons in the fire right now.

Kdub:
Gotta mention this: if it don't show up downrange, I'm certainly not going to bother with it no matter what the 'graph shows.

Have long had the belief that part of the .22hHornet's primer problem is mechanical rather than just the small size of the case...will agree case size does play a part, but firing pin strength and protursion seems to play a part as well.

Many .22Hornet rifles are basically re-designed rimfires (including the Ruger). Nothing wrong with the strenght, but the mainsprings tend to be short and crowded and the firing pins (and/or headspace) and this tends to shallow/less energetic strikes.

Mainsprings can kink, rub, or take a set (and many people store guns with springs fully compressed). Now this kind of spring weakiening seems to be breatest when the spring is shart and fully compressed...which is a pretty good description of may .22Hornet rifles (check the airgunner's research on leaving highly stressed coail springs compressed). Given a slightly short firing pin and headspace on the upper end of normal, and the primer strike can be lessened. NOT enough for it not to fire, but enough for it to fire unevenly.

Even the big Ruger #1's and #3's had ignition trouble. One in .22Hornet started shwoing definate primer likes and dislikes...and i played along, finding the right primers and feeding it what it asked for. THen it stated shooting it's favored primers badly.

Dissassblemy, a good cleaning (and a lot of filth can get inside that sealed single shot action from goodness knows where) and a lite-lubing cured it...rifle whent back to shooting any primer well.

Best guess is that the congealed oil, dirt, grass seeds, etc. were slwing the primer stike...as it slowed, showed more primer prefernce...once it slowed enough, NONE of them shot well.
------
KInd of off topic, at least at first.

Once palyed with a K-38 revolver. kept reducing the minspring tension. Got to the point where it would fire reliably every time, but accuracy absolutly sucked....increae the tension, and it whent back to firing great groups. Why?..each primer would go off, so why the sucky groups?

Basically belive that primers have a minimum strike needed to produce the best rresults...can strike them harder than that minimum with no real ill effects (until you punch through the cup)..can hit them a little below the minimu and still have them ignite every time, but they don't ignite uniformly.

ribbonstone wrote - Gotta mention this: if it don't show up downrange, I'm certainly not going to bother with it no matter what the 'graph shows.

That's my feeling too. A little bit of added bullet speed won't inspire me to bother doing it but better accuracy will.

Dont worry about hijacking guys im learning here... feel free to share anything.

I am going to pick up the lyman flash hole deburring tool and a primer pocket uniformer as well. Once I fireform the last 71 cases I have, my new collet die set will swing into action and I will start afresh. All the brass has been trimmed after the last full length resizing, and the bore of the rifle has had a really good soak with solvent and bronze brushed and dry patched out until no further colour comes out.

Pending the results of the new batches of ammo, I might also be taking the stock off and floating my barrel.

Sadly ive looked over here for any high performing powder for the hornet, and lil gun and H110 are both unavailable to me. The best I can get is AR2205 which has identical data to H4227.

So the new handload recipie will be

Brass trimmed to equal length and fireformed
Lee collet neck sizing
primer pocket cleaned
deburred flashole
primer pocket uniformed
case chamfered
CCI bench rest primers
10.9gr of AR2205
Lee dead length bullet seater to seat the 35gr v max just off the lands.

Any more suggestions?

Do you have the VihtaVuori line of powders available over there? The N110 and N120 powders will straddle the H110 and Li'l Gun Hodgdon powders.

Seems strange you can't find them over there, as it's my understanding Hodgdon gets most of their powders from ADI now. Checked my charts and the ADI2205 is the closest to the Hodgdon powders - just a little slower.

Seems strange you can't find them over there, as it's my understanding Hodgdon gets most of their powders from ADI now. . .

It's just Hodgdon's Extreme line of extruded powders that are sourced in Australia. The ball powders are made here. I've forgotten by whom, though I think I saw it mentioned in a thread here? Rocky Raab probably knows. I think all the multi-brand twins come from the same domestic plant (e.g., H110 and W296).

