Greetings all !  New member here seeking information  regarding the 22 WCF cartridge.  I have a custom casting and ammo loading service in which I specialize in making bullets for obsolete cartridges as well as loading ammo for many of the old cartridges that were commonly in use in the heyday of single shot rifles.
I would like to add the 22 WCF to our inventory but lacking a test rifle will have to rely on the experience of others that do have and shoot the 22 WCF cartridge.
My questions mainly involve the cartridge case and its dimensions mainly dealing with rim thickness. To make it as simple as possible the first question is , ""  will 22 hornet brass fit a 22 WCF chamber without modification to the rim thickness?""
question #2 is to whomever is shooting a 22 WCF "" what are you using for brass ?""
It appears looking at cartridge drawings for both the 22 hornet and the 22 WCf that the shoulder is farther back on the wc case but that will not be a problem with a proper 22 wcf FL sizer die in hand.
I will greatly appreciate having a discussion on this subject with someone that has an original rifle chambered in 22 wcf or someone that has experience with one.
I have been offering through my service a 46gn .228" diameter bullet cast from an original Ideal mold stamped 22 wcf.  We have gotten positive feedback rom customers using this bullet to load the 22 wcf.  I would now like to add 22 wcf ammo to our inventory from our service.
In my own shooting with the 22 hornet I have duplicated the performance of the original 22 wcf black powder load that shot the 46gn bullet at 1550 fps.  For this I am shooting a 48gn plain base bullet using 2.9gn of AA#2 powder with the Remington #1 1/2 primer. This is a nicely accurate load and proven dependable to about 150 yards when employed to eliminate gophers from my pasture.
Thats about it for now so anyone with anything to share on this subject please do !

Thank you Sir for that !  That is what I expected would be the norm but I also expect there to be exceptions.
One more question about your rile if I may, when you loaded for it did you use hornet dies or did you use 22 wcf dies ?  I ask because the cartridge drawings show the hornet shoulder farther forward.  Reloading cases that had been fired in your rifle using hornet dies would work but the first firing with hornet brass with the shoulder forward may be an issue requiring 22 wcf dies to set the shoulder back a wee bit for the initial chambering.
The other possibility and is what I am hoping for is that there is so little dimensional difference between the two that it makes no difference.
I sure would like to find someone that currently has a rifle that would run a few tests for me. I would be happy to pay for the service with some .228" 46gn bullets appropriate for loading the 22 wcf.

Mine came with brass already formed in a proper die. Afterwards, I only sized the necks in a neck sizing die. Even at that, I never got good life out of them (or for my regular Hornet, either). That was one of the reasons why I was willing to let it go. 
Not sure of this, but before it ever gets shot, and subsequently formed, some of my Hornet cases have such a vague shoulder that perhaps they might have gone into a .22WCF chamber if it were not too snug. Dunno, just thought, since I don't recall ever trying it out. 
Got a couple of hundred new cases, but no rifle to test the theory.

I have brand new Hornet brass here, plus factory Hornet ammo also. It compares with the reformed Hornet that came with the gun. The .22WCF marked original is different, but both work in my chamber once it's run through my dies.

marlinguy wrote on Dec 17^th, 2017 at 8:13pm:

Are your dies 22 hornet or 22 wcf ?

do you have a website that you can share for this business of yours?

bullshop wrote on Dec 17^th, 2017 at 8:39pm:



They are .22WCF. Hornet dies wouldn't work to size the brass and fit my .22WCF chamber.

Another question I have for folks loading for 22 wcf rifles is in regard to the loads you are using.  I would like to hear a bit about what components you are using as to brass, powder, primer as well as the bullets you are using and at what diameter.
We have received feedback from a customer using our .228" 46gn Ideal bullet stating he is getting very good results using 4gn of Unique powder under this bullet. He made no referance to what he was using for brass but stated it was a nicely accurate load in his rifle an 1885 LW.
As a custom service we offer to target an alloy hardness range if requested but unless otherwise requested we are casting this bullet in an alloy consisting of 98% lead to 2% antimony with a trace amount of arsenic and quench hardenning resulting in a BHN of 15. This seems about right for the original velocity of 1550 fps for the original BP loads for the 22 wcf.
My favorite 22 wcf duplication load in a 22 hornet rifle is with our custom 48gn plain base bullet at .225"dia. and 2.9gn Accurate Arms #2 powder put up in either WW or RP cases and using the very mild RP 1 1/2 primer. This load duplicates the original 22 wcf BP load at 1550 fps and is a very pleasingly accurate load from either of my two 22 hornet rifles. I have now fired possibly in the area of 2000 rounds with this load which has resulted in a great respect for the original 22 wcf BP load in its time frame. It is a very respectable performer for small game to about 150 yards and considering that in the 1880's when the 22 wcf was in use vertually all these rifles were being used with some sort of iron sight and that past 150 yards small game is, well small !