K95 .22 Hornet Range Day

[stokesrj]

Summers in Florida, ah the beaches, but when I'm there, my mind wanders to the fall, the smells, the sounds, the scenery associated with hunts. So to get my mind off of those things I dream up how to prepare for the coming fall, to be a better hunter, a better steward of our treasured wildlife. So I head to the range to make sure I have the best performance possible and this time I chose to focus on my little K95 .22 Hornet, it had been awhile since I had done any load development with it maybe ten years or more, it's a shame I really love this little rifle.

I had some supplies left over but was getting low on some items so I ordered some bullets, Sierra 45 grain Hornet soft point, Speer 45 grain soft point, Hornady 45 grain Hornet Spire Point, and a resupply of 40 grain V-max which this rifle seems to really like. But to my surprise the Hornady 45 grain Hornet Spire Point had changed shape. So I was interested to see if there was any difference in performance on target. I long ago ruled out all powders other than Hodgdon Lil'Gun. None others even come close to the performance of this powder, delivering higher velocity and better accuracy in the .22 Hornet than any other.

I also ordered a box of Hornady 45 grain Hornet Spire Point Factory loads. I always hope to find a factory load that satisfies me but in reality seldom do, I'm a handloader and it looks as if I will always be, even as I look to simplify and downsize I still load for 41 calibers. No one needs more than a .223 and .308 unless going for big things and then maybe a .375 H&H but I just can't do it. So off I go to the range with my .22 Hornet. I've used this gun in Africa to take many of the small antelope and even a few medium such as Blesbuck. I have even taken a few monkeys with it. I really like this gun and it did not disappoint at the range.

Some things were the same, it likes the 40 grain V-max seated long with 13 grains of Lil'Gun, Winchester Cases, and small pistol primers. These loads were 13.1 grains simply because my Jones powder measure throws either 12.9 or 13.1 and I chose 13.1. Some things have changed, the new Hornady 45 grain Hornet Spire point is visually a different shape and pleasantly more accurate than my ten year old stock.

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[mchughcb]

Great shooting there Bob. I could never get my brno to shoot like that.

That rifle is in damn good condition compared to mine.

[SPEEDY]

I've seen some damn accurate Brunos over the years but never any that stunning.
But there's a lot of fun trying new things with an old squeeze, it keeps things fresh and interesting.

[stokesrj]

Great shooting there Bob. I could never get my brno to shoot like that.

That rifle is in damn good condition compared to mine.

I am pretty sure that if it had killed as many Sambar as your's it would be in similar condition. I take really good care of my gear, but it greaves me not that any shows honest wear. However, I have disdain for careless handling of fine equipment. Some I know, would have worn this K95 down to bare wood and exposed metal on the hunts I have had it on, which I find totally unnecessary and poor stewardship of what should be passed on from generation to generation. I finished my first grand slam of Turkeys with my Grandfather's Winchester Model 12. He bought this gun in 1935 and it has killed thousands of quail, ducks, rabbits, turkeys, squirrels, deer and such. Has been back to the factory twice to rebuild worn internal parts but it is still a handsome gun and still in use today.

[SPEEDY]

Old guns are like that, my grandpa's old gun is like that.
It's by a long shot the least value gun I own and I doubt that I could sell it even if I wanted to, nobody would want to pay for it.
But I will keep it forever and with any luck pass it on one day.

[stokesrj]

I had another good range day today with the K95 .22 Hornet. When I was done with load development testing I had 13 rounds left of a load that was good but not the best. It was the 40 grain V-Max over 12.5 grains of Lil'Gun and CCI small pistol primer. I decided to just see what it would do shooting all 13 as fast as I could without letting the barrel cool at all. I just love this gun, see the pics.

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[mchughcb]

I know how you feel. Every time I take out my break action blasers i have a smile on my face. That is a sweet little gun.

[O4ak95]

That's some serious accuracy there Bob. Well done. What scope are you using? Did the barrel warm up much ? I've found with my 1949 Brno hornet it takes a hell of a lot to make the barrel hot.

[SPEEDY]

There's something about that one gun you love, it might not get used the most or even be the most expensive, but when you do take it out it just feels extra special.

[Corjack]

My bd14 likes the factory Hornady ammo you tested.

[stokesrj]

My bd14 likes the factory Hornady ammo you tested.

My K95 shoots the Hornady 45 grain factory load okay, around 1 MOA, I was hoping for better. But, that is good enough for most uses. I read the 45 grain Hornady is a slow killer on woodchucks and that the 35 grain V-Max is much more decisive. My K95 also shoots the 35 grain factory load much more accurately but it suffers horribly in the wind.

I've settled on the 40 grain V-Max and 13 grains of little gun for varmints and the 45 grain Hornady SP Hornet and 13 grains of Lil'Gun for larger game. I've taken quite a few deer and african antelope with the 45 grain Winchester soft point pictured. It also isn't that great for accuracy but it is good enough for Hornet ranges and kills well.

[stokesrj]

That's some serious accuracy there Bob. Well done. What scope are you using? Did the barrel warm up much ? I've found with my 1949 Brno hornet it takes a hell of a lot to make the barrel hot.

The scope is the Swarovski Z3 3-10X42 with BRX reticle. It is a happy coincidence that the berm behind our 400 yard targets (467 yards) is the perfect distance for the bottom stadia wire. I like to line up 12 clay pigeons along the berm and see how many shots it takes me to break all 12 with the little Hornet. My best to date is 15 shots in favorable wind. This is a real test of wind reading skills and just a lot of fun to watch the path of the bullet through the scope arc up, bend in the wind, and descend onto the clay pigeon. I can break 12/12 no problem with my 6mm BR but the 22 Hornet is a much more challenging test of wind reading skills.

The Hornet doesn't heat the barrel very fast at all. At the end of these thirteen shots I could hold the barrel for 4 or five seconds before having to let go. Even a .223 will burn flesh with as many rounds at this rate of fire.

[MM]

Bob, have you ever gone in the other direction with the hornet and tried any quiet sub sonic loads? I have read that some people load a magnum primer no powder and a .22 air rifle pellet and get an accurate cap gun loud load that is accurate and a good squirrel killer. What do you think?

[stokesrj]

I haven't tried that direction but have read the same thing. Corjack was talking about trying a hard cast bullet and Trailboss as well. I don't think he ever got around to it but I could be wrong. Perhaps he will see this and chime in.
I have a Benjamin Woods Walker that I carry for that purpose especially when bow hunting. It is a Precharged Pneumatic 8 shot .22 with a red dot and a silencer. The pellet hitting the squirrel is twice as loud as the shot.Woodswalker

[SPEEDY]

Bob, have you ever gone in the other direction with the hornet and tried any quiet sub sonic loads? I have read that some people load a magnum primer no powder and a .22 air rifle pellet and get an accurate cap gun loud load that is accurate and a good squirrel killer. What do you think?

I used to do that in a 223rem eithva case modified to take a shotgun primer.
Rifle primers didn't have enough oomph for a pellet in the 223 case but the reduced capacity of a hornet case should make it work better.
Actually drilling it out to take a magnum large rife primer would definitely give much needed oomph that I suspect the small rifle primer wouldn't.