So which cartridge for the The Hornet Project?

So I've been doing a bit of research into what might be a suitable cartridge for The Hornet Project. Other than the need for a rimmed cartridge, there are not too many prerequisites.  Of course, nothing "big" as I really don't want to get too close my .220 Swift.

I've complied a list of interesting cartridges - a wildcat would be my preference.  At the top end are chamberings based on the .30/30 Winchester case; probably too big, but I thought it might be worth exploring with names like the .219 Zipper or the .219 Donaldson Wasp!

Best define the task before I take this any further.  So we're calling it a small pest or "varmint" hunting rifle for ranges of 200 - 300 yards; so a bit further than the old .22 Hornet can stretch, but not treading on the toes of the Swift, the .22/250 or the .219's listed above. We know it's a single shot as the action is sitting on the shelf already. I'm quite keen on a rifle with some weight - so not a walk about rifle - which means a bipod will probably be part of the furniture (not being a huge fan of the bipod on a hunting rifle). So a heavy, accurate rifle, sitting on bipods, a high power variable scope for the long range sniping and ultimately we might want to see some misting - so low recoil for maximum visibility on target engagement would be a plus.

So the Hornet as a parent case it is! 

I had a great chat with Tony Argent of TSE Engineering about barrel options for this project at the recent SCI Convention.  By the end of that discussion, I was thinking that a stainless steel barrel left at "blank profile" with a scallop machined into each side to mate with the flat action sides might be the go. No fancy fluting; just straight. Tony liked the sound of it as much as I did.

Also having a chat with Dave Kiff of Pacific Tool & Gauge, Inc. about some of the Hornet wildcat reamers they have blueprints for in case it gets difficult to find something usable down the road. I do have a local contact who might be able to help out with an exotic reamer, so next step is to tee up a get together to see what he's got in his cupboard.

Bit more research for now as any spare funds have been redirected to the elephant hunt rather than this project.  Maybe I'll have chosen a case and possibly even start some of the smithing before the safari?

 

An action in hand

The NSW Firearms Registry managed to process my Permit To Acquire in record time and I received my PTA late last week; no action in sight and the official paperwork burning a hole in my pocket. The Greengrass Antique and Modern Arms Fair is on this weekend.  What I should have done is grabbed the kids and headed over for a bit of a look-see as to what was on the tables. That was the plan.

I've had my eye on a couple of old Martinis for sale on usedguns.com.au and firearmsales.com.au; one a BSA chambered in .22 Hornet and the other a Sportco conversion in .222 Rimmed. The .222 looked like it had seen a lot more love, but it was listed at nearly twice the cost of the Hornet. 

Wait till the weekend or just lock in the BSA? It doesn't take much to miss an opportunity and more often than not when I pass something up it's never there when I go back to grab it,  so I rang the seller and we agreed to a price. Done. We have an action.

She's not much to look at right now and with only a quick look at the rifle the other night, I can tell you it's well used and seen better days.I just hope that the corrosion on the outer walls of the action has not caused any pitting in the vast steel flats - it would be a shame to have to lose both the Commonwealth of Australia stamping and the Birmingham Small Arms logo (with it's three Martinis). Got to sort out the calibre next, new barrel and get working on a stock.

A day out with the Anschutz

A mate of mine has found himself the owner of a very desirable stately residence in the rolling green hills of the Southern Highlands. Amongst Joe's many new responsibilities, which include slashing paddocks and pulling fireweed, is vertebrate pest control.  Joe's most recent acquisition, an Anschutz Model 1730 chambered in .22 Hornet is going to be his primary tool for fox control. The Anschutz and a tin whistle.

The Anschutz is a fine looking rifle. It feels good in my hands, well balanced.  Wood to metal fit is lovely and the metal is very nicely finished, both inside and out. Plastic bits? There's a plastic moulding on the magazine release and the knob on the bolt handle is machined from plastic as well; I don't quite understand the bolt knob, but I guess the bluing won’t wear off?  Optics. Not one to skimp, Joe's little Hornet wears an Austrian Kahles 3-9 x 40mm with a post and duplex reticle; very nice.

Joe needed the rifle sighted-in as it was a bit noisy for plugging away a box or two of ammo on his block.  The Stockade had a few boxes of Highland AX so I grabbed them on the way home from the office and headed out to the farm with the girls. The girls are quite comfortable with gunfire and with their little earmuffs on, they giggle at the crack of a rifle.  Good times with dad…

With sandbags set up across the bonnet, I fired about 40 rounds down by the woolshed. Once the Anschutz was printing where I wanted I focused on consistent grouping.   

The biggest group for the morning just touched an inch; that’s totally me, I’m not very passionate about punching paper. The tightest group went 0.295”. 

So this little Anschutz certainly has the goods, but I’m not too keen on a bolt-action repeater for this project.  And is the Hornet the exotic little mid-range varminter I’m looking for? Hmmm…The .22 Hornet made its commercial debut around 1930 and was a “new round” simply because it used smokeless powder in the much older blackpowder case – the .22 Winchester Center Fire (WCF). The .22 WCF had been around since 1885. I suppose it was one of the first high velocity small bore cartridges designed primarily for varmint hunting. Exotic? Probably not.

