Savage M40 Hornet in the shop

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  • Last Post 22 August 2017
tturner53 posted this 01 March 2016

I've finally broke down and sent my Savage M40 .22 Hornet Varminter in to the Savage repair shop. They've had it for a couple weeks. The original warranty is way expired but the nice person on the phone says they'll cover it. It's a shooter but has major extraction issues. (It's about $50 to mail a rifle these days!) I'm told the gunsmith worked on it, sent it to 'function' area, and got it back. So we'll see. I have no clue how this will turn out but I'm crossing my fingers. It could be a small bore contender here.    This model was discontinued and had a well known issue with extraction. Now they make the Model 25 instead. That may be where I'm headed. I'll follow up here when I know more.  It would be nice to have a combination that will give John A. a run for his money re. .22s!

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Ed Harris posted this 02 March 2016

Looking forward to the range report and pictures.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 02 March 2016

help! our 22 matches are being attacked by savages !! ...

just kidding ...when i wuz a poor farm boy my buddy had a 340? savage in 22 hornet ... we reloaded for it and had a great time ...oh, it didn't extract very well ... heh ...

hmmm . wonder if there is room on those bolts for an m16 extractor ?? the spring might be a problem .

ken

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Wineman posted this 03 March 2016

My favorite Hornet was a H&R “Topper” single shot in the mid 1970's. Accurate and with a 6x Scope night raids on Palmdale Jackrabbits was easy money. If only the trigger was not like a clothes pin and rubber band... I used the Hornaday SX 40 grain bullets and IIRC 2400, (possibly 4227?). The barrels were 12 gauge diameter with a 22 cal hole in the middle. Super stiff. Most of my brass was USGI AF stuff from survival packs. Gun shows had it by the bucket then. I hated that long skinny neck. I probably had 1 out of 7 that I jimmied the neck trying to seat the bullets. Hey when you are 16, WTH. I shot TT's and yep it was a pain, although I thought it was a CZ. Hornets for all thanks to G Wotkyns and Col Whelen!

Dave

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Westhoff posted this 10 March 2016

A friend of mine “gifted” me with a Savage Model 340 Series E in .22 Hornet. I'm not sure this guy knows exactly how many rifles he owns, but every time he comes out to the range (several times a week) he seems to have a couple or three new ones, He doesn't shoot cast; most of his rifles are under .30 cal. and most of his groups are little tiny things.

When he handed me the rifle, he said “Here, see if you can make this shoot cast bullets."

I've been trying, now, for most of 2 years. So far, results are poor and VERY frustrating!

Any suggestions will be humbly welcomed!

Wes

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 10 March 2016

mr. wes:: first get a baseline by testing it with mj bullets ...

then do a chamber cast/lead-upset.

then get back to ... will our 6 rules for cast bullet accuracy work ??

ken

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tturner53 posted this 10 March 2016

Yep. See what it'll do with some factory stuff or jacketed handloads. _I'm waiting to hear what is the deal with my Savage. I'm guessing their best old smith is getting stubborn with it. We'll see.

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tturner53 posted this 23 March 2016

My Savage M40 is back from the warranty repair shop. No improvement. An invoice included with it stated the work done, all no charge. I'm thankful for that as it is no better at all as far as extracting fired cases. This problem is very common with this model. It got discontinued. The up side is Savage gave it a shot even though the warranty is way expired. It came back with 9 fired Hornady cases. Maybe I'll try a box of those before giving up. I assume the fired brass is supposed to indicate something, they just don't say what.

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Larry Gibson posted this 24 March 2016

tturner53

I also have a M40 Savage 22 Hornet. So far I've not had any extraction issues. It is an excellent shooter being the most accurate 22 Hornet I've ever had.  I've had many 22 Hornets, old and new, over the last 45 years and still have a Ruger #3, 10” and a 21” Contenders and the M40. A friend also has a M25 and he had the same extraction issues you have. He sent it back to Savage and they replaced the extractor with a new “redesigned” extractor. So far as I know his is functioning well now.

