aj85 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 hi guys, im just filling out my fac forms for my first grant and as my local constabulary dont allow rimfire as a fox tool im thinking of a .22 hornet. dont really want to go bigger as the land it is to be used on is only around 16 acres, the tererain is undulating with good soft backstops and in a rural area surrounded by farmland. how effective as a fox calibre is the .22 hornet? will be mainly at ranges up to 100 yards, probably closer near the chicken pens. cheers guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Its gonna kill a fox at that range, the real ammo guys will be onto this soon, I'd imagine you'll be advised against the hornet for no other reason than its a candidate for becoming obselete. Any of the .22 calibres, or consider the forgotten .204? hi guys, im just filling out my fac forms for my first grant and as my local constabulary dont allow rimfire as a fox tool im thinking of a .22 hornet.dont really want to go bigger as the land it is to be used on is only around 16 acres, the tererain is undulating with good soft backstops and in a rural area surrounded by farmland. how effective as a fox calibre is the .22 hornet? will be mainly at ranges up to 100 yards, probably closer near the chicken pens. cheers guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Fox Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 One of my pals has a hornet, will do what you want with no problems at all, he was killing at fair ranges cleanly with it. As above, I dont know the score when it comes to choices of rounds & cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Hi, Wise choice and you get a good bit of leaway on the range to boot. However, if you're sure that it will only be up to 100yds, don't overlook the 22WMR. Enjoy choosing! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 The OP stated he can't use RF on fox, same as me living in Leicestershire, but notts do, where our farm is We move soon.... Hi,Wise choice and you get a good bit of leaway on the range to boot. However, if you're sure that it will only be up to 100yds, don't overlook the 22WMR. Enjoy choosing! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj85 Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 thanks for the quick replies guys, i just thought it would be a sensible choice as the .223 might be a bit overkill at those ranges. plus want to minimise overpenetration as much as possible, due to the proximity of the hens. plus i thought it might be more likely to get cleared on the land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 thanks for the quick replies guys, i just thought it would be a sensible choice as the .223 might be a bit overkill at those ranges. plus want to minimise overpenetration as much as possible, due to the proximity of the hens.plus i thought it might be more likely to get cleared on the land. .204? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbivvy Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 how effective as a fox calibre is the .22 hornet? very. obsolete ,never. If anything its undergoing a revival at the moment. top calibre for first c/f. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 The OP stated he can't use RF on fox, same as me living in Leicestershire, but notts do, where our farm is We move soon.... Must admit you've got me. Yep, OK 22WMR is a rimfire but 22LR it certainly isn't and to my knowledge I've yet to come across a constabularly that prohibits their use on fox. Still, before my ink is dry someone will........ Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 .22 WMR will take care of a fox,and the Hornet most certainly will(hasn't Bruce Potts just done a review of this round in one of the mag's?)and a mate who has a Ruger No.1 in .204 says it turns their insides into 'soup'!Plenty of choice there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 .22 WMR will take care of a fox,and the Hornet most certainly will(hasn't Bruce Potts just done a review of this round in one of the mag's?)and a mate who has a Ruger No.1 in .204 says it turns their insides into 'soup'!Plenty of choice there. Again, the OP has stipulated his/her force don't allow RF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Must admit you've got me. Yep, OK 22WMR is a rimfire but 22LR it certainly isn't and to my knowledge I've yet to come across a constabularly that prohibits their use on fox. Still, before my ink is dry someone will........Cheers Leicestershire don't allow any rf for fox, wmr or hmr, has to CF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 The .22 Hornet is rather the poor relation in the group of calibres. The big problem I woud see is sourcing ammo and resale value of your rifle. .223 is king Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 The debate will rage and different regions will come up will all sorts of rubbish because it is their "Policy". Simple fact is a lot of rimfire has accounted for fox up to and past 100 yards, a Hornet is a very capable fox round at that distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 how effective as a fox calibre is the .22 hornet? very. obsolete ,never. If anything its undergoing a revival at the moment. top calibre for first c/f. :( :yes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 The Hornet is a cracking little Fox round. Usually I would say that of people don't want to reload then it's not the best choice but if it's only being used for Foxes the ammo doesn't cost any more than any other .22 cenrefire. Also at the ranges you state even factory ammo will have acceptable accuracy to shoot a Fox with. It's a very good little round on small shoots. It has quite a modest report and is easily moderated. The 35 grain rounds are brilliant and 99 times out of 100 break up on impact making it quite a safe bet for a small area too. I'd say in your situation the bigger .22s would be well over the top for your needs and if it wasn't for your force being fussy a .22wmr would do fine. Go for the Hornet, it's a great little round and many of it's skeptics will have never used it. They just assume it's not so good because it's old and not as fast as the newer rounds. There are a great number of Foxes that haven't lived to tell the story of the night they walked past me when I was out with mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crosshair Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 The Hornet is a cracking little Fox round. Usually I would say that of people don't want to reload then it's not the best choice but if it's only being used for