Reloading the .22 Hornet

[dromia]

Parallel side type expanders made to the right diameters for the bullet and the case spring back are far superior to to the flare type.

[Hornet35]

I use the lee expander and then crimp, a bit agricultural but does the job. How old is the hornet?

[dromia]

Crimp! ?

An abomination and the work of the devil.

[ovenpaa]

The rifle is a Savage Model 23D with a Broad Arrow stamp so 1941-42 latest however it looks like an earlier model so probably late 30's - Lets say 75 years old to be safe :)

This would suggest it is barrelled for a .223" bullet so I really need to slug the bore to confirm this. I know it has been shot with Hornady and S&B factory ammunition however I am not sure if such ammunition uses a .223" or .224" bullet and sticking a micrometer across the S&B gave .221" of all things!

[Sim G]

Broad arrow? The USAAF issued .22 Hornet as a survival rifle in a number of configurations. A continuation of the practice over to the Brits? Connection with Savage Produced No4s?

1930s manufacture may still see it with a .223" bullet size and 1 in 16" rifling...

[ovenpaa]

The 23D was manufactured from 1933 to possibly early 1940's The Broad Arrow stamp makes me think the rifle came into the UK as a result of the efforts of the American committee for the defence of British homes under the banner of ‘Send a gun to save a British home’ A subject worth further discussion at a later date. Anyway the Broad Arrow would suggest it entered the country probably around 1941 and maybe even into 1942 to allow civilian forces to be armed in the event of a German invasion, as the invasion did not happen the rifle may not have got any further than being stamped and catalogued and may well have been sold off for sporting use at a later date.

Busy day, building rifle actions so I have not had a chance to slug the barrel yet however I am inclined to think it would have been .223" or maybe even the earlier .222"