Hodgdon spherical powders are manufactured by St Mark's Powders, previously Olin (Winchester)
http://www.hodgdon.com/smokeless/msds-primex.php#top

All the other Hodgdon powders are from ADI
http://www.hodgdon.com/smokeless/msds-index.php

X

I have been shooting the 22 Hornet or K- Hornet for 30 years this spring. In that time I have never fired a factory loaded round. Reloading a Hornet is much like a graduate course in reloading.

A year ago this week I bought a CZ 527 American in a very pretty maple stock. This rifle has taught me much about 22 Hornets. For one year I have loaded only one powder and weight: 13.0 grains of LIL Gun and Remington cases. I have tested about 10 bullets, 3 primers (Remington 6 1/2, Winchester small pistol and Fed small pistol). I have used my old RCBS Dies using a K-Hornet sizer as a neck sizer, Lee Handloader set, And Lee collet set with seater. Both the Handloader and the Collet resizer will NOT reduce the necks enough to grip either the Hornady 35 or 40 V-max. They just slide in and out of the case. The 35 is the worst but is one of my favorite bullets. One of these days I'll have to order the thicker Winchester cases to cure this but my Rems have been EXCELLENT. Some have 10 loadings and are still going strong!
The solution will be to order a bushing die from Redding or one of the others

I have a stack of target an inch thick. Some of them have 8 groups per target. I was looking at them today. From day one this little rifle shot .375 to .6 groups with all the bullet except the Remington bulk factory bullets. They shot right at 1".

What did I learn?
Primers: While pistol primers may work great with other powders the very weak Remington 6 1/2 is the best primer for Lil Gun in my rifle.

Bullets: top performer was the Hornady 40gr V-max followed closely by the 35 gr. Worst bullet was the Speer 33 gr HP but it needs more testing. I have not tried the Sierra 40 gr BlitzKing but have not bought them as they are $21 a box!!

Sizing. Since dumping out the 500 Remington cases I have NEVER full length sized and that is why the cases have lasted so long. I remember my Contender days in the 70's and 80's where head separations were so common that I carried a brush in my pocket while hunting so I could get the case out of the chamber. Not now!! I have not lost a single case in a year of intensive testing. All due to neck sizing and the low pressures of Lil Gun.

Rifle: I'm convinced CZ makes a wonderful little rifle. I've always been a blue steel and walnut guy same as I like brunettes. But this rifle is the first gun I've ever named. Blondie. I have a Bob Sled single shot adapter in it and in fact am not REAL certain where the magazine even is! Consistently under and around 1/2 MOA who would not fall in love?

Vincent - good post, thanks for sharing.

Hey, I'm tinkering with my new Remington 700 in 221 Fireball and am having good success with Lil Gun in it too. So far I've only tried Federal 205 primers and am interested if you can elaborate more on the Remington 6 1/2 primer (if there is more to share) as to what led you down that path. The other recommendation is for BR4. I'll eventually get around to trying both - just curious why you went the route you did.

Vincent - good post, thanks for sharing.

Hey, I'm tinkering with my new Remington 700 in 221 Fireball and am having good success with Lil Gun in it too. So far I've only tried Federal 205 primers and am interested if you can elaborate more on the Remington 6 1/2 primer (if there is more to share) as to what led you down that path. The other recommendation is for BR4. I'll eventually get around to trying both - just curious why you went the route you did.

Sure, Several years back Ross Seyfreid of Handloader and Rifle magazines did a two issue report on the Hornet. The first month was in Rifle and it was history and factory loads. Handloader followed with a VERY good article on how to handload a Hornet. As you probably know Seyfreid is one of the very best, no BS kind of writers. He did a great job.

His article stated that the 6 1/2 was the lowest brisciance rifle primer made. This was also confirmed by another article years before where the author tested the strength in a calibrated way.

I beleive that some of the pistol primers are even more powerful.

