Tons of Fun in a Little Package: Shooting the .22 K-Hornet

            A few years ago,a friend and I were enjoying a beautiful Autumn day shooting our hunting pistols at the Honey Island Shooting Range near Slidell, Louisiana.  As I recall, I was shooting a Ruger Redhawk in .44 Remington Magnum, and my friend was shooting a T/C Contender in 6.5 JDJ.  We were getting ready for the upcoming deer season.  After all the heavy work was done, he pulled out a Contender in .22 Hornet.  Now, to be honest, I had never really even considered owning a firearm in .22 Hornet.  To my way of thinking, it was completely useless.  After all, I have a .22 Long Rifle for squirrel and other small game, and a .223 Remington for predators; why in the world would I ever need, or for that matter, want a .22 Hornet?  After he showed me the diminutive, archaic looking round, I KNEW I was right.  I think I said something to the effect of, "Why do you own that piece of @#$%?"
                To his credit, he did not respond in kind, but smiled and asked me if I would like to shoot it.  Well, yes, of course I did.  After one shot, I was hooked!  I immediately apologized to my friend (not really), and a nearly three year search for a T/C Contender barrel in .22 Hornet began.

               The ancestry of the .22 Hornet is somewhat murky.  In his classic encyclopedic work, Cartridges of the World (Barnes, 2012), Frank Barnes attributes the .22 Hornet to experiments done in the 1920s using the black-powder .22 WCF (Winchester Center Fire) at the Springfield Armory.  Certainly, the long taper, shallow shoulder, and rimmed case were standard for cartridges that made the transition from the black powder period to the smokeless powder era.  Col. Townsend Whelen and Capt. G.L. Wotkyns are given credit as the designers of the cartridge.  Winchester began to produce .22 Hornet ammunition as a wildcat cartridge in 1930, even though no commercial firearms were available at that time.  In 1932, Winchester announced the Model 54 bolt action rifle in .22 Hornet, but the rifles did not actually make it to market until 1933 (Donnelly, 1987).  The Savage Model 23-D bolt action rifle was available in .22 Hornet as early as August 1932.  During World War II, the M4 Survival rifle was produced in .22 Hornet for use by US Air Crews.  Military survival issue .22 Hornet ammunition was loaded with soft-point expanding jacketed bullets, which did not comply with the Hague Convention; however, the ammunition was labeled, "Under no circumstances is the ammunition to be used for offensive or defensive measures against enemy personnel. This ammunition is provided for use with your emergency survival Rifle for the Killing of Game for food under emergency survival conditions only."

   

             The .22 Hornet truly is the forerunner high velocity small caliber varmint and small game cartridge to which all subsequent cartridges were compared.  The black powder era was dominated by large calibers, heavy projectiles, and lumbering velocities.  The standard military .45-70 Government round fired a 405 Gr. lead round nose projectile at about 1200 FPS.  In 1892, the US military switched from rounds that fired black powder to those stoked with smokeless powder when it adopted the .30 US Army (.30-40 Krag) round, which was America's first "small bore" military cartridge.  But, cartridge designers quickly realized that the increased velocities possible with smokeless powder would allow one to use a truly small bore projectile at much higher velocities.  The results were a cartridge with much better ballistics and subsequent flatter trajectory.

                Early cartridge experimenters, like P.O. Ackley, "improved" standard cartridges by increasing the angle of the shoulder, thereby increasing powder capacity of the improved cartridge.  The most popular improved version of the .22 Hornet is the .22 K-Hornet.  Originated by Lysle Kilbourn in 1940, it is based on the fire-formed and blown out .22 Hornet case with a straight body, sharp shoulder, and short neck (Barnes, 2012).  The advantage of the .22 K-Hornet is increased case capacity, allowing higher velocities than one can achieve with the .22 Hornet; however, one can fire .22 Hornet ammunition out of a firearm chambered in .22 K-Hornet with no ill effects on accuracy.

                My search for a T/C Contender barrel in .22 Hornet was arduous.  Over the past three years, I identified several barrels using on-line gun auction sites, but the barrels always sold for more than I was willing to pay.  However, earlier this year a 10-inch octagon barrel in .22 K-Hornet came up for auction on GunBroker.com.  The barrel had the rear sight removed and replaced with a very sturdy picatinny rail.  When the bidding was done, the barrel was mine at a very reasonable price.  Frankly, I would have rather have had it chambered in .22 Hornet, but after winning the barrel and learning more about the .22 K-Hornet, I'm definitely not disappointed. 

