I was just wondering if someone ever upgraded that single shot .22 short, long and long rifle Savage Model 74 to a .22 Hornet? Is that action strong enough? That model sure is an easy one to change barrels as the barrel is only kept at its place by 1 plug.

What would you do about the firing pin? It would have to be centered to work with the 22 Hornet.

PaulS wrote:

What would you do about the firing pin? It would have to be centered to work with the 22 Hornet.

look how they do it with a Contender and it might even be easier on such a Savage. Just think when you enlarge the hole, make a new firingpin that you could place upside down for centerfire and the other way for rimfire.
Such a model 74 looks so simple that it could be develloped by Lee-engineers

I'm not saying that I'm going to make it happen. Only when you get an idea, it's quite normal that somebody already got the same idea and tried it out in the past... and such things are easier done in your country than in mine.

edit: look at all the BSA-Martini's that have been converted into much stronger calibers...

The firing pin wouldn't be that big of a deal. Best bet would be to drill out the original and install a bushing with the pin-hole centered to the bore. Not that hard for a decent gunsmith. My real concern would be the strength of the action itself. Maybe someone has done this conversion and could speak to the strength relative to .22 LR pressures and the Hornet.

Another thought....22 LR barrels are pretty soft when compared to barrels intended for centerfires. Chamber pressure might cause the chamber to swell.

I acknowledge your reference to the BSA-Martinis. I had one that had been chambered for the .218 Mashburn Bee (sure wish I still had it) and there was no question that it could hold the pressure. The BSA has a relatively massive amount of steel surrounding the barrel and chamber. Not being familiar with the 74 I couldn't comment on how much margin there might be. Sure would be an interesting project though!

With double the chamber pressure I tend to follow SSL on this. Have you concidered WMRF? Same pressure but a better round for small game.

I think the issue here is Aloys isn't allowed to hunt with a 22 rimfire. He could chamber his Savage for a .22 Hornet than develop a low pressure load.

slimjim wrote:

I think the issue here is Aloys isn't allowed to hunt with a 22 rimfire. He could chamber his Savage for a .22 Hornet than develop a low pressure load.

you see the picture, so also .22 WMR is out of the question as rimfire is not allowed for hunting. But I'm not going to converse to something that's dangerous when loaded with a standard round. Officially it has to be tested in Luik/Liège before you're allowed to use it and they test it with overpressure...

Am I wrong when I think in the early days they only rechambered a .22 LR to .22 Hornet and changed the firing-pin? And offcourse they would have started with a .22LR that had a strong action.
but a Savage Model 74 is a falling block and should be relatively strong, when they have used decent materials in the first place.

sorry, i missed the ban on .22rf.

I think it would be Ok to change, modern barrel are made of good moly steel.
THey are usually rated to at least 50 000 psi, even those that are made for 22LR.
The hornet do not develop much more pressure than 22 WMR anyway.

I think you have a viable idea if you can load down, Aloys

I think the bores are different diameters. May not be different enough to matter though. I'm thinking that .22 rim fire are 0.222"?

Aloysius wrote:

Officially it has to be tested in Luik/Liège before you're allowed to use it and they test it with overpressure...

Ok, I just did a double take on this. In your country, every hunting rifle has to be tested by the government before you can hunt with it. I'm speechless. Do they test it with your specific bullet? I can use my .270 for varmint or elk depending on the bullet.

Checked my references. The SAAMI standard for the. 22WMRF is 24k psi and for the Hornet 49k psi. Groove diameter is. 224 for both and. 222 for the. 22RF. Not a poblem if you are using lead bullets but not sure about jacketed ones. CIP standard proof testing is.25% over maximum allowable pressure for CF and 30% for RF. The CIP standard for the Hornet is lower, .44k putting the maximum around. 47k. That means proofing at around. 61k. That would mean proofing the rifle at 2.5 times the pressure of the cartridge it was designed to shoot. I gather from reading about the model 74 is that it was designed to be a light, inexpensive rifle, a plainer copy of the famous crackshot. I would be hesitant to assume the Savage engineers left enough steel in the block to handle oversized jacketed bullets at 2 to 2.5 X the original cartridge specification.

The H&R handi rifle comes in. 22 hornet, weighs 7 pounds and is relatively inexpensive. Of course that still leaves you with your. 22. A number of years ago hunters here in my province were able to successfully lobby for the elimination of an equally nonsence ban on. 22 for hunting. Now we are trying to get the. 17 approved.

MacD, lobby??? what would you say when you know that the ban .22 LR (or better all rimfire) came from some of the leading people in our own hunting association? Some believed that a ban on .22 LR would decrease poaching... and they were so stupid not to think on all the legal applications of this wonderfull round.

but some say that people just get the government they deserve...

Aloys, my gut feelings tell me that the best option here is to keep your .22 for nice cheap plinking and look for a small cheap rifle that is much better suited to the pressures of the Hornet round mate.