Can I seat the bullets in my 22 hornet fireforming cases with my 22 k hornet die?

micksis86 · December 12, 2011, 02:51 AM

Hi,

I just got my CZ527 in 22 hornet back from the gunsmith and it's now a 22 k hornet.

I never owned dies for it in 22 hornet as I always intended on having it re chambered as soon as I got it now i'm about to put together some 22 hornet loads to fireform the cases and I don't want to buy a 22 hornet die set just to assemble these rounds.

Do you guys think it would be ok to use the 22 k hornet seating die to seat the bullet on these 22 hornet loads? Or should I buy a 22 hornet die set which i would rather not do but i'm willing if i have to.

Thanks

bull bob · December 12, 2011, 09:52 AM

I've been doing it for the last year. I got my contender barrel with the intention of immediately turning it into a K Hornet. Well, you know how things go. Shot it a bit first. Then reloaded using K hornet dies. Just got done rechambering. Now the dies match the chamber, or the chamber matches the dies, whichever. But yes you should be fine.

hornetguy · December 12, 2011, 11:07 AM

Yes, you can seat the bullet with the K-hornet dies.

Or, vice-versa.

You just can't do any sizing with the "wrong" die.

Just for informational purposes, when fireforming my brass (Winchester), I just loaded regular loads in my Hornet cases and shot 'em. No "reduced" loads, or cream of wheat.... Just shot 'em. It's funny that my accuracy was just as good with my fireforming loads as with my already-fireformed brass loads. Don't waste powder and bullets with a squib fireform load. Just load and shoot.
I don't remember losing ANY brass when fireforming, except one or two cases that had been reloaded maybe 3 times as regular Hornet before fireforming. They split at the neck. I've lost no new brass fireforming this way.

bull bob · December 13, 2011, 11:19 AM

I'm glad you didn't tell me that a year or so ago. I was using my K Hornet sizing die to neck size my regular hornets.

But I agree, I lost 2 of 50 cases to neck splits, but they had been fired 3 times as regular hornets. And I lost one case in the weeds, that really ticked me off.

hornetguy · December 13, 2011, 03:44 PM

I suppose I should have been more specific on the sizing... no "full length" sizing using the wrong die.

micksis86 · December 13, 2011, 06:51 PM

Thanks, I thought that would be the case but I just wanted to check in case it caused problems. I'll load my hornet about mid range I guess. I've never fireformed brass before bit I don't think there will be any problems.

December 12, 2011, 02:51 AM	#1
micksis86 Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2009 Posts: 420	Can I seat the bullets in my 22 hornet fireforming cases with my 22 k hornet die? Hi, I just got my CZ527 in 22 hornet back from the gunsmith and it's now a 22 k hornet. I never owned dies for it in 22 hornet as I always intended on having it re chambered as soon as I got it now i'm about to put together some 22 hornet loads to fireform the cases and I don't want to buy a 22 hornet die set just to assemble these rounds. Do you guys think it would be ok to use the 22 k hornet seating die to seat the bullet on these 22 hornet loads? Or should I buy a 22 hornet die set which i would rather not do but i'm willing if i have to. Thanks __________________ Never argue with morons, they will lower you down to their level and beat you with experience.

December 13, 2011, 03:44 PM	#5
hornetguy Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2011 Location: on the north side of DFW Posts: 970	I suppose I should have been more specific on the sizing... no "full length" sizing using the wrong die. __________________ I always felt that if I got to the point where I thought it was time to bury my firearms, it was actually time to pick them up..

December 13, 2011, 06:51 PM	#6
micksis86 Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2009 Posts: 420	Thanks, I thought that would be the case but I just wanted to check in case it caused problems. I'll load my hornet about mid range I guess. I've never fireformed brass before bit I don't think there will be any problems. __________________ Never argue with morons, they will lower you down to their level and beat you with experience.

December 12, 2011, 09:52 AM	#2
bull bob Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 114	I've been doing it for the last year. I got my contender barrel with the intention of immediately turning it into a K Hornet. Well, you know how things go. Shot it a bit first. Then reloaded using K hornet dies. Just got done rechambering. Now the dies match the chamber, or the chamber matches the dies, whichever. But yes you should be fine.

December 12, 2011, 11:07 AM	#3
hornetguy Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2011 Location: on the north side of DFW Posts: 970	Yes, you can seat the bullet with the K-hornet dies. Or, vice-versa. You just can't do any sizing with the "wrong" die. Just for informational purposes, when fireforming my brass (Winchester), I just loaded regular loads in my Hornet cases and shot 'em. No "reduced" loads, or cream of wheat.... Just shot 'em. It's funny that my accuracy was just as good with my fireforming loads as with my already-fireformed brass loads. Don't waste powder and bullets with a squib fireform load. Just load and shoot. I don't remember losing ANY brass when fireforming, except one or two cases that had been reloaded maybe 3 times as regular Hornet before fireforming. They split at the neck. I've lost no new brass fireforming this way.

December 13, 2011, 11:19 AM	#4
bull bob Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 114	I'm glad you didn't tell me that a year or so ago. I was using my K Hornet sizing die to neck size my regular hornets. But I agree, I lost 2 of 50 cases to neck splits, but they had been fired 3 times as regular hornets. And I lost one case in the weeds, that really ticked me off.