I have a .22 Hornet with a .223 bore. Most new .22's are .224 and so are most bullets.

So...... Just how much difference does that .001 make in a load? I was told that it will raise pressure a lot. I have a hard time with that. Opinions???

Second thing. My rifle is a low wall. Same gun as some heavier loading are used with, but, there is a lot more steel around that case (due to the very small case vs the larger loadings). It should stand more pressure, if it exists, or am I not seeing this correctly?
Doz

You certainly don't have to worry about pressures with a .001" larger diameter. Accuracy will be the issue. Work up the loads and see where you're going with it. The Hornet chamber is a step child through out the industry. The rimmed cartridge headspaces on the rim. But, Hornet chambers are cut with as much as .007" excess headspace. GUARANTEED, to the naysayers. For handloading purposes use a minimal amount of resizing once fired brass and work from there. Lil gun and small pistol primers are hot combos for accuracy, but your results will vary, maybe.

Dozer, you may safely ignore the difference. As long as you get good tension on the seated bullet, you'll be fine. (The Hornet has such thin brass in the neck that it is notorious for achieving low bullet tension.)

Sierra makes a 40 and 45 grain .223 Hornet bullet and Hornady makes a 45 grain .223. Hornady's 35 grain Vmax is on the small side of .224.

My CZ has a .2235 bore and shoots .223 and .224 equally well. If you at all worried about pressure Lil Gun (rifle or pistol primer) will give you the lowest pressure per velocity of any powder out there.

Would be best to start a bit lower with .224" bullets in a .223" bore and work up...wouldn't substitute .224's in a load already worked out as max. with .223's.

Might find that jacket fouling collectos a bit faster with .224's; that's been true when using over sized jacketed bullets both with the .22Horent as well as other calibers. Isn't a drastic amount, but noticable.

Ken Waters in his book "Pet Loads" used a Model 54 Winchester for testing various loadings both with .223 & .224 diameter bullets. Didn't seam to make any difference and he thought the .224 may be a little more accurate. My prairie dog hunting buddy uses a first year of production Model 70 Winchester with .224 bullets and loads he uses in his Browning Micro Medallion of recent manufacture with no problems either pressure or accuracy.

I recently acquired some .223 and .224 bullets from the same manufacturer and in the same weight to try different loadings in older pre-WWII Hornets. Upon opening each sealed box and measuring the bullet diameter with a machinist micrometer I was surprised when both measured .2235". This was replicated randomly throughout each box. Either there's a mispackaging problem or the manufacture is intentionally packaging the bullets this way. Either way the label is correct i.e. .223(5) dropping the last 5 digit or .2235 rounded up to .224. Will have to try this with some of the other manufacturers whenever I get a chance to buy in person at a dealer.

I had a Savage Hornet for many years.It had a .223 bore.
Over the years,I shot a lot of .224 bullets in it,because they were easier to get.
I saw no difference in accuracy,but always thought that the oversized bullets would wear the bore much faster.
I don't know if this is a fact,but thefatter bullets seemed to require more cleaning.
Frank

I had a Savage Hornet for many years.It had a .223 bore.
Over the years,I shot a lot of .224 bullets in it,because they were easier to get.
I saw no difference in accuracy,but always thought that the oversized bullets would wear the bore much faster.
I don't know if this is a fact,but thefatter bullets seemed to require more cleaning.
Frank


Still does...more fouling with .224's, but accuracy seems to be at least as good as .223's (would need a lot more groups before stating for sure..but I belive .224's are a tiny bit more accurate).

Once had a Douglas barrled Martinin....224" barrel...but darned if that back-assward thing didn't shoot the best groups when I tried some .222" Hornady 40gr. (made for the .22Jet).

In short..rifles are obstinate critters, going to do what they want to do reguardless of the logic we impose on them.

hailstone, I will measure some bullets. I have not done that. Since I have lots of .224 bullets (I think, haven't measured) I will give more of them a try.
Doz

More than likely, depending on the rifle, that .22hornet will have a 1:16 twist barrel...which is going to limit your bullets to the short/stubby ones. SOME 50gr. will work (usually the flat based versions that are a bit shorter than their boat tailed brothers) but they don't perfom well on varmints.

MAde for faster speeds, the jackets are a bit stiffer than bullets made specifically for the Hornet....and you won't push them nearly as fast...so they just kind of open up slowly like big game bullets (but they do make fine Turkey loads).

My new Remington 700 in 221 Fireball has the slower twist. I've gotten very good accuracy with the Sierra Blitzking 50 grain bullets (the ones with the plastic tips).....only shot critter so far was a crow, not much left to look at. The Sierra Blitz (without the king) are made specifically for the hornet with a less robust jacket. I'm going to try some Nosler 40 grain balistic tips.

My ruger 77/22 hornet is the .224 and has a 1/14 twist. I havent tried anything over 45 gr but I do know it shoots the 40gr v max well and they are long. In fact I can only load them as single shot rounds.

Also found that the 35gr and 40gr v max are slightly smaller in diameter. My collet sized cases wont grip them as tight as the sierra 45gr hornet projectile. But the 45gr sierra doesnt shoot as well as them or as well as I originally believed they did. I turned to the hornady 45gr .224 bee/hollow point projectile and hey presto, accuracy and a tighter fit. And they make a nice whack when they arrive at their destination.

I personally would stay with the .223 projectiles if your rifle is .223- thats what they were obvioulsy made for but its just my own silly idea.

Here is my personal guarantee, that bullet will be the same size as your groove before it gets 1 inch away from the case. Next, ever think about renting a K-Hornet finish reamer?

Still haven't had time to load and test, honey dos are killing me.

Swany, I bought a hornet because I wanted a hornet, not interested in "improving it", I like it as it is. Very nice, quiet, short range shooter.
Doz

Funny how that works.......I wanted a 221 Fireball as my small caliber centerfire, not the most popular of choices and I had a bit of trouble getting it but that's what I wanted so that's what I bought.

If you find yourself running short of honey dos I can share some of mine.