I’ve been looking around at the cartridge options based on a rimmed case, preferably based on the Hornet, but as long as it’s rimmed I’m happy. SO what’s out there?  Without too much effort I found the well-known .22 K-Hornet and the .22 Ackley Improved.  In addition to these improved chamberings, I also found the following; some common and others not so:

• .17 Hornet, .17 Ackley Hornet;
• .17 Ackley Bee, .17 Bumble Bee;
• .19 Calhoon (Hornet); 
• .218 Bee, .218 Mashburn Bee;
• the Squirrel range - .17, .19 and .20 cal;
• .219 Donaldson Wasp, .219 Zipper and .219 Zipper Improved;
• .22 Long Snapper; and the
• .222 Rimmed; 
  

What my time with the Anschutz Hornet did confirm was that this little cartridge has the report and recoil that will make the rifle a joy to shoot. A rifle with some weight will keep the rifle steady and a high cheek piece with a bit of rollover will bring the scope up nicely.

  

Best do some research on these calibres and makes some decisions. No work has started, but the search for a suitable action continues. Hopefully the The Greengrass Antique and Modern Arms Fair in February will yield some results.

The Hornet Project begins...

At 13 my father took me to Horsley Park Gun Shop to buy my first rifle - a .22LR. I had been doing my research and as an avid reader of Sporting Shooter and the ASJ from age 11; I knew that the .22 Magnum was going to give me more range and power, so while dad chatted to his mate Peter Abela, I snuck a Marlin 25MN passed dad's radar; he was a shotgunner and wasn't concerned with the details of my new rifle. It was good fun for a few years and the old man was constantly amazed at how much farther I could take a rabbit with my magnum than he could with his Browning A5.  

In 1995 I was spending quite a bit of time with a mate of mine who was using a .224 Clark on rabbits out to 1000 yards on his property in the Wyangala catchment in central western NSW. I wanted to explore my ability to effectively hunt small game at long range and I had my heart set on a serious varmint cartridge, but the .224 Clark was just too potent for me at the time, and with no relevant experience, it was far too much of a varminter for a beginner. That year, Remington released their VSSF rifle and at about the same time the .220 Swift fell back into favour and was being chambered by all of the major manufacturers, including Remington.

And so it came to be that I purchased a Remington Model 700 VSSF chambered in .220 Swift and topped it with a Leupold VX-III 6.5-20x40mm. I shot it for a few months before fitting a Hart 2oz trigger; great bit of gear but it meant I no longer had a safety (nothing lost there!) and rather annoyingly at first, there was no bolt stop!

The Remington Model 700 VSSF .220 Swift with Leupold VX-III 6.5-20 x 40mm; 

this fox was called last winter in the NSW central tablelands.

Together this little bit of kit and I tormented bunnies and foxes at stupid distances. Before calicivirus hit our patch, we would throw a blanket over a slab of granite and take an esky along and burn an MTM case full of ammo in half a day. That changed over night and the Swift became a one shot rifle - I had to lug it around all day to get one shot off and that put every rabbit on the property to ground - that's both rabbits these days!  A lot of noise and with so few rabbits about it was a lot of gun to carry for the ability to reach out and touch one rabbit. 

So it’s been back to stalking blackberry-choked gullies and trawling the paddocks with the light, so I’ve turned back to my rimfire. And the rabbits generally stay just out of reach. I need to find some middle ground.

- - - - - - - - - -

For a long time now I've been considering adding a .22 Hornet to the stable. Not too noisy - not as noisy - and much better performance than a rimfire, more than doubling my effective hunting range with the .22 Magnum. When I say "considering a .22 Hornet", I mean that I really want a .218 Bee or something similarly compact and somewhat uncommon; I'm also partial to any of the Ackley Improved versions of the Hornet and it will be fun deciding. Something I could reload for and have a bit of fun with would be perfect; but it can't be just any rifle though.

The lovely Ruger No.1 Single Shot Rifle

As I get older my tastes are changing and the experience is much more valuable than the tally shooting of the 90's.  I have something specific in mind, ideally, a Ruger No.1 single shot– the old Farquharson hammerless, falling block rifle action. I figure if I do find a No.1, I'm more likely to stumble across one chambered for the Hornet than anything else and I'd be quite satisfied with that. So what are the odds of finding a suitably sized Ruger No.1 action?  Very slim I expect!

Perhaps given the scarcity of the Ruger No.1 on the second hand market, I should give up and look for another little Martini; much more likely to be found in a compact centrefire wildcat? The .310 Cadet I have was sleeved to .22 and converted to rimfire and is a great little rifle - nice to look at and easy to shoot. But I digress... back to the Hornet.

My Martini is a .22LR Sportco conversion, customised in the mid-1990's

 

The search for a suitable action begins.  The beginning of The Hornet Project!