Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints 22 hornet.....

What are you favorites? I'm kind of leaning towards a CZ set up, but I don't want to cut the Savage, Remington or other lines short.

I am more familiar with CZ rifles, but was kind of wondering bout that 1:16 twist.....

What say you guys?

Nothing beats a heavy old Pre-war model 70...

That dog doesn't know how close he is to death.




Dave

What kind of range do you typically get with that set up Shrapnel?

Some of them rifles are hard to come by.....

I use Lil Gun powder and 40 grain V-Max. I don't know the velocity, don't really care, but it is still flat to 150 yards...

Ok, point taken. I think a little 22 hornet would be great on some local prairie dogs.....

After I got it, I wondered why it took so many years to discover such a great little cartridge. Of course there are dozens of members here that would make claim of 300+ yards with the Hornet, but my experience is real and not fantasized...

I like my Left Hand Browning A-Bolt and use the 40 gr Hornady V-Max with Lil'Gun. I also have the Hornet in the SS Encore with 24 inch barrel.

I'll use my other guns for long range....I'm just looking for mid range thumpering....

Can't argue with results.....nice set up bea175, but I'm not a lefty..

Looks like I'm going to have to round up some lil gun powder. And some more amax bullets....

I got some V-Max...

I have a few boxes of the 35 gr V-Max but have never tried them

If I were wanting to buy a Hornet today I'd be looking for a Ruger #1 and getting a Ruger 77 rebarreled.

I do have two Hornets and have shot tons of rounds through them. But one is a Savage 340 and the other is an H&R Handi-rifle.

Nostalgia aside, I can't recommend such peasant rifles.



Travis

Having owned just about every make of Hornet ever made, I only held on to a couple. An old TC Contender Carbine and the CZ. If limited I would opt for the CZ. They just plain shoot.

Case full of Lil Gun, CCI Small Rifle Mag primer, and a 40 grain Hornady VMax at about 3K fps works very well out to about 200.

My brother had one of the 10" Hornet barrels on his T/C. That had to be the most accurate Hornet I had ever fired. It was just stupid accurate.

T/C made some good schit.



Travis

Yeah, my old TC has killed more crows than West Nile virus ever will but is completely shot out. Wonder if the factory can do a nip and tuck on it?

They're spending all their money on the design and manufacturing of the ugliest rifle on the planet.

You're probably screwed.



Travis

If Shrapnel ever actually sighted his Hornet in on paper instead of empty Coke cans he might be able to hit animals beyond 150 yards.

I've only owned 5 .22 Hornet rifle, three chambered for the regular round and two for K-Hornet, but have shot them considerably in the field. A 40-grain plastic-tip at 3000+ is easily a 250-300 yard varmint round--just as the .222 Remington was considered a 250-300 yard round back when softpoint 50's at the same basic velocity were the standard load. (My personal record with the Hornet is a prairie dog at 427 yards, but must admit that was an "expensive" dog, since several rounds were fired, just to see what might happen. But 1-shot kills at 250-300 are pretty common, if the wind isn't howling.)

I've tried lighter bullets at higher velocities, including the 35-grain V-Max, but their ballistic coefficients suck so bad the 40's outrange them anywhere past 150 yards, and even at 150 drift noticeably less in the wind. If the magazine doesn't allow the use of 40-grain plastic-tips, one of the sleeker 40-grain hollow-points is still noticeably better than any of the lighter bullets. My favorites HP's are the Berger, Calhoon and Nosler Varmageddon.

The most explosive plastic-tipped 40's are the Hornady V-Max, Nosler Tipped Varmageddon and Sierra BlitzKing. They're all thin-jacketed so expand easily, and all are accurate as well. I usually shoot whichever can be purchased for the best price when I restock. They work best in a single-shot, due to the lack of magazine-length restrictions. In my Ruger No. 1B the overall cartridge length is around 1.9", which is too long for most magazines.

Though several powders will work, I prefer using Hodgdon Li'l Gun. The accuracy is usually good, and the velocity is great, but another factor is pressure. Hornet brass is thin, and Li'l Gun load operate at far lower pressure than any other powder in the Hornet, resulting in much longer-lasting brass.

Get a CZ in 221FB.
The Hornet might have nostalgia going for it but that's all.

Biggest POS I ever owned was a Ruger 77/22H.
I liked the rifle a lot and really wanted it to work out so I did everything I could short of rebarreling including a trip to some guy that specializes in accurizing Rugers. $200+ later and it still wouldn't shoot MOA.

I sold it to a Hound hunter who wanted it for shooting treed Cats and haven't owned a Ruger (rifle) or 22H since.