Flashhole, you may have to move up to a different primer for the Fireball, not because of the brissance issue (which IS in fact still at work) but because of cup thickness. The fireball operates at MUCH higher pressures than the Hornet, and the Rem 6 1/2 is not only mild but thin and soft as well. I use the BR4 in my Fireball with very good results. Some pistol primers might be as good, but I haven't experimented with those yet - the BR4 shone from the start, and if it ain't broke...

Rocky - Sounds like sage advice from teh voice of experience and the BR4 will be the first experiment. Thanks.

I had to go look up brisance, that was a new one on me.

Thanks. I KNOW the word, but I habitually misspell it - and then seldom catch it, because few spell checkers include it. They ALL think it's spelled wrong, even when it's not, LOL!

Thanks. I KNOW the word, but I habitually misspell it - and then seldom catch it, because few spell checkers include it. They ALL think it's spelled wrong, even when it's not, LOL!

Remeber the old way they'd test brisance was to plase a primer in a measrued amouunt of shifted sand..set if off...then re-shift it for the amount shattered. Am sure they have a much more scientific way of doing it today, but even in the "old days" they knew what it did.

Some old-old writtings on the .22Hornet stated the belief that low brisance primers promoted best accuracy..which may have been true of the fast powders used in the 1930's...and may even be true today for some powders (but as we dcon't havve those old mild, corrosive primers to try, we won't find out).

I also have a Ruger 77/Hornet that has been modified to K Hornet. I've experienced better accuracy with small pistol primers. I use mostly CCI 500's but have also used Federal, Winchester, and Remington SP primers. IMHO the Hornet case is so small that even SP primers provide more than enough ignition force. I will accept the assertion that SR primers might be necessary with max loads in the K. I avoid max loads in my K however in order to prolong case life. 2,500 to 2,700 FPS with 45 grn bullets is all I need for the Hornet shooting I do. By using less than max loads along with the Lee Collet neck sizing die I get very respectable case life... Good luck with your experimentation....

I have found that the collet neck sizer will grip the 35gr v max, though they arent that tight. If I was shooting benchrest or had the ability to care for each cartridge I would, but Im a hunter and quite often go walking where the cartridges jingle in my pocket. Should I go and grab a factory crimp die to ensure the projectiles dont move? They are seated out towards the lands, not on them but not far off, maybe a turn and a half on the seater die. Will the crimp die make any pressure issues here? The load is 10.8gr of H4227 (AR2205) BR4 primer and rem brass with the 35 gr v max

Cheers and thanks for all input

I've used the "Factory Crimp" die and the problem is if the bullet does not seat tigh the crimp only tightens it up at the very mouth. the rest of the bullet is lose. What cases are you using Brad?

I also have a Ruger 77/Hornet that has been modified to K Hornet. I've experienced better accuracy with small pistol primers. I use mostly CCI 500's but have also used Federal, Winchester, and Remington SP primers. IMHO the Hornet case is so small that even SP primers provide more than enough ignition force. I will accept the assertion that SR primers might be necessary with max loads in the K. I avoid max loads in my K however in order to prolong case life. 2,500 to 2,700 FPS with 45 grn bullets is all I need for the Hornet shooting I do. By using less than max loads along with the Lee Collet neck sizing die I get very respectable case life... Good luck with your experimentation....


The nice thing about Lil Gun in the Hornet is that with many bullets you simply can not over load. I tested 12.5 gr yesterday and got the same round .4 to .6 inch groups as with 13.0. I have even tried 13.5 when I got the CZ last year but it is almost a full case and I do not like to mess with tiny cases that are about to throw up powder! If you look at the manuals that give pressure Lil Gun is almost always 7000 to 9000 CUP less than any other max load but it still gives either best velocity or next to the best. It is alos nice to be able to visually inspect the a case is fully charged. I like to use powders that take up almost all the airspace in a case.

In the old days H4227 was my favorite in the Hornet and in my .256 Win Mag. Almost forgot, it was the only powder I used in my .30 Herrett as well. I'm sad to see it is being discontinued.

