Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Can someone explain the difference please????

https://www.sierrabullets.com/store/product.cfm/sn/1200/224-dia-40-gr-Hornet


https://www.sierrabullets.com/store/product.cfm/sn/1100/223-dia-40-gr-Hornet


I have a 22 hornet CZ 527 which do I use?

Looks like one is .223 in diameter and the other is .224. I want to say some 22 Hornets, if not all, had a tighter barrel for some reason...eons ago. I'm not positive though. Someone will be along to help out in a few....I'm sure of it. I'll do some looking too.

Looks like older 22 Hornets had .223" bores. Like 80 or so years ago old.

You're right, Dooger. Modern Bbls are all 224".

Either one will probably work tho...so what's to worry about?

Thanks guys

I have read in several places that the bore on the CZ Hornets measure .2235, which is halfway between the bullet diameters. Either will work, but the .224 Ballistic Tips will perform better, even though they may not fit the magazine when seated properly. I could load 3 rounds in the mag on my 527 and it still fed.

Buy a box of each, work up loads for each, pick a winner.

Old Hornets had a smaller bore, for example if you have an old Winchester 70 in Hornet.

The earliest custom Hornets (before there were factory rifles chambered for it) were built using .22 rimfire barrels, such as M2 Springfield conversions and Winchester 52 barrels on custom single shots, and naturally they had tighter bores. Likewise, I suspect the early factory Hornet barrels (Winchester and Savage) were made with the same tooling they used to make rimfire barrels, hence a need for undersize .22 jacketed bullets, at least back then. (Hornet factory ammo was unique in that it was produced for a year or two before there was a factory rifle chambered for it, starting in 1930. That changed when Winchester dropped the M54 Hornet in our laps in, I believe, late 1931/early 1932 and Savage replied with the Model 23 Hornet soon after.)

Could be that .223 Hornet bullets made today are a tip o' the hat to the guys still shooting rifles built back in the 30's.

Correct.




Travis

There are still enough of the older Hornet rifles around that warrant production of .223 bullets.

I suspect they will continue to manufacture these until sales drop to the point where production is no longer practical.

I use the .223" bullets in my CZ, along with other .224" bullets. I can often find the .223" slugs when the .224s are sold out.

CZ Hornet bores are tight, though.

My rifle shoots both diameter bullets quite well.