The 221 will do everything a Hornet will and then some and do it with a case design that makes sense.
You can shoot easily shoot 40gr V-Max at 3000fps with a 221 so why mess with that rinky dink rimmed case if you don't have to?

Get a CZ in .17 Fireball--it will do anything the .221 will, but better.

However, I must also point out that the Hornet does 80-90% of what the .221 does, while using only 2/3 as much powder. I know this from shooting a .221 for a number of years. Don't own one anymore.

We can go on and on in this debate, but the OP wanted to know about the .22 Hornet, not everybody's opinion on what might be better. Of course, many Campfire threads never address the original question. Instead the answers are all about the posters, not the question.

Mine is an 1885 Miroku LW with a Lee Shaver $35 trigger job, none better. Muddy

.20 VarTarg. Best of both.

It was just food for thought.
Sorry,,, next time I'll check with you before voicing my opinion or sharing my experience.

Still wouldn't go out and buy a brand new rifle in 22H though.
If I ran across something like Schraps M70 then sure,,, I'd shoot it and enjoy it for what it is but that's where my interest in the 22H ends.

The most accurate hornet i have owed is the Browning A-Bolt Micro

FieldGrade,

I apologize for being a little abrupt, but so many answers here are like yours, telling the OP that he's basically FOS, and should do something else entirely.

Why does it always have to be either/or on the Campfire? For all we know, he may already own a .221, and may just want to try something else.

And why can't we own both? Many of us take a lot of pleasure in hauling half a dozen rifles in various chamberings on a prairie dog shoot. I've owned (and shot considerably) a bunch of different rifles in various chamberings, including all the commercial varmint rounds presently available except for the .17 Winchester super whatsis rimfire (and am thinking bout buying one), along with some wildcats, and gotten pleasure from all of them.

Some I've liked better than others, which is why I no longer own a .221, or a .220 Swift, or a few others, but am constantly trying stuff, which is why I came to the conclusion that the .17 Fireball is superior to the .221. The .20 Varget is another I've been thinking about, but have tried Jim Calhoon's .19's and kinda feel like I've been there and done that already.

But I'm NOT going to get on a thread like this and say "Get a ....." instead, which is what so often happens here: Somebody asks about some cartridge, rifle or scope, and 17 people say there are 17 other cartridges, rifles and scopes far better, without even knowing whether the OP had tried them already.

You could also have said the .222 Remington will do anything the .221 Fireball will do, but better, or the .17 Hornet will do anything the .22 Hornet will do, but better. You may even have been correct, but he was asking about experiences with the .22 Hornet, not other cartridges.

I need to take mine up to him for this trigger job. He's only about 20 miles from where I sit right now. Only thing I've killed with my 1885 Hornet is a ground hog. Called coyotes several times with it but none cooperated.

I've had 22hornet since before I was born, no really my dad bought an old savage 219 when my mom was pregnant with me, his excuse was "it's for our son" I was a teenager when he really gave it to me. I love the little round. It was my first varmit caliber and I can't tell you how many groundhogs and crows I killed with the little single shot. It was also my first calling rifle and worked well on many a fox. Even took a few fall turkey with it. Mine was made in the late 30s and the bore is .223 so I only shoot the hornaday 45gr. SP and they only produce them once in a blue moon. I have shot the 35gr vmax out of another 219 we have that has a .224 bore. They are pretty explosive on crow and blackbirds. That all being said, I'm really liking my newest cz in .17hornet, I would never get rid of the 219 but I would go with the .17 over the 22 hornet if there was a choice.
There's my 2cents for what it's worth (bout a penny)

No harm done.
I too dislike it when someone goes completely off track and if you'll go back and look, you'll see I seldom do that.
I only made an exception this time because the OP is a friend from this and a couple of other forums and I would never encourage a friend to buy a modern firearm in 22H when there are so many better options out there for his intended use.

I could have probably worded it better but hey,,, I'm a Carpenter,,, not a wordsmith.









All that said,,,,,, would this be the wrong time to bring up the 19Badger.

Yea,,,, I didn't think so.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the insight Charlie.

Sound advice goes a LONG WAYS. I wasn't trying to stir anything up. Most of the guys that have replied on this thread are guys that I can honestly trust their opinions and tutoring.

There are some on the 24 that can really rub you the wrong way. I didn't see any of that here.

I'll try to do some more homework.

My Hornet is a Kimber of Oregon 82 Custom Classic. Picked it up used about 30 years ago. Beautiful rifle, great shooter with 45, 46 grain stuff, but doesn't like the lighter 30-35 grain loads that I've tried. They show up for sale now and then, but won't be cheap if you find one.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the insight Charlie.