Also as to Hornets being converted 22s this CZ sure isn't. It may be small and light but it is a real centerfire rifle.

This summer I plan on trying some of Rocky's Blue Dot loads just see how they work. :D

Considerable discussion about Hornets primers on other sites last winter. And try Lil-gun for the powder.

There was a lot of support for using small PISTOL primers for Hornets-brand not entering into discussion.

Considerable discussion about Hornets primers on other sites last winter. And try Lil-gun for the powder.

There was a lot of support for using small PISTOL primers for Hornets-brand not entering into discussion.

As for brand I had better luck with Fed Standard No. 100 primer and not as good (not bad, just not as good) with Win WSP. Rem 6 1/2 better than either it looks like.

Remington cases mate. its a problem on some and not others, just thought that the collet die neck sizes fine, but its stated on the lee instructions that cartridges used for hunting should have a crimp to hold them in place. Im just unsure of if they would be useful in my application, where the projectile has been seated just off the rifling- NOT touching it- but obvioulsy hasnt far to travel to touch the rifling. If the factory crimp die will allow the bullet to be held a little firmer than just the neck sizing and doesnt blow the primers out of their cases then Im happy, but I dont want to have one go off in my face if there is a pressure build up. There are no current pressure signs on my loads.

Lil gun would be the ultimate luxury in Australia- have said it before but it just isnt around.

As for H4227 being discontinued.... well its the same reloading data as AR2205 so I guess its one of the ADI powders. Unless hodgdon isnt getting ADI to make some of its powders anymore, it should still be available.

The Factory Crimp could help. It does with some loads and not others. If you are seating out then the bearing surface of the bullet should be passing through the case mouth and the die will have something to get hold of. The warning that goes with this is that it puts a slight indentation in the bullet. If that indentation is made too close to the trailing edge of the bearing surface of a boattail or the heel of a flat base bullet and distorts it, the effect will be the same as having a damaged crown on the barrel. Muzzle gas will escape unevenly around the distortion and deflect the base sideways on exit. Not good for accuracy in that event. So, you bullet would have to seat deeply enough to avoid this situation.

The collet die mandrills can be reduced a little to tighten bullet grip. Lee will do this special order, but that isn't likely practical where you are. Several folk have mentioned taking a mandrill down a thousandth of an inch or so by spinning it in a drill while pulling a strip of fine (400 grit or so) wet/dry sandpaper over it. This is followed by polishing with a strip of crocus cloth, then by a strip of linen rag smeared with a bit of Flitz or other metal polish for the final finish. You need a thimble micrometer with 0.0001" vernier graduations to check progress and tell if your work is uniform down the length of the mandrill or to tell when you are finished? A caliper doesn't have enough resolution.

Keep in mind the objective is to keep the bullet aligned so it doesn't enter the bore at a cant. Such inside-bore tilt is small (fractions of a degree) but can be measured to open a group up a couple of m.o.a. If you are seating near the lands, your chief vulnerability will be post-loading bullet tipping in the case. You want to prevent that by handling the rounds carefully. If you can get a small ammo wallet or something akin to the Federal plastic carriers to hold the rounds in your pocket, the shallowly seated bullets can't knock against each other.

You might also be able to discover you have a second seating depth sweet spot (http://www.lima-wiederladetechnik.de/Englisch/Laddertest.htm) deeper than the close-to-lands point you use now, which will improve start pressure and reduce loaded round vulnerability because of the neck getting a better hold on the bullet. As long as the case neck walls are uniform in thickness and centered in the fireformed cases, you should have good alignment.

On my CZ 527 I have seated out very far and have seated them to magazine length with the 35 gr V max and there is hardly ANY difference. I thought there would be but not really.

Good idea to turn down the mandrel........why did that not come to me? I'm slippin' :( :rolleyes:

. . . I'm slippin' :( :rolleyes:

You're slipping? I'm the one who exchanged a mandrel for a baboon (mandrill). I never could spell, and always have to check, and darned if some crossed up spellings aren't perfectly legitimate words!

