So, months ago, I picked up a Husky bolt action single shot which was advertised as ".22 Hornet". In a fit of 'bid before research', I end up on the hook by the time it comes to me that Husqvarna never (that I can find) made their little single shots in a Hornet. Well, too late because you won the auction buddy.

Upon receipt, I do a bit of research and find in several sources, the Hornet was the result of experiments using the .22WCF (.228" bullet) circa 1930. I believe this bit. There does not seem to be any consensus that I've seen as to why the 'Whelen crew' chose a .223" (later .224") bullet.

Germany, in a parallel development released the 5.6x35R which, according to several 'net sources, was "identical to the Hornet". This is often identified as a 5.6x35R Vierling. However, the Vierling is a reference to a four barreled long gun, usually with 2 shotgun barrels and 2 rifled barrels (sometimes differing calibers). Some sources date Germany's cartridge to the 1890's which predates the Hornet by quite a bit. Interesting to note the 5.6x35R specs out a 5.63mm(.2216") maximum bullet.

CIP and SAAMI drawings show these are two very similar but different cases. There is also considerable differences regarding the dimensions of both in various corners of the 'Inter-Webs'. To further complicate things, the Vierling is often presented as yet another cartridge.

The rifle turns out to be Husqvarna's Model 365 which was a heavy barreled rifle originally chambered in .22LR. Some unknown mechanic did an awful lot of high quality work converting it to centerfire, adding a second recoil lug as well as relocating the extractor and rechambering it.

Standard Hornet cases would chamber but the shoulder was pushed back. Further, the extractor struggled with the rim thickness; it worked, but the rims seemed to be a bit much. I proceeded under the assumption I had the metric caliber and thinned the rims of some new Hornet cases and shortened them by a skosh. These were then loaded with a combination of 45gr cast and .223" jacketed bullets using cast bullet data for the Hornet from Lyman's manual.

The first opportunity to fire this rifle was at CSA 2015. Rounds chambered, fired and extracted without issue but, due to the nature of The Holler, I was unable to see where they were going. The end result was a number of fired cases which were visibly different than the parent case and which matched, as near as I can measure, the CIP drawing.

Last night, I put it on paper....sort of. Fired braced, at 15 yards, 2 cast bullets hit the target....sideways. The destination of the third is anyone's guess. The single jacketed bullet fired showed the same inclination.

I spent the morning scrubbing the bore. It was dirty but I am only getting some very small traces of lead. The crown looks good. The rifling at the muzzle "seems" fainter than that at the breech but is still very visible.

Also having trouble getting a good bead on the twist. My cleaning rod is close enough to the bore diameter that it does not spin freely. I am assuming it is a 'standard' 1:16 for the LR which should stabilize a 45gr bullet.

We'll try again with a clean barrel and see if that changes things.

Long winded story but if there are other things to investigate, I would be happy to hear of them.

Thanks for the indulgence.

.

A chamber cast or maybe a pound cast of the throat might help sort things out along with knowing the diameter of the bore.

I believe it was Col Whelen was quoted as saying, :only accurate rifles are interesting"... nuf said......

Rebarreled with much slower twist? Really strange to go sideways at 15yds.

Land & groove size? Shallow?

Can you catch a slug and see if it is stripping the rifling? That would do it, by simulating an ultra slow twist.

Just a few ideas that you likely have thought of already,

I ran out of time for a bore slug today....maybe tomorrow. As for actual twist, it occurred to me that I have a 17 caliber rod and a fella might be able to stack a few patches on it and get a better reading.

All that said, it's the original Husky barrel so I am assuming (at least for now) that there is nothing unusual going on there, at least as far as what one would expect from a LR barrel. So, ~.222" groove diameter with a 1:16 twist or there'bouts.

I will probably slug it first all the way through, feeling for tight/loose spots. Then, I was thinking slug it from the breech for a little bit and then slug it from the muzzle a little bit...maybe 2-3" each. It might show me if there is a difference at the business end...or not.

As for Col. Whelen's apt quotation, a semblance of accuracy is what I'm trying to find. We've all done it to one degree or another, I think. If I wanted an 'out of the box' hole puncher, I'd have bought a Savage 110 or Ruger American and foregone the chase.

With much appreciation,
Hoot

Based on your measuring fired cases, am I correct in assuming you have not done a chamber casting yet? I would also highly encourage slugging the bore and see little point in theorizing much until you know it's actual dimensions. Once you are assured your cartridges are sized appropriately and have the proper diameter projectiles, then you can look into matching bullet length to rifling twist rate and projectile velocity, rifling irregularities, etc..

in a muchly disassembled shop. Long story, but I decided to move my shop to the other side of the basement. Still working on that...

I'll have to see how accessible it is and try for a quick cast. I know assumptions are dangerous but I am assuming that, other than the throat, it isn't going to show me much more than a fired case does. Slugging the bore is definitely on the docket...make sure nothing is out of the ordinary there. Twist will also be verified assuming the 17 caliber rod works as planned.

Not sure how I might recover a bullet to see if the rifling is stripped. Years past, we shot into snow banks out of which recovered bullets are largely undisturbed but we're actually a little short on snow this year....have to cogitate on this for a while.

Thanks!

I can relate to a buried shop, mine is a mess because of some other projects that have been ongoing for a few years, makes it very difficult to find anything. Should have bought you some cerro-safe at the gunshow a couple months ago, a guy had new bars for $1 each, if I had only known....

No worries; I have half a pound....buried in the pile.

As this project has been unfolding for several months, I expect a bit more time won't matter much. Besides, there's at least two more rifles needing a chamber cast.

I'm pretty sure the defining theme of my 'collection' is "Ooooo, shiny!!"

Is a good description for many people's collections, including mine, and there is nothing wrong with that at all. I have never understood people who could remain single minded, it just seems so boring. At the current time I have three vehicles being worked on, a house being remodeled, two machine tools being refurbished, am training a puppy and starting a business, and I live and work alone. The line up of projects waiting attention is long enough to keep me from getting bored for at least a century long, maybe two.