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D). All of the above.
Why the hornet likes a crimp I don't know. I have used un-crimped and shooting and grouping were not top shelf, take the same loads and crimping and group size shrunk by a large margin.
Now by crimping I do not mean swaging the bullet down to 17 caliber. Usually a light crimp suffices.
Powder choices in my rifles and pistols that worked for me in order of best down were Lil Gun, 1680 and 296. Best bullets were, now sit down and take a deep breath, 46gr Speer Flat Point for the 218 BEE, and then the 45gr RN Hornet by Sierra.
For the Speer bullet, when the cases were properly trimmed I could crimp in the factory cannelure and the rounds were just a few thousandths off the lands. Talk about getting lucky. It almost? always shoots between .6 & .9. Thats minute of Gopher and plenty good for 'yotes and Fox.
Another ground shaking event is I like Nickel cases for this round. They are stiffer and I use Dom's method of sizing. Hornet brass is dainty. The less you work it the better.
The Contender Carbine that houses one of my Hornets is my favorite. I use it mostly when I go out on Cross Country Skis. I have a Harness for it thats similar to the Harness used by Biathlon Shooters. The similarity ends there, I can't shoot near as good as those youngins. As far as shooting goes I think the sun rises and sets in their butt crack. Try going out and running top speed for a mile, then pick up your rifle and shoot and keep all your shots on a 50 cent piece at 50 yards. I bow to those people and hold them in high regard.
My system works well except in times of peril. A few years ago I was out with my rig and x Countrying and had a Back Spasm. I was a few miles from my truck and all I could do was walk back on my hands and knees. It was a toasty -15°. I called my friend up on the cell and told him what was happening. I was about 50 miles from home. I always carry a survival pack so I wasn't too worried.
Back to the Hornet. Primers can make a world of difference also. I switched to Pistol primers also when I was experimenting with other powders. !0 plus grains of powder isn't hard to light up in a small capacity case. Be gentle.
I have probably spent more time tweaking the Hornet than any round I've ever worked with. When you find something that works, keep it and never deviate again, unless you are into self abuse. For ol' geezers like me it is a perfect way to spend a lot time fiddleing.
The Hornet is one of those diminishing return things. And when you have finished you have at best a 200 yard rifle. But you can always look in the mirror and say, " Damn that was fun".
Best wishes, Bill
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