AusVarmint

Hi All,

Brad Y (and firearms div) has convinced me that the .22 Hornet idea has merit on my small block though he cost of the ammo is frightening.

I figure that if I can teach myself to reload successfully then I can make it affordable to learn this calibre very well and have a high quality varmint rifle that I can afford to all day long without upsetting anybody (other than the rabbits, foxes, cats, etc).

Looking at the Ruger 77/22 VHZ Varmint with laminated stock and heavy stainless barrel if anybody cares to offer their opinion.

What I need help with is some ball park figures on the unit cost of reloading say 1000 rounds in .22 Hornet.

Thanks everyone,

DB

An individual cartridge will cost you $0.92 cents first reload ,5x reloaded times =$0.55 cents each that was worked out on the costs of my last component buy up.

MISSED,

Does that vary significanty going to say .243?

Cheers,

DB

DB the cost per shot for a .243 is considerably higher.The main differences are the initial cost of the Brass,higher primer cost and higher powder cost as the 243 uses nearly 4x the amount.So the cost each is $1.57 first time down to $0.94 for 5x.

Just grab yourself a Ruger in 22 Hornet and a Lee collet die set and enjoy the venerable old 22 Hornet they are rather addictive

.But as a famous writer was quoted as saying you can not play golf with one club why would you be able to shoot everything with one rifle ?

Dancing Bears wrote:Hi All,

Brad Y (and firearms div) has convinced me that the .22 Hornet idea has merit on my small block though he cost of the ammo is frightening.

No more frightening than any other centre fire ammo, we have Hornady V-max hornet ammo for $30.75/25 $1.23 per shot. It might look expensive but compare it to any other centrefire ammo loaded with a tipped projectile and it is probably the cheapest. I know it is the cheapest in the Hornady V-max line.

Hi DB, the Ruger Hornet is a nice rifle, great magazine, with one fault - the two piece bolt wears and becomes sloppy between it's two sections which affects accuracy. Then you'll be chasing your tail trying every projectile under the sun to try and get your handloads shooting well.
It can be fixed once you know what you are looking for - http://www.centerfirecentral.com/ruger22h.html

Cost of reloading a Hornet - you save on powder as there's about 700 shots in 0.5kg bottle. $50 for 0.5kg, so 7 cents of powder/shot, Primers 5 cents each, bullets 15-50 cents each, brass 45 cents/case (that's a guesstimate - last time I bought Hornet brass it was $33/100 for Win)
The actual cost of your brass depends on how many shots you get out of it, anywhere from 3-10 is possible,

Hornet brass is thin and will split if overworked, so neck sizing with a Lee collet die makes a big difference in prolonging necks from splitting. Full Length sizing only when necessary and only as much as needed, not just maximum amount will minimise case stretching and head separations.
The shape of the Hornet case makes it more prone to stretching, the K Hornet fixes this and takes an extra grain or so of powder. This gives it a little extra zap and much better case life (doubled it in my single shot CBC) If I was starting out with a Hornet again I'd get a K version and dies from the start rather than buy std Hornet dies first. Sometimes a good used K Hornet with dies will come along. I've seen a few I'd love to own but there's no bunnies where I live
Here's a pic of the K Hornet, std Hornet, and 17 Ackley Hornet
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9 ... H8AW6KP63g

Haha told ya the hornet was the go.

The rugers arent bad. Get the trigger done up. Mine liked 35gr vmax. Another option would be look for a good quality anchutz second hand.

Brad Y,

What I would really like is the Sako 75 or even 85 but guess what - NO .22H!!

Ruger .204 in Varmint anyone?

Cheers Brad

DB

DB,
here is a site that will help you with costing of your reloading.
http://ultimatereloader.com/tools/reloa ... alculator/
Pete

Thanks Foxy.

DB

Zastava also make a little hornet on thier mini mauser action. Felt one in the shop yesterday. Stock is a bit agricultural. Action is a bit rough but apparently they smooth out real nice. CZ make a the 527 classic in 22 hornet- these would be a real good choice. Ive never used one but theres alot of CZ fans here and they are supposed to be pretty accurate.

I know a hornet freak that has a Brno mod 2 very nice for sale but will be off line for a week or so but if you PM Sako Sam he will give you my number.
Ol 55

On the note of the cost of reloading, the newish Nosler SHOT 22cal 34gn HP is showing a fair bit of potential in my ZKW Hornet and in Ol 55's Pac Nor barreled K Hornet. I think they only come in a 1000pk but it should work out at about $15-$17/100 depending on what your LGS puts on top of projies. AR 2205 is pretty cheap and you get a hell of a lot of hornet loads out of a bottle.
In theory you could reload for a little more than the cost of buying 22 magnum with greatly enhanced performance