22 hornet cases sticking

W

williev18

Guest
OK so ive recently invested in a new fun gun. Its a Ruger 77/22 in 22 hornet. I just finished off my frist box of factory loads and am starting to work up hand loads for it. While firing the remington factory loads i had a few cases hang up that had to be pushed out wih a cleaning rod. I replaced the extractor and the problem went away. How ever when i first started hend loading it i started off with LIL gun powder with a cci 400 primer and 36gr varmint gernades. I started at 11 gr of powder (hodgdons starting load) with the bullet seated just long enough to fit in the magazine. The problem was the first three shots had to be pushed out with the cleaning rod again. Velocity was 2900fps just as stated in the manual. I had to drop all the way to 9gr lil gun to get the cases to stop sticking. This took my velocity all the way down to 2600fps. The chamber seems clean and smooth, no gouging on cases. what could be causing such overpressure problems.
 
Have you checked the bullet to rifling length? Could you be sticking the bullet in the lands?
 
Yeah i have checked the seating depth, and there is .012 jump with the bullets seated at max oal that the magazine will allow.
 
I am only neck sizing and the only firing they have on them was this initial fireforming with the factory loads. They chamber just like new unfired rounds.
 
williev18 said:
I am only neck sizing and the only firing they have on them was this initial fireforming with the factory loads. They chamber just like new unfired rounds.
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You may well be one of the "lucky ones" who have a small factory chamber. Hornet brass is VERY thin, it would not be out of line for it to grow enough in 1 firing to be sticky. Get a FL die and size the whole case.
 
tonight i broke out the fl die and resized all of my brass and trimmed to length. I went to a shorter 35gr midway dog town bullet, and even tried a crimp die and still cant any were near listed loads, or velocity with out cases sticking. The only thing i can think of now is i have noticed that most load data lists either a cci small pistol primer, or a winchester small rifle primer. Is it possible my cci 400's are too hot.
 
thanks for the input every one. i think i know why this gun was a good hundred under all other m77/22 hornets i had looked at. I cast the chamber this week end and found it was .004 smaller than the SAMMI minumum. Probably explains the factory loads sticking too. Good news is with a CCI 500 small pistol primer, 11.5gr lil gun, and a 35gr dog town i can get 2850fps and no more sticking as long as i FL size every time, and its just a little over 1 moa. Guess i cant complain to much for a150 yard wood chuck/ coyote rifle.
 
williev18 said:
thanks for the input every one. i think i know why this gun was a good hundred under all other m77/22 hornets i had looked at. I cast the chamber this week end and found it was .004 smaller than the SAMMI minumum. Probably explains the factory loads sticking too. Good news is with a CCI 500 small pistol primer, 11.5gr lil gun, and a 35gr dog town i can get 2850fps and no more sticking as long as i FL size every time, and its just a little over 1 moa. Guess i cant complain to much for a150 yard wood chuck/ coyote rifle.
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I've been killing ground hogs out to 228 yards with 34g DogTown FBHP bullets over 13.3g of 'lil Gun in my CZ 527 hornet. I neck size in a Redding neck sizing die. I use Winchester brass. MV is ~3,000 fps +/- a little.

I wouldn't think it would be a big deal to get the chamber cleaned up to spec (I have a Hornet reamer). Might not shoot any better though.

Fitch
 
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