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THE recipe for Hornet happiness is:
Rem 6 1/2 (NOT 7 1/2) - OR small pistol primer
FL-sized brass (your choice)
13.0 LilGun
40 or 45-grain bullet designed for the Hornet.
Moderate Lee Factory Crimp
Here's why ...
Hornet inaccuracy can be traced to premature and inconsistent bullet release from the case. The brass is very thin, which means very little bullet pull. The bullet is very light, meaning very little resistance. And the case is very small, meaning the primer is enough to completely unseat the bullet. All three must be countered.
In reverse order, then: use a very mild primer. The Rem 6 1/2 was designed for the Hornet and Bee and is very mild. If you can't get those, use any small pistol primer EXCEPT Winchester, which are very hot. I like CCI or Federal.
I partial FL-size my brass, stopping the size die when there is still a short, visible "collar" of unsized neck. About a millimeter or 1/16" is enough. That centers the case in the chamber well, but still sizes the body. I prefer WW brass, but RP is fine.
LilGun powder has a low peak pressure but a very broad pressure curve in the Hornet. That means it delivers high velocity but low pressures - and with a case that has as little metal around the primer pocket as the Hornet, you REALLY need to keep pressures down or blow a lot of primers!
Lil gun burns best when contained a bit. That's why it performs much better with heavier bullets. My rifle definitely prefers 45s, but many shoot well with 40s. Velocity will be as high with the heavier bullets as with very light ones, simply because LilGun burns better under the heavy ones. If your magazine is long enough for them, the VMax or similar work very well. Otherwise, go to the semi-pointed bullets that say "Hornet" on the box.
Lastly, you really MUST crimp those light bullets into that thin neck to keep the bullet firmly in place until the LilGun is completely ignited. The Lee FCD crimps any bullet, cannelure or not and does it without collapsing/bulging the case neck. Bulging is why the regular roll crimp won't work well with the Hornet. The neck is too thin and ANY downward force will buckle it. The FCD applies no downward force.
Most rifles will shoot this load at 2800 fps (versus 2650 with factory 45-gr ammo) and groups sub-inch when the wind isn't blowing. I can usually squeeze five into .6" on a good day. Yours will, too.
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