Thoughts on 22 hornet

W

wjh131

New member
Hi everyone,
Just wonderin' if anyone shoots a 22 hornet? I found a couple real good deals on a Ruger and Savage. Is it okay for coyotes? Birds? or is just a hopped up gopher getter? Any thoughts, concerns or advice is appreciated. As well, any good links for info on this cartridge.
Thanks,
Will
 
Boiles down to distance, shot placement, and your abilities. Good friend of mine took a Black Bear with the 22 Hornet. Fact after trading that Contender barrel to him I had to go trade for another, too fun too shoot.
 
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150yds on coyotes would be good to start at. The biggest critters we've shot with the Hornet is g-hogs. Hard on brass. 3-4 reloads is all we've ever gotten.
 
If you are into nostalgia it is great. There certainly are better choices today. It was the best available in it's day but chambers like the 221 are more accurate and lots easier to load for now.

Jack
 
The cases are very fragile as the necks are almost paper thin. They are a fun cartridge to play with, but also a pain to deal with if you reload. I bought one because my Step-Dad had one and I like to connect to the good times we had shooting together back then. And, the Hornet I lucked into is a Ruger Number 1 with nice wood. It is a good looking rifle, and a nice 150 yard rifle. I'm just getting into Coyote hunting, so I'll leave any comments about its adequacy for hunting them to others. They are fairly quiet and that's a plus. I shot my Step-Dad's Model 54 Winchester Hornet a lot and killed groundhogs with it. I later bought a Savage Model 219 in 22 Hornet and continued using it for many years for chucks. Yes, I'm into nostalgia..:) It comes with age...:)
Don
 
I had heard a lot of bad stuff about their accuracy, but after sighting in my "A" Bolt 22 Hornet, it consistently shoots 1/2" 3 shot groups at 100 yds, using Hornady 35gr V-Max. It is the permier fox gun, that is for sure. Quite, very quite. I have killed grounhogs with it at 200yds. I have other guns when it comes to coyotes, so I can't address that subject. But, I am sure I wouldn't hesitate if the opportunity presented itself at what I considered a reasonable range.
 
I was thinking about getting a Hornet barrel for my Encore...wanted something a little quiter than my 22-250.

I borrowed one from a friend to try out, bought a box of ammo ($20) and did a little tinkering. I also did a BUNCH of research.

Turns out that as others have said, the Hornet is difficult to load for & expensive brass.

After looking everything over, I decided to eventually try a .223 barrel in place of going with the Hornet.
 
I try to limit my shots on coyotes to under 150yds for a broadside shot and under 100yds for a head-on shot, though I have streched the broadside out to 180yds a few times. It works ok within these limits, but it is not in the same league as a 223. My best coyote load is a Barnes 45gr XLC over 13grs Lilgun started with a small pistol primer. I get about 2,900fps with that load, and it shoots great. Also, I use Lee Collet dies.
 
I have been very satified with the Hornets performance. Especially great on fox-size game. Have taken coyote out to 125 yards. Not limiting myself or gun to that range, just happens to have been the longest shot available. I load the 40 gr. V-max, WSR primer, and 12.5 grs. of Lil'Gun at an OAL of 1.800" for my Ruger 77/22VHZ. Have taken squirrels at between 100 and 105 yards with this load in this gun also. It seems that we either love this caliber or love to hate it here. Amazingly though, alot of people use this gun as the comparitive. It is quiet, a little louder than a 22 magnum, and 0 felt recoil. The brass can be bought for less than 12.00 per 100. You can check prices on the Midway website. I have loaded the same brass more than 7 times with the aforementioned load without problems. Hope this opinion helps!
 
if you go with a Hornet and decide you want to get serious with the thing, have it ground out to a K-Hornet... it head spaces off the rim so you don't have to set the barrel back like the AI cartridges... this will do 2 things, it'll extend the case life considerably... and it'll give you another 150fps with no appreciable increase in noise...

this has to be one of the most fun rounds to shoot there is... no recoil, low noise level, so women and kids love it... since Lil-Gun hit the market it's extremely easy to find an accurate load... the reason you hear so much about being hard to load is because to many people either don't pay attention to detail or don't do the proper case preperation before and during the loading sequence...

all in all, yes it is an old round, but there's a reason it's still around... it's a good'en, there's a place for it... and it does the job well...
 
Thanks for the input fellas. Looks like I may try this little round out. Now whcih gun to purchase? I found a Ruger #3. Good shape comes with scope for like 250 bucks. Only thing, it's a single shot and I've had one before...didn't really like it. The other is a Savage model 340 deluxe. Nice gun, bolt action with a 5 shot clip for 400 bucks. But the guy may trade me for a couple scopes I have. Maybe I should just buy both. Hmmm wonder what the wife will think.
 
You might consider a CZ 527, I have one and I also have the ruger 77 heavy barrel, and I'll tell you that the CZ is more accurate and you can usually get the CZ at a very reasonable price. The Ruger isn't bad, but the CZ is better and the Ruger is going to get converted to the .19 Calhoon in the next month or so.
 
Here is what I would do, considering you don't like the single shot aspect. Give the Savage guy $25 to hold the rifle. Then buy the Ruger outright, sell it on Gun broker, and use the proceeds to pay off the Savage.

I can't recall the last time I've seen ANY ruger single shot for under $450.

FLUKE
 
Everytime I mention the .221 Fireball on these Hornet posts I get hammered but, here goes again. Hornets are fun to shoot, like Jacks says if you are into the old. However, the .221 can do anything a Hornet can do and alot more! It is quiet, accurate, brass life is forever, and it can run up to .223 stuff if you reload. It is the best route to go in my opinon. But, if you have to get a Hornet, would look into a Browning or CZ.
 
I would look at the CZ's for a Hornet as well.

SteveM-- The Fireball is sweet. My brother shoots 1" groups all day long with his 14" Contender in 221. So far his longest shot was 200yds on a g-hog. Looked like it had enough for another 35yds or so. Not real finnicky either. Hope you didn't mind not getting the hammer from me.lol
 
My woodchuck hunting buddy in Ontario used one, a .22Hornet in a Brno (forerunner of CZ). They pretty much made their reputation in N.America with the Hornet. Gawd but that rifle was accurate. I wanted to wrap him and his damn Hornet around a tree, just out of envy. They are a bit on the finicy side as to load development, but once you have your load down pat, they're a sweetheart to shoot. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 


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