whats happening ( 22 hornet )

zrexpilot · 02-09-2009, 12:32 PM

I am just startting to reload for the very first time.
I have a rock chucker and just got the rcbs dies.
I tried my first shell, this is the way it came out of the resizer, what going on. its putting these dents in it about 3 or 4 places around the case.

skb2706 · 02-09-2009, 12:40 PM

Don't put lube on the outside of the case that close to the neck. Just below the shoulder. Especially on those thin cases dents come from trapped lube. Some size dies have a vent hole to relieve the air or trapped lube from that area, some do not. Just use lube on the main body of the case and you won't get dents like that.

zrexpilot · 02-09-2009, 12:53 PM

where should I set the depth of the pin that pushes out the primer

Pygmy · 02-09-2009, 01:30 PM

Yup... Too much lube on the neck..The dents are not a technical problem, but simply a cosmetic one....They will fire form to the chamber when you fire the cartridge..

I set my decapping pin just far enough down to punch out the used primer...

Pawildman · 02-09-2009, 02:18 PM

........Yeah, those are lube dents for sure. Do what the other guys said...also, don't forget to lightly lube the INSIDE of the case mouth...a Q-tip works good. That way you can keep a little lube on the expander plug and keep from getting into a "sticky" situation. Pun intended........

HEAD0001 · 02-09-2009, 07:19 PM

The 22 Hornet is one of the most finicky cartridges there is to reload. You did pick a tough one to start with. But you should still be able to do it very well with a little practice, and some suggestions.

The necks on the hornet are very thin. Therefore they will crush very easily. If you have the standard RCBS dies then seating can be a little difficult. It is very easy to get your bullet misaligned in the case. Or in other words it is easy to mess up your runout(bullet perfectly in alignment with the case). Also since the necks are thin it is easy to smash or slightly get your neck out of round while seating. You will actually feel that when seating the bullet. It will feel like you are "smashing" the case with the bullet. An easy way to prevent this is to take a pair of tweasers and hold the bullet(as close to the base as possible) while you run the bullet up into the seater die. You want to hold the bullet as straight up and down as possible. The straighter you hold it the less run out you will have.

I do not use the priming pin in my dies. I use a RCBS depriming die. That Hornet hole is a hard hole to hit.

I also do not use theresizing buttonfor 22 Hornet resizing. But that is another thread. Tom.

falcon · 02-10-2009, 03:29 AM

The 22 Hornet is one of the most finicky cartridges there is to reload. You did pick a tough one to start with. But you should still be able to do it very well with a little practice, and some suggestions.

+1
Been reloading the .22 Hornet and K-Hornet for 50 years. Most US Hornets made in the past 30 or so years have very sloppy chambers. European made Hornets do not have this problem. Case life with the .22 Hornet is short: Do not full length resize your cases. Good luck with your reloading. Read this article on the .22 Hornet.
http://www.huntingmag.com/guns_loads/22_hornet/

zrexpilot · 02-10-2009, 08:42 AM

ok too much lube was the problem.
next
falcon you say the chambers are sloppy and not to FL resize but my spent brass is shorter and smaller than specs, after resizing it came right back to specs not even needing to length trim.
these were shot out of my NEF.
You guys have to bare with me, I ordered a couple of books along with some supplies, been reading a bit on the internet but thats it so far.
All I did yesterday was deprime and resize. havent loaded anything yet.

HEAD0001 · 02-10-2009, 01:56 PM

The nice thing about reloading is that you can try a lot of diffent things, for a reasonable price. If your brass is slightly under spec. after shooting, that may not be a big deal. Try shooting a few rounds with the brass under spec. It will not hurt anything, and you may have a slightly smaler chamber.

Since you have a single shot the only thing you need to worry about is the gap between the receiver and the barrel. If you have access to a "feeler gauge" then you should measure that gap.

I only neck size all my single shot cases, and I do not even concen myself with factory "spec". Chamber "spec" is all that really matters. And each chamber is slightly different.

Try the fired brass first. You might be pleasantly suprised. Tom.

Ridge Runner · 02-10-2009, 02:00 PM

just resize enough so that the gun locks back up on a resized case with a firm snap, then ya know your running minimal headspace.
RR