I think i want a .22 hornet

[doidge5781]

Been reading lots of info both here and other sites i want a walk around rifle been carrying my .22lr but ive been getting some shots that are way out of range for the .22lr then i thought i might need a .22wmr or hmr but keep getting put of by the price of ammo and no way of guaranteeing accuracy. So i was thinking centrefire and start reloading because i would be new to reloading i want something easy to reload that i could get brass easily from any gunshop. This rifle would be for rabbits only to 150-200mtrs and the odd fox if crossed my path. Been reading that the hornet may use a .223 projectile is this correct, does anyone here own/use one,what action are you using can u get decent accuracy. I like the look of the .20 vartarg but looks complicated for a newbie to reload can anyone suggest another round that would be easy for a beginner to reload has to smaller than .223/.204 because some of the places i hunt are getting a bit congested so something on the quite side would be good.

[WhiteMeat]

Been reading that the hornet may use a .223 projectile is this correct, does anyone here own/use one,what action are you using can u get decent accuracy. I like the look of the .20 vartarg but looks complicated for a newbie to reload can anyone suggest another round that would be easy for a beginner to reload has to smaller than .223/.204 because some of the places i hunt are getting a bit congested so something on the quite side would be good.

Hornet projectiles are .223 as opposed to the .224 sizing for others. My old mans' hornet loves the hornady hornet v-maxes (not sure on what weight they are though) and after using it on the last shooting trip back in the middle of the year, I have a new-found appreciation for it (and subsequently want one of my own lol)

My dads' hornet is based on an old lithgow, which is nice & heavy to carry around, the new CZ's are quite a deal lighter than these. I would say that accuracy is good minute of rabbit, hit the bunny in the big bits and its innards somewhat explode out the other side (though not as dynamic as trevort's effort elsewhere ) does well on foxes too, though not sure if as graphic in terms of exit wound (never really bothered to check sorry, a dead fox is a good fox - I refuse to apply ethics with those, just kill em)

Another round would be the .221 fireball or one of the .17's (i'm not that versed up on the .17s sorry) from what I understand though, the .17MachIV runds a similar powder capacity to the .221 fireball, but explodes critters nicely.

Others have had nothing but probs with hornets, whilst some other have had nothing but good times, the old lithgow puts me into the 'good times' section

[damien couper]

if the price of ammo for the 22mag and .17HMR is the only thing stoping you buying one the price of ammo is comming down i just bought a pack of Hornady 17gr vmax for $21 two weeks ago it was $24 and befor that is was around $30
and the .17 has very good accuracy just somethink to think about

[adamjp]

Been reading that the hornet may use a .223 projectile is this correct

No, not quite. Old hornets (pre-1970's) were made with barrels .223 in dia. They will all shoot 224 bullets without any issues.

does anyone here own/use one,what action are you using can u get decent accuracy.

I have two. The one I use all the time is bult on a Daniel Fraser falling block action with a 223 barrel that looks every bit of it's age (pitted and dark). But it will put 3 35gn VMAX bullets into my thumbnail at 100m using the 6x scope I have mounted on it. That is plenty accurate and the rifle only weighs 5lb with scope.

Have a squiz on Usedguns.com for some idea of what is available. The Ruger is worth a look at $700, and the Walther for $650 may also be worthwhile. There have been mixed reviews about the Ruger 77 Hornets, but since Hornet is very sensitive to ammunition preparation, you must factor that in.

[Brad Y]

For that range I reckon a 222 would serve you better. The little hornet just runs out of puff past 150 IMO.

[pegasus]

I'll second that, I have a ruger lam/ss rechambered to K-Hornet and it use .224 pill.
It likes the Hoornady 40gn v-Max's with 12.8gn of AR2205, shoots very flat out to 130 meters.
Load chronys around 3000fps, was getting 3080fps with 13gns but case life was only 4 reloads [spilt necks or shoulders] Backing of a little to 12.8 now gets 6-7 which for me is fine. as it doesn't get a hughe amount of use, also have a .222rem and a .220swift

[ogre6br]

Lets not and say you did

The hornet is the most female/frustrating cartridge i have ever had the misfortune to own

a nice mild load in a 222 will do all you want and brass life will be almost never ending

P

[HiWall]

Hornets are cool mate. Mine is an old Brno ZKW465, lovely little gun. It has a .223 bore but I use .224 bullets in it with no trouble at all. It doesn't like the 35gr VMax bullet at all but shoots great with traditional soft points, its favourites being the 40 & 45gr Sierras. Both of these will drop a fox out to a couple of hundred yards no problems - the 45gr heads out at 2650fps which is faster than the 17HMR will start a 17gr bullet. Hornady also make a 45gr bullet for the Hornet. Don't get too hung up on the 35gr VMax - it starts quicker but is a dumpy little thing and slows down quicker as well. The 45gr bullets carry their weight well out there.

