"Off-the-lands" for the 22 Hornet?

GaryO7 · September 5, 2011, 07:46 PM

I have a new friend who believes that any reloading attempt for the 22 Hornet should start with .005" off the jamb bullet seating length. What say you? Thanks...

M.O.A. · September 5, 2011, 08:05 PM

its really up to the rifle some shoot best jammed into the lands some a long way away from the lands. some bullets are diff. some powders are diff..

GaryO7 · September 5, 2011, 08:12 PM

oh boy...

dahermit · September 5, 2011, 09:07 PM

I use "just touching". I follow the theory that, with zero bullet jump, the bullet will have less chance of becoming misaligned with the bore. "Jammed into the lands", can result in the bullet pulling out of a case in the event of removing an unfired round.

hornetguy · September 6, 2011, 12:58 PM

My practice is to determine what the distance is to the lands, then seat my bullets to be just a thousandth or so off. Actually, I don't know if it's a thousandth or not, because there is usually more variation than that in the bullet seating process. What I try for is getting the ogive of the bullet as close to the lands as possible, without engaging them, if that makes sense.
As stated before, each rifle is a law unto itself, you will have to experiment to find its "sweet spot". Usually, it's very close to the lands.

Geezerbiker · September 6, 2011, 04:23 PM

With my .22 K-Hornet, I find the magazine is the limiting factor to cartridge length. I seem to get the best accuracy when I seat the bullets to the max the mag can function with.

Tony

Magnum Wheel Man · September 6, 2011, 04:52 PM

I also seat long, maybe up to... but not a tight fit...

Ideal Tool · September 6, 2011, 07:55 PM

Hello, Gary07. In my Hornet Single shot, I blacken bullet with magic marker & just touch lands. It is very easy to jam the soft jacket too far into lands..when you think it is only touching..if you can see full width of land impression..your jamming! This is reason for marker. I have always found best accuracy this way. With cast-bullets in Hornet, I let action closing, cam bullet into leade..with these I want full land contact around 1st. band...Just like in a match .22 chamber.

hornetguy · September 7, 2011, 09:53 AM

Just be aware that loading to press the bullet into the lands when chambering can (probably WILL) increase/change the pressure curve of the load when firing.
This may, or may not be an issue, but you should back off of a "known" load, if you decide to change the seating depth to engage the rifling. Watch for pressure spikes as you work back up... same way you should back off when you change anything in your load.

September 5, 2011, 07:46 PM	#1
GaryO7 Member Join Date: November 14, 2007 Location: Roseville, CA Posts: 48	"Off-the-lands" for the 22 Hornet? I have a new friend who believes that any reloading attempt for the 22 Hornet should start with .005" off the jamb bullet seating length. What say you? Thanks...

September 5, 2011, 08:05 PM	#2
M.O.A. Senior Member Join Date: January 29, 2011 Location: south indiana Posts: 555	its really up to the rifle some shoot best jammed into the lands some a long way away from the lands. some bullets are diff. some powders are diff..

September 5, 2011, 08:12 PM	#3
GaryO7 Member Join Date: November 14, 2007 Location: Roseville, CA Posts: 48	oh boy...

September 5, 2011, 09:07 PM	#4
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	I use "just touching". I follow the theory that, with zero bullet jump, the bullet will have less chance of becoming misaligned with the bore. "Jammed into the lands", can result in the bullet pulling out of a case in the event of removing an unfired round.

September 6, 2011, 12:58 PM	#5
hornetguy Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2011 Location: on the north side of DFW Posts: 970	My practice is to determine what the distance is to the lands, then seat my bullets to be just a thousandth or so off. Actually, I don't know if it's a thousandth or not, because there is usually more variation than that in the bullet seating process. What I try for is getting the ogive of the bullet as close to the lands as possible, without engaging them, if that makes sense. As stated before, each rifle is a law unto itself, you will have to experiment to find its "sweet spot". Usually, it's very close to the lands.

September 6, 2011, 04:23 PM	#6
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,909	With my .22 K-Hornet, I find the magazine is the limiting factor to cartridge length. I seem to get the best accuracy when I seat the bullets to the max the mag can function with. Tony

September 6, 2011, 04:52 PM	#7
Magnum Wheel Man Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2006 Location: Southern Minnesota Posts: 9,333	I also seat long, maybe up to... but not a tight fit...

September 6, 2011, 07:55 PM	#8
Ideal Tool Junior member Join Date: October 6, 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,080	Hello, Gary07. In my Hornet Single shot, I blacken bullet with magic marker & just touch lands. It is very easy to jam the soft jacket too far into lands..when you think it is only touching..if you can see full width of land impression..your jamming! This is reason for marker. I have always found best accuracy this way. With cast-bullets in Hornet, I let action closing, cam bullet into leade..with these I want full land contact around 1st. band...Just like in a match .22 chamber.

September 7, 2011, 09:53 AM	#9
hornetguy Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2011 Location: on the north side of DFW Posts: 970	Just be aware that loading to press the bullet into the lands when chambering can (probably WILL) increase/change the pressure curve of the load when firing. This may, or may not be an issue, but you should back off of a "known" load, if you decide to change the seating depth to engage the rifling. Watch for pressure spikes as you work back up... same way you should back off when you change anything in your load.