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Old 06-25-2018, 02:55 PM
flyrod flyrod is offline
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Default 5.7x29, Spitwad, L-Hornet etc.

Hello, this is my first post here. This looks like a nice forum that has a particular interest in small varmint rounds so I thought I'd share an old project of mine.

I have a few 22 Hornets that are great for shooting high volume on the cheap. However, two of them are single shots, and the other has a whopping 6-round magazine that only works with stubby bullets. I picked up a 30-round 30 Carbine magazine years ago and thought it would be neat to make a small 22 varmint rifle using it. So the 30 Carbine necked down to 22 is the Spitfire. I picked up a spitfire reamer, but the problem with the spitfire is that pointy 22 bullets don't fit a 30 Carbine magazine. I decided that I could just run the 5.7 Spitfire reamer in short to be able to use long pointy bullets in the 30 Carbine magazine. The plastic tipped bullets like the Nosler Ballistic Tip give the longest loaded cartridge length, which is limited to 1.69" by the magazine. The cases start at normal 30 Carbine length at 1.28" and by forming and trimming them to 1.15" I can use any bullet I want loaded out near the lands. This gives a case capacity of around 14.8 grains, which is approximately 1.5 grains more than a 22 Hornet. As expected, moderate loads in this configuration slightly exceed the performance of the 22 Hornet. So I can use all the same components I have on hand for the Hornets. My favorite varminting load is the 40 grain Ballistic tip, and my cheap plinking round is milsurp 55 grain FMJ. I've also had good luck cutting the back ends off of surplus tracer tips to yield a 40gr FMJ. The barrel I'm using is 9-twist so I can shoot whatever cheap 22 bullets I can find.

I wonder if anyone else has already done this wildcat cartridge? It's not radically different from the FN 5.7x28mm round, so I could call this one a 5.7x29 or 5.7x30. Or I could call it a 5.7 Spitfire Short, or maybe a Spitwad for being smaller, but hardly anyone has heard of the Spitfire anyway. For me, it's the Hornet I always wanted and one-ups the K-Hornet, so maybe L-Hornet fits?

So basically it's like a 22 Hornet with a bit more oomph that works well in the numerous 30 Carbine magazines and uses cheap and available reloading components. I'm already building another little bolt action to use these magazines and this round. Pet load is 13gr of W297, pistol primers, and a 40gr plastic tip at around 3200fps from a 20" barrel. When the big guns are cooling down this one gets to play.

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Old 06-25-2018, 03:45 PM
Daryl Daryl is offline
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Looks like a lot of fun. After getting Ackley's books back
in the mid 70's, I figured a Spitfire or .17Carbine IMP would be a lot of fun.
Well done flyrod, Welcome to Jim's small bore forum. what I had in mind, was a
straight-pull repeater (no car rod) using an M1 Carbine action & magazines.
I worked up loads with both Lil'Gun and W296 in both of my CZ Hornet that
matched your 40gr. at 3,200fps, but that is definitely better than the weaker
hornets..
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Old 06-25-2018, 04:20 PM
visiter1 visiter1 is offline
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man i would love one in 17 hornet version best of luck very intresting
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Old 06-25-2018, 09:32 PM
georgeld georgeld is offline
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Welcome to the board.

Be nice to see where you're located.

At first I thought you had a typo. 5.7 case is 28mm.
After reading I see why the 29mm and not even a 5.7 case to start with.

You'd have another dandy by necking it down to .17 next.
Though, that's been done since the 1940's by Ackeley himself: .17 PeeWee.

You're off to a great start though, keep working on it.
Are you a fuzzy pest buster with that toy?
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Old 06-26-2018, 03:50 PM
moorepower moorepower is offline
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Sweet! Love the idea.
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Old 07-08-2018, 02:51 PM
flyrod flyrod is offline
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Thanks for the replies guys. It does work well off a bipod popping PD while the 243 cools down. I know the 17 and 20 cal stuff is popular here, but I could never get into it. The bullets seem just as expensive as 22, and the BC isn't as good. Plus I'd need a new cleaning rod, etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daryl View Post
I worked up loads with both Lil'Gun and W296 in both of my CZ Hornet that matched your 40gr. at 3,200fps
The Spitwad could go a bit quicker with more pressure or barrel, but the main goal was to duplicate the hornet with a 30 round mag. I have a ruger 77/22 hornet with the heavy/long barrel, and the rifle is basically full size. Even the receiver is pretty much full length for some reason. The howa mini in 223 packs more performance in a smaller package.
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Old 07-08-2018, 03:25 PM
foxhunter foxhunter is offline
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welcome, looks like fun! necking the case down to 17 creates it's own set of problems. you have to anneal the necks or you will get blow back around the case neck as the brass is to hard to expand and seal the chamber. hope you don't run into this with your case.
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Old 07-12-2018, 03:48 PM
moorepower moorepower is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flyrod View Post
Thanks for the replies guys. It does work well off a bipod popping PD while the 243 cools down. I know the 17 and 20 cal stuff is popular here, but I could never get into it. The bullets seem just as expensive as 22, and the BC isn't as good. Plus I'd need a new cleaning rod, etc.



The Spitwad could go a bit quicker with more pressure or barrel, but the main goal was to duplicate the hornet with a 30 round mag. I have a ruger 77/22 hornet with the heavy/long barrel, and the rifle is basically full size. Even the receiver is pretty much full length for some reason. The howa mini in 223 packs more performance in a smaller package.
Compare the B.C. of a 40 grain .22 to a 40 grain .20. What rifle are you building that will accept the magazines?
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Old 07-17-2018, 04:52 AM
flyrod flyrod is offline
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I neck the brass down in two steps, then trim, then anneal, then expand slightly and turn if necessary. Annealing just before the expander ball makes the ID very uniform, so neck turning can cut the irregularity off the OD. I've found that 30 carbine brass varies quite a bit from different manufacturers. Some brass I need to neck turn, some I don't. The weight of the final case can be different by as much as 20%. The LC stuff is on the heavy side, and after sectioning a few I bet it can take a lot more pressure than what I've been giving it.

The latest rifle is a customized Howa Mini. These receivers are small, really well made, and CHEAP! I don't feel bad cutting on one. You can buy a barreled action from brownells, but usually the whole rifle is cheaper. The plastic stock sucks, but boyds and others are making stuff for the mini now. I actually used an old remington stock and glued it up to work. A CZ527 also works, but requires more cutting and the OEM barrel is a pain to get off.

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Old 08-01-2018, 07:46 PM
flyrod flyrod is offline
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I spent some more time with the spitwad. This short range stuff is easy. I have a bunch of random range brass that I've formed, so I just zip-zopped some charges and checked zero at 100 yards:



Those cases are 5 different head stamps. Good enough for me. Spent the rest of the batch giving flying lessons to some pd:



Almost as entertaining as ringing steel at a mile.
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