So a bit of back story first. Several years ago I went groundhog hunting with a friend. He has a couple 17 fireballs and we used those. I fell in love with them xxx and figured I need one. Of course they no longer made them. So I figured I dont need one and got a 225 Winchester. Worked up a few loads for it, and it shot pretty good, but in the back if my mind I was always comparing it with the fireball. The 225 was too much recoil to spot hits, and was waaaay louder than the 17 fireball (38 grains of powder will do that).
So I am looking at getting rid of my 225 and getting something as close to the fireball as I can. I was looking hard at the hornet. Main use will be groundhogs. I am not sure that the fireball offers enough advantage to put out 2k for one. I know I will give up a little bit of distance, but not sure how much. My friends longest confirmed kill on a groundhog with his fireball and a 20 grn bullet just north of 4k fps was 437 yards. So am thinking a hornet should be good out to 350 or so.
Whatever I get, order of importance to me is 1. Low enough recoil to spot shots. 2. Low noise. 3 flat shooting. Seems tome that tge hornet will fit the bill. Just want I g to make sure I am not overlooking something here. My brother has a 204 ruger,and that noise level is a bit too sharp for my liking.
