Rifle is a recently acquired all original Remington Hepburn in 22WCF, 30 inch barrel.

New Winchester Hornet brass, cast 45gr .228” bullet.

Primers tried are R-P 6 1/2, Win Small Rifle, and CCI 500 Small
Pistol.

I have tried no crimp, light crimp, heavy crimp…

Powders tried are Unique, IMR 4227 and 4759.

With 4227 and 4759 I am getting alot of unburned powder regardless of combination tried. So much so that upon ejection of empty, some is being left behind in the chamber. This creates enough of a problem that chambering following rounds are difficult without swabbing out the chamber. 6 grains of either gives me about 1500 FPS and acceptable accuracy.

3 grains of Unique gets me the same results with no problem of unburned powder or chambering issues. I see no large velocity swings with what is a pinch of powder off the bench. Typically In these old guns I like a powder that fills the case as much as possible, if nothing else it helps prevent a double charge while loading. 

Any suggestions on getting a more complete burn with the first two powders? 

You are not going get the results you want with slow rifle  powders.  They will only burn well at fairly high, sustained pressures, which you are not going to get with the 22WCF. Try some of the more bulky slow shotgun powders, such as HERCO.   These are designed to burn at fairly low pressures. Probably not a bad idea to use small pistol primers, also.   They are the same size as LP.

CHRIS

As said, the unburnt powder is because of low pressures. 

There is no reason to stay around 1500. Increase the charge 1gr, .5 then, .2 a time. I shoot a 70 bullet in 25/20SS, BSed, at 1700 fps. No leading, at all.

The spec I have for the WCF, is 14 twist so, you can increase the bullet weight to about 60gr (at least 55gr) and that w ill help burn the powder, even more.

Going to #9 will also burn cleaner.

It is what the 22 Hornet is based on but, with a .228 groove diameter.

I use 2400 in my Pope barreled Ballard chambered for .22WCF, and around 9.0 grs. with a .45 grain cast bullet from a Brooks mold. It's a good accurate load, and burns pretty clean also.

Very interesting cartridge. I'll bet on a Hepburn frame there is very little to no recoil. I have a Hepburn varmint conversion in .219 zipper. I have never been much on the small calibers and haven't shot it much. Still on the fence about a re barrel to a larger caliber.



JMH

I would continue with Unique, it’s not worth the effort to get the slower powders up to pressure. If you mount the rifle consistently velocity will be uniform.

However the double charge caution is justified. My light Unique charges all checked with a drop gage. Usually wood rod marked with a line indicating desired charge. Small cases better to use a brass rod, less chance of error in the small neck. Most of my larger cases checked with brass rod too, after setting the gage depth with a wood rod.

Boats

I do have a copy of Kens book. I will crack it open. I loaded up my last 30 bullets with 3 grains of Unique because my son and I are going to take a walk for squirrels after school. I will be ordering more bullets today for further experimenting. 

The mold these are cast in has two lube grooves. The NOE molds I see have only one. The old Winchesters I see have three or four. Anyone with experience with multiple styles have a preference? I like the idea of more than one in a less than perfect 30 inch barrel.

Thank you