Sound advice goes a LONG WAYS. I wasn't trying to stir anything up. Most of the guys that have replied on this thread are guys that I can honestly trust their opinions and tutoring.

There are some on the 24 that can really rub you the wrong way. I didn't see any of that here.

I'll try to do some more homework.

Mine, too. It will be one of the last rifles to leave my possession.

Ed

I have to agree with this. I got mine, having read all the horror stories, figuring I had all summer to fool around trying to find a load that was accurate enough make it worth keeping. Right out of the box it shot 2 factory loads into dime size groups, and I was able to repeat that with the first two handloads I tried without and issues. It almost left me disappointed that it was so easy to get 1/2" groups.

A-bolts get a bad rap around here but I've had nothing but positives with the 2 I've owned.

I love the Browning A-Bolts in any cal , the real sleeper in the gun world for accuracy right out of the box.

Gonzaga: Just a heads up - 22 Hornet brass is almost impossible to find. After searching for months I had to buy Privi factory loads and shoot them for the brass.

Yep it took me almost 3 years to get a total of 700, from numerous sources and of a wide range of ages and brands. Now have enough for a decent weekend of gopher shootin. Muddy

Well since I can't seem to find one at a decent price.....I might be [bleep] outta luck.....lol

Cz would be a goos choice.. As for the 16 twist. It's too slow and I find that any thing over 40 gr won't shoot well. I will someday do a fast twist hornet and see how it does..

MY old 219, I just gave it to my niece for her first varmint rifle. It is very accurate with Win 46gr HP over Lilgun, I was never able to get any other bullets to shoot as well.



I keep thinking another one is needed but a repeater this time.

CZ,browning,and ruger 22 hornets in my safe.All are tack drivers.

Interested in any trades for that CZ?

Do you gentlemen use Lil Gun as your powder of choice? I've been seeing guys use small pistol primers too....is that the norm? They say small rifle primers have resulted in split cases.

I always would advise a new Hornet owner to start with Lilgun powder. Hodgdon says the pressures are lower and the speeds are higher. I can't measure pressures, but I can velocity, and I get 2,850fps with a 45gr bullet out a a 20" Ruger M77 (mine is a plain Hornet, not 'K').

As to primers, most of my Hornet loads use a small pistol, but I have very good loads with small rifle as well. Try them and see.

Love 22 Hornets..

Savage 342, not the prettiest thing but they do tend to be accurate.




The 19H on the top here is a 22 Hornet, and is a neat old gun. The bottom is a 23 in 22LR, but you can find them in 22 Hornet also. Considering the schnabel tip on the forearm, that's definitely on my list.

I keep waiting on Ruger to offer an American RAR in 22 Hornet

Then the next logical step would be .17 hornet, I don't think they could make them fast enough!

You just accurately encapsulated almost every thread on this forum when anyone asks a question.

# of members - 14 = # of experts.

I always really like the posts that consist of:

"Use XYZ and you can quit looking."

"XYZ is your huckleberry."

To the OP,

You can quit looking because I found your Huckleberry:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/9828808/WTS:__Ruger_No._1-B_22_Hornet_#Post9828808

Clark

Thanks buddy, I'll look into that.

I had the same problem. Nice laminate stock and greyed action and barrel and no matter what I tried, shot like a turd.

Also had a 527 that wouldn't single load for some reason. Heard that was an issue with the earlier models. Had to load each round in the magazine or it wouldn't feed. Was plenty accurate but annoying as hell when at the range.

Finally found a 527 Maple that is my current 22H. I have since replaced the scope but it also came with nice Leupold rings and didn't break the bank.


I too have found the best success with Lil' Gun and 35gr and 40gr VMax. I've also tried with and without both Small Pistol and Small Rifle primers and did have a few piercings with SP.

Prvi makes decent brass for the Hornet but seems to be thicker and will pressure up quicker in my experience. No such issue with Remington or Winchester.

Isn't that the way CRF is supposed to work?


I don't normally like maple stocks but that one really looks good with the deep blue finish. Nice find.

I don't know if that was design or design flaw. If I had the magazine in and dropped a round on top of the magazine, couldn't close the bolt. The rim wouldn't load under the lip of the bolt for lack of a better term. If I loaded it in the magazine, would load perfectly with the rim loading under the lip. Fast forward to the current 527 as seen above, either drop it on the magazine or load it in the magazine and it chambers perfectly. No "lip" issues. IDK, maybe I was doing something wrong.

I think punching the 77 Hornets to the K version fixes a lot of the throat/mag confine issues.

My dad had one and it went down the road though. Papa 'flave wouldn't play 'dat schit.