                The Hornet and K-Hornet really shine with small projectiles up to about 50 Gr.  The added capacity of the little K-Hornet beats the standard Hornet.  For comparison, the maximum load for the .22 Hornet with Accurate 1680 powder is 13.5 Gr., resulting in 2516 FPS from a 20-inch barrel; however, the maximum charge of 1680 in the .22 K-Hornet is 16.0 Gr., resulting in 3177 FPS from a 20-inch barrel, and 2854 FPS from a 14-inch barrel. 

Cartridge	Bullet	Powder	Min. Load	Velocity	Max. Load	Velocity	Barrel
.22 Hornet	35 Gr. Hornady V-Max	AAC-1680	12.1	2516	13.5	2516	Rifle
.22 K-Hornet			14.4	2979	16.0	3177	Rifle
.22 K-Hornet			14.4	2645	16.0	2854	Contender

Comparison of .22 Caliber Cartridges in Pistol Barrels Cartridge Bullet Weight (Gr) Muzzle Velocity (FPS) Velocity 100 yds (FPS) Velocity 200 yds (FPS) Velocity 300 yds (FPS) Energy 300 yds (ft-lbs) .22 LR SV* 40 950† 861 790 731 47 .22 WMR 40 1480 1139 963 858 65 .22 Hornet 40 2180 1828 1518 1266 142 .22 K-Hornet 40 2250 1891 1573 1308 152 .223 Remington 55 2970 2616 2289 1986 482 .22-250 Remington 55 3250 2872 2526 2205 594 *Abbreviations: LR, Long Rifle; SV, Standard Velocity; WMR, Winchester Magnum Rimfire. †Barrel length is 6" for .22 LR and .22 WMR, 10" for .22 Hornet and .22 K Hornet, and 14" for .223 Remington and .22-250 Remington

                As a comparison to more modern, and perhaps more popular varmint loads, the .22 Hornet and K-Hornet were compared to the .22-caliber cartridges from .22 Long Rifle up to the blazing fast .22-250.

Clearly, the .22 Hornet and .22 K-Hornet are not effective long range varmint cartridges; however, when kept to within 150 yards, the two are more than capable of quickly and humanely dispatching varmints and small predators.

                Given the craziness in Washington, DC during the Obama Administration, the prospect of the Federal Government overstepping its bounds and limiting our Right to Keep and Bear Arms led to a major panic, which made it extremely difficult to find any .224 caliber projectile that might feed through an AR-15. Unfortunately, this also included the light-for-caliber .22 Hornet/K-Hornet bullets.  However, I was able to lay my hands on boxes of Hornady 45 Gr. Hornet bullets (Item No. 2230) and 40 Gr. Sierra Hornet bullets (Item No. 1200).  I also had some archaic boxes of bullets I had bought back in the early 1980s in my loading supplies: a box of Winchester 48 Gr. PSP (discontinued by Winchester), Hornady 50 Gr. SX (Item 2240), and Hornady 53 Gr. Match (replaced by Hornady 53 Gr. HP, item No. 2250).
 

                Because .22 K-Hornet brass is not produced, the first step in loading .22 K-Hornet is to fire-form.22 Hornet brass in the .22 K-Hornet chamber.  Although Winchester and Remington produce .22 Hornet brass, all distributors were out of the brass and there does not appear to be any hopes of getting US-made brass anytime soon.  So, I purchased a 100-count bag of Prvi Partizan brass.  On first inspection, the Prvi Partizan (PPV) brass seemed to be well made, but, read on.  I began the process by loading 50 of the .22 Hornet cases with stout charges of Hodgdon H-110 under three types of bullets, and fired away.  Accuracy, although not great at 100 yards, was acceptable, and probably was more related to my inattention at the bench than the true potential of the barrel or load.