I'm taking my M40 to the range tomorrow to check the zero. I will report back with any problems. Sorry just a jacketed load.

LMG

Concealment is not cover.........

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 24 March 2016

hi tt::

if new unfired factory cases extract ok, maybe a small base sizer would be a crutch fix ???

could be a simple hole ...???0.298 ?? without looking up the spec ..... in a mild steel bar ... kinda like a lyman hammer sizer ...

hey i have an old herters sizer that is tight on my hornets ... i will ship it out if that interests you . pm me if .

anyway small base sizers work ok for a remmy 742

note i mention crutch fix ..heh...

ken

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tturner53 posted this 25 March 2016

Thankyou both for the input and help. I'll try a few more approaches and see what happens. Hang on to that Herter's die, I may end up there. My dream was just using the Lee collet die, a lazy man's nirvana. For starters I'll break down and buy some jazzy factory ammo. Kind of a starting point.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 25 March 2016

further hornet trivia ... i bot a take-off barrel for my ruger77h ...i set it back a thread and rechambered with a saami reamer ... just for general approach ...

meanwhile my helpful buddy loaded me up a cigar box of 35 gr. hornady full power loads ... cases previously shot in his contender ..neck sized

they are real tight in my ruger ...

but my 77h extractor ( little rocking hook type ) .... so far pulls them out just fine .

this extractor set is cheaper than a m16 conversion .... so people like me that can't resist fixing unbroken things might do that conversion for you ... if everything else fails .

ken, adding to the world's supply of trivia

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Larry Gibson posted this 26 March 2016

Shot 35 rounds

Concealment is not cover.........

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Larry Gibson posted this 26 March 2016

Bolt face    

Concealment is not cover.........

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Larry Gibson posted this 26 March 2016

Bottom view    

Concealment is not cover.........

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Larry Gibson posted this 26 March 2016

Side view    

Concealment is not cover.........

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tturner53 posted this 02 April 2016

Update; I bit the bullet and bought a box of Hornady factory ammo and shot some yesterday. All went 100% a-ok. Then I tried some handloads using Hornady's 45 gr Hornet bullet in full length sized WW brass. Again, all a-ok. Tried factory PPU ammo-stuck case first shot. So, things are better than they were. Maybe the FL sizing is the key. When I get some more fun money I may just dump this M40 and get a CZ. I don't like picky guns.

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M3 Mitch posted this 18 August 2017

What load are you shooting in this rifle?  I know some people get good accuracy with cast in the Hornet up to nearly full jacketed bullet velocity/pressure.

Your last post may be the answer, just to full-length size for this particular rifle.

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JSH posted this 19 August 2017

I am no Hornet guru. I have worked with a total of three. I started with virgin brass. I FL size the virgin. I usually shoot them twice, then trim to equal OAL. I then use the collet die. If the brass acts up, it gets FL sized. The only 22hornet I have at the moment is a M40. I bought it going in knowing there may be issues. I have had none as of yet.

I think the hornet is like a few other cartridges, it has seen some "changes". I know I know SAMMI, non the less there are some changes of various improvements from the manufactures. Think not? Look at the shoulder on 30-30 fired brass out of several different guns, position and angle can vary, same with 7-30 Waters. 38-40 and 44-40 come to mind too Jeff

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400jeffery posted this 19 August 2017

Somehow the newer hornets seem to have sooo many more issues than the older one's do, or at least it seems that way. I always had this thing for a hornet since I was young and was able to secure a Savage from the 1950's era. Have never had any issues with this one either with jwords or my cast. I count my lucky stars every time I take it out, so much fun.

 

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dualsport posted this 22 August 2017

Tturner53 here. Incognito. I have been distracted by motorcycles. Got 5 now. Still cheaper than horses anyway. My hornet is collecting dust while I blast around the Golden State on 2 wheels. Maybe I should just sell the M40? So many toys and so... (To be continued..)

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RicinYakima posted this 22 August 2017

Glad to hear you are having fun Tim! Keep up the good work! Ric

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