Travis

That's what FG is talking about, the CZ is CRF, Mauser style action. They are designed for a round to be pushed up into the bolt and under the extractor from the mag. where it's held in place while closing the bolt. If you lay a loose round on top of the mag. the only way the bolt will close is forcing the extractor to snap over the rim which probably isn't going to be good for the extractor. I'm sure others can shine more light on this subject than I can, most of my rifles are Remington's and can be loaded as you described.

I wish I still had my old one to compare but I could have sworn that I read somewhere (Saubier maybe) that the design changed. With the extractors they way they are, I don't know that I would be able to generate near the force to close the bolt by forcing them over the rim. That would seem darn near impossible. I'll have to pull it out of the safe and see if I can recognize a difference between the two. Or its the way the magazine sits that allows the bolt to grab the round when sitting on top.

I can tell you with confidence though that there was definitely a difference between the two. The older one I had would have required a dead blow to get that bolt to close when single fed. The new one does it without issue and you can't tell the difference between single feeding it or via the magazine.

Many CRF rifles have a bevel on the front edge of the extractor so it will easily cam over the rim of a chambered round. The pre-'64 Winchester Model 70 is a good example, but it's easy to do on a 98 Mauser extractor too. Otherwise 98 extractors won't go over the rim of a chambered case, though there are exceptions.

Some ammo has more of a bevel on the back edge of the rim, which can also help.

Maybe CZ put a bevel on the extractor of 527's in the past few years, or maybe one simply got skipped during manufacturing.

I believe the extractors of both my Brno ZKW-465 (the forerunned or the CZ 527) in .22 K-Hornet and my 527 .17 Hornet will snap over the rim of a chambered round, but now I'm gonna have to try both to make sure....

Here I found it on Saubier. Most have been an early model 527 I had.

Yea that's what I was talking about,,, thanks for explaining it for me Wiley.
I've heard/read discussions about the extractor "snapping" over the rim as well as modifications to make it do so but the general consensus always seemed to end up being that CRF simply wasn't originally designed to work that way.
To tell you the truth, I don't know if mine will or not because I've never tried to single feed it. Or for that matter,, worried about it,, I just load the magazine.
I can sure agree that it's a PITA at the range but I hardly ever shoot mine there.

My Hornet is a Browning A-bolt.. Like Bea, I find it very accurate, I use it quite a bit for gophers, p.dogs, cottontails, shot about 5 turkeys with it, a coyote and some fox.. I really enjoy my Hornet.. I have larger .22 centerfires for other shooting.. I used my Hornet quite a bit every summer, until I got my .22 mag.. Now I often shoot it since I don't have to reload.. I think if I were buying a new Hornet, I would probably go with CZ if I couldn't find an A-bolt.. Of course a model 70 would be the best, but they are tough to locate and expensive..

I can't remember ever hearing about one of those A-Bolt Hornets that wasn't accurate.
They're hard to find though

Have had a couple of Savages older model, and a newer heavy barreled single shot, then a Ruger 77 and now a LH Browning. Going to keep this one.

14" factory barrel on my Contender dropped a mule deer at 240 yards. forty grain home swaged bulled took out the spine just in front of the shoulder and it dropped like a rock. I have taken sage rats and rock chucks with my CZ in K-hornet past three hundred. It is the little gun that can.

I load my CZ K-hornet way longer that the mg will take and always load it one at a time by just dropping them in and closing the bolt. Have been doing it that way for years.

The Hornet is one of those chamberings that has run consistently through my gun owning/buying/trading/selling life. Rare is the time I haven't been without one. My current Hornet is a German single shot stalking rifle in 5.6x35R (indistinguishable from the Hornet), and wouldn't trade it for anything. Future plans for satisfying my Hornet lust: a Martini Cadet that is going on the chopping block for conversion, and saving a couple Social Security checks with which to shop for either a M54 or M70 Hornet. A gunshop owner buddy who owns a M43 Hornet re-chambered to K-Hornet is weakening in his resolve to not sell it to me. I can tell. I hope.

I owned Savages 340 and 219, long ago. Shot well enough but rather plebian, and they didn't shoot that good so as to overcome that. I remember a Martini Hornet that had the prettiest piece of crotch-figure walnut on it that I ever saw. It didn't shoot as well as it looked, so away it went into the ether. The one I really should have my ass kicked for was a vintage Winchester LoWall rebuilt as a Hornet that I swapped for a Mannlicher-Schoenauer.

Another angle to recommend a Hornet is its adaptability to shooting low velocity cast bullet rounds. .22LR and/or .22RF Mag performance at a fraction of the cost. It would seem the Hornet was custom designed for that very thing. Oh wait. It was. Consider the lead bullet shooting .22 W.C.F. from which the Hornet evolved.