This clearly shows that anyone who compares a .17HMR favourably against a Hornet is talking out his arse and anyone who says a .22 Mag will get even close is doing so - twice!

Couple of issues to watch out for when reloading the Hornet. Case capacity is small - uses about 10gr of W296 behind a 45gr bullet, so work up your loads slowly using no more than 1/2gr increments - reduce that to 1/3gr when getting close to top loads. Case neck brass is very thin so it is easy to damage the case mouth when seating bullets. Be very careful to sit the bullet square and concentric as possible before pushing it into the seating die to prevent deforming the mouth of the case. Be careful to slot the case mouth into the sizing die without contacting the base - hitting the die on the way in will definately dent the case mouth.

Finally, depending on what rifle you get it would be good to make sure you are using brass that gives minimum headspace. Euro brass, such as Sako has a thicker case head than the US stuff so if you end up with a Euro rifle try to get Euro brass. Some of the accuracy issues with Rugers comes from the headspace issue as well so it is good to use the thicker Euro brass in Ruger Hornets.

The Hornet has traditionally been used where a lot of noise is unwelcome and on small properties where you don't want to overshoot so it would suit your purposes perfectly.

Have a look around for an old Brno in good nick mate (most of them are, having been someones pride and joy for a long time), they are currently running at around $800 for one in good nick so it won't be much cheaper than a new one from some other manufacturer.

Of course, you could always invest in one of these - a new CZ 527.

http://www.czub.cz/en/catalog/81-center ... RICAN.aspx

[MAWLER]

Thems one of the ones I've got on order, been waiting 6 months now...I can't decide whether its Winchester or the gundealer that is dicking me round...

If hmr ammo is to exxy then factory hornet ammo is not an option for you at twice the price. I intend to re-load eventually and like yourself am a complete reloading newbie, most ppl say it is challenging to relaod but I'm sure as with anything, practice makes perfect.

Rough tests I have done with my fathers H&R hornet and factory winchester indicates that while it is only around 4" low at 150m this increases dramatically to 10+" at 200m. Again I stress these are very rough figures from less than perfect conditions, but then again, hunting never overs the perfect rest, wind and range. For this reason I have bought a Vortex scope that has the zero set on the adjustments so i can click it up according to the target range and then back to zero easily without having to try and estimate the hold over.

[Trev]

I just sold a 17HMR on Friday, thats two 17HMR's I have owned and sold, both fired less that 200 rounds each. The 17 pill is too small, go the 20 or 22 cal.

[WhiteMeat]

I just sold a 17HMR on Friday, thats two 17HMR's I have owned and sold, both fired less that 200 rounds each. The 17 pill is too small, go the 20 or 22 cal.

Why is the 17 too small Trev? Am curious as the 17 Mach IV looks interesting, but it isn't too far removed from a 20VT

[Con]

Lets not and say you did

a nice mild load in a 222 will do all you want and brass life will be almost never ending

P

So true!! A pre-loved and now 'obsolete' 222Rem is just so much nicer to load for and will stretch your range a bit further again. Download it and it'll do whatever the smaller capacity cartridge will do. Bet you that by the time you have the 22Hornet humming and delivering excellent groups ... a 222Rem would have been there easier, faster and probably cheaper.
Cheers...
Con

[chris.tyne]

I once swapped a ZKW465 .22HT for a Rem700 in .222 Rem and was glad that I did ,but for some strange reason I miss not having a Hornet,...............................I really like the look of the Walther single shot in .22HT on used guns......................................but I dont reallllllllllllllly need it.......................do I .




Regards Chris.

[Trev]

Whitemeat

The wind affects it far to much, much more than any other calibre I have. At 50 the thing was brilliant, but as soon as there was a little wind then the groups would open up heaps, both rifles could should under 1/2 at 50 for 5 shots group after group, but as soon as you went out to 100 or 150, the group opend up to like 2 inches or more, you could hardly see the grass moving but the projectile was affected.

[Plowboy]

I am also thinking of selling the HMR as it has not come out of the safe since the .223 went in. I am thinking another centrefire too so handloading can be done but think more along the lines of a .20 prac or similar. I don't see any reason you could not reduce loads in these either and carry a few full loads for a long distance fox to three. HMRs are great but Seeing now how limited I was with distance and knockdown power on something bigger than a rabbit I reckon it's bye bye time for the little hummer. Still love it but it is not too much of a step up from a .22rimfire. I reckon that Something like a .19 badger would be a great gun to have too.