mr.big
Well-Known Member
I have been kicking around the idea,,I always heard they were to tempermental to load for,,anybody ever fool around with one in a quality made rifle??
22 Hornet
- Thread starter mr.big
- Start date
Plateau Hunter
Well-Known Member
I have played with the Hornet. It is a fun little cartridge but has some issues. The K version is better as it is easier on brass and seems to be more consistent. Twist on older rifles is a bit slow but you probably shouldn't use bullets over 45 grains any way. Lil Gun and small pistol primers gave me best results. Lee collet die extends brass life noticably.
Pros: about 550 rounds per pound of powder, nostalgia/cool factor as it was one of the first true 'varmint' cartridges, very low to no recoil-can see hits or misses lol, quieter than larger rounds, useful coyote round to 200-275 or a bit farther in good hands
Cons: cases are inconsistent and weak/easily deformed in the loading operations, fewer reloads per case before case head stretch/separation, flyer that spoils group is common, small differences in powder charge are noticed because of small case capacity
All in all in this day and age it would be better to get a Fireball and load it down a bit if you wanted Hornet ballistics for whatever reason. The CZ would probably be the best of the bunch of current rifles. I like Rugers but would stay away from the Ruger Hornet version. My take. PH
Pros: about 550 rounds per pound of powder, nostalgia/cool factor as it was one of the first true 'varmint' cartridges, very low to no recoil-can see hits or misses lol, quieter than larger rounds, useful coyote round to 200-275 or a bit farther in good hands
Cons: cases are inconsistent and weak/easily deformed in the loading operations, fewer reloads per case before case head stretch/separation, flyer that spoils group is common, small differences in powder charge are noticed because of small case capacity
All in all in this day and age it would be better to get a Fireball and load it down a bit if you wanted Hornet ballistics for whatever reason. The CZ would probably be the best of the bunch of current rifles. I like Rugers but would stay away from the Ruger Hornet version. My take. PH
mr.big
Well-Known Member
may wind up with the bolt gun in 223 and down load it,,been lookin at the 25-20 also and the 32/20,
I had it in my head that I wanted a Ruger #1 in 22 Hornet. You can dowload to 22 LR or 22 Mag velocities and use it for small game, you can load to the rounds potential with a good varmint bullet and you have a fairly quiet varmint/predator gun, load it with the lightest Barnes TSX, and you could take deer sized game with it if you were so inclined. I'm not advocating the use of a 22 Hornet for deer, but it would be a legal deer round. I see it as very versatile for general farting around work. I then talked to my gunsmith, who has or has played with about every centerfire rifle cartridge from .17 Rem to .505 Gibbs. He explained that handloading for them is a pain because the brass is thin and very erratic. He had 4 different rifles in Hornet, none of which would shoot MOA or better, and he tried every solution he had at his disposal. Bottom line it's not a very good case design, and accuracy is tough to attain with the Hornet.
KPH
Well-Known Member
It takes a little pratace to load for. They are touchy.
mr.big
Well-Known Member
I was really thinking about 22 WMR,,but you could just about load the Hornet for what 22 Mag ammo costs,,I will probably wind up back at the 223.
ShamrockIV
Well-Known Member
hard to go wrong with 223. easy to load cheap and accurate. the 22-250 is a good round though. i load for both but mainly 223
a guy i used to fox call with had a single shot 22 hornet. it was good for fox and bobcat, especially when furs had value. now, other than for crow or groundhog, it doesnt fill much of a niche