Fire Forming of .22 Hornet Cases in .22 K-Hornet Chamber Bullet Case Load COAL Velocity Accuracy* Win 48 Gr. PSP 9.9 Gr. H-110 1.890 2091 ± 39 2.31 Horn 50 Gr. SX 9.9 Gr. H-110 1.870 2072 ± 64 2.24 Horn 53 Gr. Match 9.2 Gr. H-110 1.899 1966 ± 53 2.15 *Groups fired at 100 Yards Primers used in all loads were Winchester Small Rifle

                One of the tricks to fire forming brass is to either use brand new, never fired brass to make your new cases, or to anneal the case shoulder, neck, and mouth before fire forming.  In both cases, the reason for this is to avoid hard, and therefore, brittle cases.  Repeatedly firing and reloading cases causes them to become "work hardened."  This is easy to duplicate, and you have no doubt done this yourself by repeatedly bending a piece of metal back and forth until you are able to break it in half.  Typically, if one uses new brass, there will be very little loss of cases due to cracked shoulders or necks.  However, when I fire formed the brand new PPV brass, I lost 30% of the cases to cracked necks.  I was perplexed, but did not understand the reason for this until later.

 

Groups at 50 yards have been outstanding.  This load of 13.1 Gr. of AAC-1680 behind a 45 Gr. Hornady Hornet bullet had an extreme spread of 2298 and 2263 FPS, with an average of 2281 ± 15 FPS.

Accuracy Tests of .22 K-Hornet Loads Bullet Case Load COAL Velocity Accuracy Horn 45 Gr. Hornet .22 K-Hornet 12.5 Gr. AAC-1680 1.850 2197 ± 51 1.51* 13.1 Gr. AAC-1680 1.850 2281 ± 15 0.62* 13.8 Gr. AAC-1680 1.850 2413 ± 20 0.96* Sierra 40 Gr. Hornet 13.6 Gr. AAC-1680 1.800 2320 ± 14 2.53† 14.3 Gr. AAC-1680 1.800 2400 ± 38 3.40† Sierra 40 Gr. Hornet 10.1 Gr. 2400 1.721 2434 ± 62 3.90† *Groups fired at 50 Yards †Groups fired at 100 Yards Primers used in all loads were Winchester Small Rifle

                Once the brass had been fired, I began the process of reloading the new .22 K-Hornet cases.  This is where I ran into trouble with the PPV brass.  For years I've used ground corn cob media to clean my cases, but a couple of years ago I purchased a sonic cleaner and have begun to use Hornady One Shot® Sonic Clean^TM solution.  I placed the brass PPV .22 K-Hornet brass in the solution, and then ran it through several cycles in the sonic cleaner.  I've done this many hundreds of times, and even have accidentally left cases in the solution overnight (and for one unfortunate case, a week).  The cases always come out bright, shiny and BRASS colored.  But, when I pulled the PPV cases out of the solution, they were copper colored.  In fact, the PPV cases are not brass at all, but are instead brass-washed copper cases.  Ah, the reason for the cracked necks was revealed.  The high copper content of the cases made them susceptible to cracking.  So much for using PPV cases. (I purchased a box of Winchester .22 Hornet loaded ammunition to make new Winchester .22 K-Hornet, but life has prevented me from getting to the range to fire them).

 

                With only 35 or so .22 K-Hornet cases in hand, and with short time between obtaining the barrel and the writing of this article, I've only had limited shooting experience.  I can say, the little pistol is a HOOT to shoot!  There is no recoil, and  accuracy at 50 yards has been outstanding, with 5-shot groups consistently less than 1 inch.  I'm still struggling to get good groups at 100 yards, but I think that the problem is mine alone, and not the pistol's. I'm looking forward to working up good shooting loads at 100 yards!