Foxes the ammo doesn't cost any more than any other .22 cenrefire. Also at the ranges you state even factory ammo will have acceptable accuracy to shoot a Fox with. It's a very good little round on small shoots. It has quite a modest report and is easily moderated. The 35 grain rounds are brilliant and 99 times out of 100 break up on impact making it quite a safe bet for a small area too. I'd say in your situation the bigger .22s would be well over the top for your needs and if it wasn't for your force being fussy a .22wmr would do fine. Go for the Hornet, it's a great little round and many of it's skeptics will have never used it. They just assume it's not so good because it's old and not as fast as the newer rounds. There are a great number of Foxes that haven't lived to tell the story of the night they walked past me when I was out with mine! The above says it all, I used a Hornet for many years not in preference to a .243, but because of the much cheaper rounds, I used the 45grn and history shows they liquidised many hundreds of foxes. Still use it if out only after foxes, a great rifle, especially with the hair trigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbithunter Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Just back in from a few hour,s out with the lamp and my 22 hornet , the fox i shot dropped like a bag of **** at 130 yards with 35gr v-max and the poor rabbit,s where all over the place Great little round Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Logic Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 Hornet is a cracking vermin round, foxes die very nicely and the 35gr v-max rarely exits. BUT You will have to reload it. Factory ammo is rare and a ripoff. Quid a bang for 12 grains of powder, a tiny case and one of the smallest bullets around? Sod that! Now, Leicestershire Police. Every application must be considered on its own merits. That's the ruling! If you are a BASC member then I would use BASC, and argue with the Police that your farm and typical ranges are much more conducive to a 22 WMR, and thus you show Good Reason for it. If they refuse then get BASC to remind them of their duties. 22 magnum's going to be much easier for you first time out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hornet 6 Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 I wanted a Hornet last year, spent ages looking for a decent one, but after 3 or 4 months did a 1 for 1 on the slot and got a .223 Moving on a few months I applied for another slot for a Hornet, and found one straight away. I couldn't be happier with it, first trip out to zero it, with the only spare scope I have, a 4x32 showed it has potential. First proper outing a few rabbits out to 70 odd yards followed at very last light a Fox at 130 yards, it was sat looking at me and mostly hidden behind a tussock of grass. I held on it's left eye, bullet struck just under and it dropped on the spot. It won't replace my .223 but it's looking like becoming my main rifle. Neil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lez325 Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 Fox ?? Get a 223 you'll never look back in my opinion Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 Hornet is a cracking vermin round, foxes die very nicely and the 35gr v-max rarely exits. BUT You will have to reload it. Factory ammo is rare and a ripoff. Quid a bang for 12 grains of powder, a tiny case and one of the smallest bullets around? Sod that! You could look at it that way. For heavy use that was my outlook but this chap has to be realistic with his choices. He's shooting a small area of land, not taking long range shots and if Foxing he's also not using many rounds. So £1 per bang is a lot, but no more than factory .223. If the gun likes Prvi he could get it for much less and the same as prvi .223! His dealer will be able to order him ammo and any decent shop would hold a few boxes in stock knowing that he would be in now and again to buy it. In the future if he takes to the rifle and wants to use it more he could splash out £100 on a few loading tools, some powder and bullets and start running out rounds from the cases he's kept for the same price as HMR rimfire! He'd soon get his money back. I think the Lee Loader is a great tool for this situation - it costs £30 and with a set of scales and an OAL gauge he'd be up and running. It neck sizes only which is perfect for reloading your own brass for the Hornet. I know people are scared of reloading as it seems a complicated art. In some cases that's true but in a case like this it doesn't have to be. You can fill a case right up with Lil-Gun and not go over pressure with a light bullet, copy the OAL of a factory round and give it a crimp. Voila, a round that should group inside 1" at 100 yards because the case is fire formed. All for about 25p and a minute of your spare time. Personally for the number of rounds I shoot the Hornet is ideal. I can load a months supply of ammo in under an hour and it costs me the same as it did to shoot my HMR when I had it. Fair enough the bigger guns are great but for every day use on the cheap the Hornet takes some beating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrelsniffer Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 I also have 22 hornet aswell as 223 plus other cals..hardly used the hornet but thinking of getting it out when home..i have plenty of 40gns v-max heads so whats a good load to look at that you guys have found work..obv i will start lower and work up..been a while since i used mine. Mick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfowler.250 Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 Leicestershire don't allow any rf for fox, wmr or hmr, has to CF. If your ticket says vermin argue that foxes are vermin and go for .22 magnum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted October 3, 2010 Report Share Posted October 3, 2010 It's an ideal tool for what YOU say, moderates well and comes in handy little rifles. It is not a serious cometetitor to the bigger foxing cals yet that is not what your looking for by the sounds of it. You have a way more capable foxer in your hands with a hornet than any rimfire for use at and around 100 or so yards. Be careful you don't make allowances for the reduced power levels in use though there is no shot that is safe with a hornet that is unsafe with a .243", but you simply don't need the extra weight, energy and noise of the bigger cals to kill Foxes at these sort of ranges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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