.22 Hornet

C

Ctchuck

New member
Anyone know of a fur-friendly factory load for a .22 Hornet? I just picked one up, would like to use it for coyote here in lovely CT. I use 50 gr V'Max's in my .223, but they aren't very friendly sometimes /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif. Shots will be under 100 yds where I am hunting. Any info appreciated.

Thanx
Chuck
 
Any thing in a hornet will be fur friendly.

You will enjoy the gun, just remember it is not a long range option. The 100 yards is right on track
 
I have used the 46 gr. WWHP with good success. If memory serves me right, I am using 10.6 gr. of W-296, and my velocity is right at 2,600 fps. Hit right, they don't move or don't go very far.

My Hornet is at most a 125 yard coyote gun for me.

It shoots right at 1". I have a faster load with a 40 gr V-Max and Lil'Gun powder, but the only coyote I shot with it was a bit far forward resulting in a nasty shoulder splash. That was completely on me, however, with bad bullet placement. That is the only experience I have with that bullet in taking a coyote with the Hornet.

Regards,
Tim
 
My Browning 22 hornet likes the 35 gr. Vmax with 13.0 of Lilgun. If you have a crimp die give it a slight crimp. It is kinda hard on fox but should be good on coyote.
 
Quote:
Any thing in a hornet will be fur friendly.

You will enjoy the gun, just remember it is not a long range option. The 100 yards is right on track




Excellent advice from RagnCajn.

I would add to use the heavier, 45gr bullets on coyotes.
 
hornaday has factory 35gr vmax that are really good. the only other factory ammo that has shot good for me was the winchester 32gr hp moly.
 
I picked up a box of 45 gr softpoints with the gun, going to try and sight it in tomorrow ( weather permitting, supposed to be around 5 degrees). Will go to the local gunshops and see what else is available over the weekend.

Thanx for the help
Chuck
 
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What ever you use after sighting in don't switch bullets. Mine at least shoots the 40 grain SP bullets dead on at 100 yards. The Hornady varmint express 35 grain shoot about 2.5 inches lower and the Winchester 45 grain shoot a couple of inches higher. My preference is the SP.
 
Ditto on the factory Hornady 35gr VMax. I have a Browning K-Hornet, and the factory VMax print 1/2" at 100yds, and my load of 12.8 of 296 does even better. They haven't caused me a problem unless I splash a shoulder, as mentioned earlier.
 
Save the 35 v-max for the rabbits and the prairie dogs. The 45gr soft points is the bullet of choice for calling coyotes with the hornet, Much more stable bullet than the 35 v-max IMHO.

I have used the sierra and also shot the nosler, both are good over 296 powder.
 
I have a couple hornets and don't shoot factory loads, BUT my wildlife biologist stacked up 46 does the other day on a management hunt, all but six were taken with his Ruger 7722, he was blowing necks out at 60-70 yards- no lost deer. He was excited that he placed one well shoot and hammered two. I need to get a picture of the truck load of deer he took. We take yotes out to 200 yards with them. He shoots a factory bullet- 45 grain- but i don't recall what it is- I will check.

We have another doe management harvest coming up in Feb- we will be using both 22 hornets for 30-35 does. I may cheat and grab one of my 204s just for lessons learned training - to study head shot damage at 200 yards and beyond. Life is rough - if your a doe on a management ranch. Plenty of punch in the 22 Hornet.
 
I am not sure why some of you guys are calling the 22 Hornet a 100 yard rifle. Even for coyotes. I have been hunting with a 22 Hornet for over 30 years. I have shot a ton of varmints with a 22 Hornet. I have no problem shooting a varmint out to 200 or 225 yards with a Hornet or a 218 BEE. These are 2 fantastic varmint cartridges. Great round with a good mix of velocity, but not so much that you have drastic pelt damage. And also not a "blow you out" noise level.

A 40 or 45 grain soft point will do a great job, with the least amount of pelt damage. Not a lot of exit holes with this bullet on fox or coyote sized animals. Tom.
 
Quote:
I am not sure why some of you guys are calling the 22 Hornet a 100 yard rifle. Even for coyotes. I have been hunting with a 22 Hornet for over 30 years. I have shot a ton of varmints with a 22 Hornet. I have no problem shooting a varmint out to 200 or 225 yards with a Hornet or a 218 BEE. These are 2 fantastic varmint cartridges. Great round with a good mix of velocity, but not so much that you have drastic pelt damage. And also not a "blow you out" noise level.



+1 I happily blast PD's at over 200 yds with great results. My new bullet preference is the Midway 34gr. I really like the 34gr. Calhoon as well. Great stuff.
 
Quote:
Any thing in a hornet will be fur friendly.

You will enjoy the gun, just remember it is not a long range option. The 100 yards is right on track



Yep, for Coyotes the Hornet is about a 100 yard cartridge.
As a kid, I shot a whole lot of woodchucks out to about 150 yards with a Hornet. But, chucks are far easier to kill than a Coyote, so I'd get a little more MV for shots beyond 100 yards.

Martyn
 
My experience with the Hornet on coyotes has lead me to limit my range to 100yds for a head-on, facing me shot typical of a calling scenario, and to 175yds if they are broadside. Much over those ranges, and I had runners, or coyotes that were not dead when I got to them.

For smaller varmints, like fox or praire dogs, I heartily agree on 200yd+ shots.

My coyote load is a 45gr Barnes XLC over 13.0gr Lilgun, with a velocity of just over 2900fps out of my Ruger M77. I've tried a variety of other bullet weights and types and this one works the best for me, on coyotes.

P.S. Don't forget to try a small pistol primer when handloading for the Hornet. Even Federal uses a small pistol primer in their Hornet loads.
 
From my experiance when I hunted fur to make money, they all pretty much are in that chambering, but stay inside 100 Yards. I am still thinking on getting another Hornet I had one a lot of years ago and let it go due to youth and ignorance. But I did a lot of stupid stuff due to youth and ignorance. I am older now, and not so ignorant( I hope)
 
I shot a load that killed yotes fast, 12.0g of 296 with a 50g Nosler BT.

Some hornets have 1-16 twists and will not shoot the 50g Plastic tip bullets well at all; it takes a 1-14 to shoot the 50g Noser BT.

Good luck
 
12.5 gr of lil'gun and 40 gr sierr hp. half inch groups at 100 yards.
i believe the coyotes need the soft point bullet for better penetration. my 2 cents.
 
I am not knocking what anyone says on the internet. But if you watch the posts you can get some very very very different opinions. Obviously we have all had different experiences that influence our opinions. However there are still some pretty wide opinions out there.

I have read several posts over the past year or two that define the 22 Hornet as a DEER cartridge. And I have read a lot of posts about how effective the 22 Hornet is as a deer cartridge. I am not saying it is a deer cartridge, but a lot of hunters say it is.

Then you read the article about how effective the 22 Magnum and 17 HMR are for killing varmintrs, and coyotes. Most of these posts say these two cartridges are effective out to 125 yards.

So if I wanted to be a dedicated coyote hunter I could hunt with a 22 magnum and a 17 HMR, but not a 22 Hornet. I would have to save the Hornet for deer?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Far be it for me to knock any one elses opinions, but there sure are a bunch of different opinions out there. That is what makes reading forums so much fun. Please do not flame me too bad. I am really not advocating the 22 Hornet for deer hunting. I am merely pointing out the variety of opinions. Tom.
 
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