.22 K- Hornet Reloading Data
Wt.	Bullet	Manf.	Powder	Min	Max	Min Vel	Max Vel	Remarks	Source
33	Speer Hornet HP	Alliant	2400	9.5	10.6	2312	2570		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
33	Speer Hornet HP	Accurate	AAC-1680	14.4	16.0	2521	2701	Compressed	Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
33	Speer Hornet HP	Hodgdon	H-110	11.5	12.8	2697	2885		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
33	Speer Hornet HP	IMR	IMR-4227	12.0	13.5	2450	2508	Compressed	Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
33	Speer Hornet HP	Hodgdon	Lil'Gun	10.0	11.3	2429	2666		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
33	Speer Hornet HP	Vihtavuori	VV-N110	10.8	12.0	2566	2646	12.0 Gr. Accurate Load	Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
35	Hornady V-Max	Alliant	2400	9.0	10.1	2296	2487		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
35	Hornady V-Max	Accurate	AAC-1680	14.4	16.0	2645	2854	Compressed	Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
35	Hornady V-Max	Hodgdon	H-110	11.5	12.8	2779	3009		Hodgdon On-Line
35	Hornady V-Max	Hodgdon	H-110	11.0	12.2	2378	2786		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
35	Hornady V-Max	Hodgdon	H-4227	11.0	12.3	2747	2924		Hodgdon On-Line
35	Hornady V-Max	IMR	IMR-4227	11.4	12.7	2310	2472	Compressed	Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
35	Hornady V-Max	Hodgdon	Lil'Gun	12.5	13.5	2858	2935		Hodgdon On-Line
35	Hornady V-Max	Hodgdon	Lil'Gun	10.0	11.2	2459	2703	11.2 Gr. Accurate Load	Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
35	Hornady V-Max	Vihtavuori	VV-N110	10.0	11.2	2466	2546	Compressed	Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
40	Nosler Ballistic Tip	Hodgdon	H-110	11.5	12.9	2636	2940		Hodgdon On-Line
40	Nosler Ballistic Tip	Hodgdon	H-4227	11.0	12.2	2644	2822	Compressed	Hodgdon On-Line
40	Nosler Ballistic Tip	Hodgdon	Lil'Gun	12.5	13.5	2695	2817		Hodgdon On-Line
40	Speer Spire SP	Alliant	2400	9.0	10.0	2202	2423		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
40	Speer Spire SP	Accurate	AAC-1680	12.8	14.3	2408	2543		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
40	Speer Spire SP	Hodgdon	H-110	10.4	11.6	2198	2545		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
40	Speer Spire SP	IMR	IMR-4227	10.8	12.0	2128	2320	Compressed	Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
40	Speer Spire SP	Hodgdon	Lil'Gun	9.3	10.4	2155	2383		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
40	Speer Spire SP	Vihtavuori	VV-N110	9.0	10.2	2222	2373	10.2 Gr. Accurate Load	Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
45	Barnes TSX FB	Hodgdon	H-110	10.5	11.2	2524	2640		Hodgdon On-Line
45	Barnes TSX FB	Hodgdon	H-4227	10.5	11.3	2502	2619		Hodgdon On-Line
45	Barnes TSX FB	Hodgdon	Lil'Gun	12.0	13.0	2672	2859		Hodgdon On-Line
45	Speer Spitzer SP	Hodgdon	H-110	11.5	12.4	2658	2761		Hodgdon On-Line
45	Speer Spitzer SP	Hodgdon	H-4227	10.7	11.7	2520	2669		Hodgdon On-Line
45	Speer Spitzer SP	Hodgdon	Lil'Gun	12.0	13.2	2568	2744		Hodgdon On-Line
50	Sierra BlitzKing	Hodgdon	H-110	10.4	11.1	2416	2552		Hodgdon On-Line
50	Sierra BlitzKing	Hodgdon	H-4198	11.5	12.5	2201	2386	Compressed	Hodgdon On-Line
50	Sierra BlitzKing	Hodgdon	H-4227	10.0	11.0	2375	2520		Hodgdon On-Line
50	Sierra BlitzKing	Hodgdon	Lil'Gun	12.0	13.0	2542	2751		Hodgdon On-Line
50	Speer Spire SP	Alliant	2400	8.2	9.2	1915	2164		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
50	Speer Spire SP	Accurate	AAC-1680	11.2	12.5	2144	2220		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
50	Speer Spire SP	Hodgdon	H-110	9.0	10.2	2024	2217		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
50	Speer Spire SP	IMR	IMR-4227	9.5	10.6	1921	2002		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
50	Speer Spire SP	Hodgdon	Lil'Gun	8.0	9.1	1809	2113	8.0 Gr Accurate Load	Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
50	Speer Spire SP	Vihtavuori	VV-N110	8.3	9.3	1992	2132		Lyman Handbook 49th Ed.
53	Barnes TSX FB	Hodgdon	H-110	9.5	10.2	2247	2340		Hodgdon On-Line
53	Barnes TSX FB	Hodgdon	H-4198	11.5	12.5	2153	2335	Compressed	Hodgdon On-Line
53	Barnes TSX FB	Hodgdon	H-4227	9.5	10.5	2240	2357		Hodgdon On-Line
53	Barnes TSX FB	Hodgdon	Lil'Gun	11.5	12.3	2446	2571		Hodgdon On-Line