Ewer knot sirius awe yew, nick? Know fueling?

Isle bee damped.

Good idea to turn down the mandrel........why did that not come to me? I'm slippin' :( :rolleyes:

Old age......:)

Old age......:)


Hey buddy WATCH it....I resemble that remark.

Last night after our conversation I took apart the Collet Sizing die and got an idea. The collet has four "petals" and there is a tiny split in between. The more I looked the more it looked like the petals were running into each other before pinching the case down very far.

I took a piece of 320 grit sand paper and spent some time running it between the petals. Not a lot. I put the die in the old Co-ax press and sized three Hornet cases and tried it with the 35 Hornady (the worst of the loose bullets followed by the 40 V-max). TIGHT! I have not seated any yet but before I could seat these bullets with my fingers and now I can't.

Something to think about!

Vincent,

Interesting! Nice catch!. I've never had that problem show up in my collet dies. Any chance burrs from the slitting operation were getting caught between the jaws and your paper just removed them?

Het buddy WATCH it....I resemble that remark.


Unfortunately I do too.

I had a similar problem with a Lee Collet Die on my 25-06. It didn't work as well with Speer TNT bullets as it did with Nosler Ballistic Tips that are nice and snug.......and accurate.

Picked up some CCI BR4 primers and gave them a try. The only thing I changed in the load was the primer. I was comparing CCI BR4 primers to Federal 205 primers.

The load for my 221 Fireball is a Lee powder cup 1.0cc leveled with Hodgdon Lilgun powder under a Sierra 50 grain Blitzking bullet. I made 40 loads using each primer, 80 total, everything else was the same. I felt this was quantity enough to tell if there is a noticeable difference shooting 10 five-shot groups, 5 groups each at 100 yards and 5 groups each at 200 yards. I didn't have to shoot too long to see a difference, the CCI BR4 loads were holding tighter groups. I'm sold.

I don't have a Chrony but I'm sighted in 1 inch high at 100 yards and hit about 1/2 inch low at 200 yards.

Anybody care to comment on Nosler 40 grain Ballistic Tip bullets? That's what I'm going to try next.

Vincent,

Interesting! Nice catch!. I've never had that problem show up in my collet dies. Any chance burrs from the slitting operation were getting caught between the jaws and your paper just removed them?

No, there was a noticable difference in the gap before and after. I also used a super slippery grease on the petals (outside) when I reassembled the die. That way it will slide ALL the way up into the die. I will be loading 50 tomorrow and shooting Wed so i will report back.

Glad to hear the BR4's work for you - they sure do the trick for my Hornet.

Never tried the Nosler 40 Gr BT's - they should do OK, although it seems my Hornet likes the flat based bullets best. Have so much good luck with the Hornady 35 gr V-Max's, I really don't try much else.

Interesting about the lube and the slits. Did I understand correctly that the slits seemed to close all the way without successfully sizing before? Have you measured the thickness of your casenecks? You might drop Lee a line and let them know what you came up against and what you did about it? They take an interest in problems, Someone in another thread found one of the little V-max's couldn't be seated by Lee's .223 seater die, which it turned out was a problem they were unaware of. Sent him a new seater stem to fix the problem, and probably altered their production drawing for future runs.


Kdub,

I just noticed my local Gander Mountain is out of CCI BR4's and is almost out of BR2's. Looks like they may be dropping CCI primers, base on their diminishing shelf presence. I have most of a recent case (5000) of Federal 210M's and a case of CCI #34's for the Garand and M1A. I wondered if the BR2's are worth a test? I'm half afraid to try, for fear I'll like them and have to drive up to Camp Perry next month to get a good price on a case of them and also a case of the BR4's. Anyone know how the BR4 hardness spec compares with the #41's? I'm always looking for the perfect 600 and 1000 yard loads; the never ending quest.