.22 Hornet

[CharlieT]

I'm trying to convince myself that I need a Hornet!. I fancy a small(ish) caliber to put a night sight on. Has anyone got any experience of them. In practice how flat, accurate and quiet are they. Anyone moderated one. At the moment I use the sight on a .243 but to be honest it's a bit overkill. Don't really need anything that shoots over 200 yds. Intend to use it on fox and pests.

Thanks

Mike

[dunganick]

they dont shoot very flat at all, even the 35grain Vmax dosent carry enough energy to maintain a flat trajectory. You cant really use them on fox past 180-200yrds, and at this range your looking at 4" - 6" of holdover.

 

The round is quiet when unmoderated and compaired to other .224 cartridges (.222 .223 etc..) but once its moderated its the same pretty much. The little 35grain vmax's my dads throws is doing 3250fps so just as fast as the .222 and its the sonic crack you cant remove.

 

The round is not easy to reload.... thin brass.. easy to put dents in with too much lube. Components are not that easy to find, neither are rifles, it also takes alot of work to get an accurate load.

 

But.... do i like it.... yes

 

Its got character, its not very common, however the .222 or .223 will be cheaper to run, easier to find a nice rifle in, will have an extra 100yards foxing range over the hornet and silence basically to the same level.

 

If you already have a .222 or .223 get one, but if not then these two have to come 1st.

[CharlieT]

Dunganik

I should have said that I have a .223. Like I said I just want it as a dedicated rifle for use with the night sight. I should also mention that I would only use factory ammo. Probably to be honest never using it beyond 175 yds. My bit of research leads me to think that CZ and Ruger do them, if I can find one. Or do I just get another .223?

 

Thanks

Mike

[dunganick]

tough one in that case

 

the .223 will be more accurate with factory (unless you get lucky with the hornet)

 

If you like the idea of a hornet go for it, its a nice little round, just a bit quirky

[CharlieT]

Querky like me then. Thanks dunganik...you've twisted my arm, just what I wanted. I'll go for it.

I'll now decide which one and then get it on order.

 

Thanks for your help

Mike

[Frank]

Hi Mike,

I had the .22 Hornet for 7 years and loved it.

Great round with factory ammo up to 200yds MAX!!

I shot countless foxes with it, i wont go into figures, but it was a lot.

My rifle of choice then was the CZ 527.

I now have a .223, but also wish i could keep a .22 Hornet too, firearms laws over here are a bit mixed up at the moment.

Go for it, you wont regret it.

Let us know how you get on.

Frank.

[Graham M]

Buy a .222. It is a lovely little round to shoot, and I could kick myself that I ever got rid of mine.

G.M.

[mry716]

Its horses for courses. I would never have another one but that is not to decry the round, its just that I have no specific use for a 'Hornet' with the choice of other small calibre pest control rifles I have to hand.

 

Remember that when introduced in the early 1930's it was THE most accurate round available at that time and the intervening 70 odd years have not made it less accurate - its just that new cartridges and calibres have overtaken it. But modern ammunition is so superior in consistency to that of the 1930s I am sure it would have hung on to its title for a lot longer had modern ammunition been available then.

 

I found handloading is also so easy, but as said you do need to be careful with the thin walled cases especially when bullet seating but you will find no difficulty achieving 1/2 MOA or less with a variety of bullets and powders. N110 is particularly suitable and very accurate in most rifles. Zero 2" high at 100yds and you will only be up to 2" low at 200yds dependent on load used. Some factory ammo also offers high velocities, in use often better than the quoted speeds - like Hornady 35 gr which is a 3100fps round but try the Winchester 34gr and with a 24" barrel you could well have a 3150fps shooter that will only drop 2" out to 200yds. ( 2" high at 100 and spot on at 200)

 

The best rifle ever for this round is a Winchester Model 54 - if you could find one - as they will ALL out-shoot anything else.

 

 

If you email me at mry716@hotmail.com I have an interesting article in Guns and Ammo Dec 2005 that I can email to you. There is also another in this months - July2005 - Shooting Times (thats the USA S/Times) (www.shootingtimes.com)

[CharlieT]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I think I will go with the Hornet for my particular purpose, which will be as I said, mainly medium range foxes. To stop myself dithering I'm going to put in for a variation now (then I cant change my mind) and then start the hunt for a Winchester 54 as advised by MRY, failing that I think I will go for the CZ.

Mike

[Graham M]

I think you will be searching long and hard for a 54.

But, you could probably find the CZ a lot easier-

http://www.czub.cz/index.php?p=32&idp=3&ids=9&idz=32&lang=en

G.M.

[dunganick]

there are some old guns out there which are very nice

 

my dad waited about 9months for the right CZ to come up, we got one finally which only had shelf damage to it (about 25-30yrs old) and it shoots easily sub 1/2" @100 with a double set trigger. and only cost about £300 if i recall correctly.