|
|
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 78,300
Campfire Oracle
|
Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 78,300 |
We could have just started another one on the same topic. Which reminds me, we are overdue for another .22 center fires are no good for big game thread....
"...the left considers you vermin, and they'll kill you given the chance..." Bristoe
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052
Campfire Kahuna
|
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052 |
Yep! I'll get on it right now.... Look in the Deer Hunting forum.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 23,068
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 23,068 |
Hah! Got both topics covered. My best/favorite Hornet load: 55grain cast bullet/6 grains 2400/small pistol primer for 1800fps±. Best centerfire .22 deer load: ditto.
(As long as said deer weigh 2 pounds and live in the tree tops.)
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz
"Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 10,424
Campfire Outfitter
|
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 10,424 |
My favorite Hornet load is a .221 FIREBALL.
Up hills slow,
Down hills fast
Tonnage first and
Safety last.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052
Campfire Kahuna
|
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052 |
And after trying several small centerfires for varmint shooting, including the .221 Fireball, my favorite Hornet load is the .17 Hornet.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 10,871
Campfire Outfitter
|
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 10,871 |
Have you tried the 20 VarTarg?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 23,068
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 23,068 |
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz
"Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052
Campfire Kahuna
|
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052 |
CrowRifle,
Have tried a friend's VarTarg, and it's a nifty little cartridge. I would definitely choose it over the .221 because of the velocity it can get out of 32-grain bullets, which helps considerably within the 300-yard range where the vast majority of small burrowing rodents are shot. The Vartarg and the .17 Fireball shoot noticeably flatter than the .221, which even in these days of laser rangefinders makes hitting tiny targets out to 300 much easier.
But the .17 Hornet gets just about the same velocity with 20-grain bullets as the Vartarg gets with 32's, and does so using about 2/3 as much powder as any of the .221-based rounds. Plus, I can easily dump 100+ rounds in a shirt pocket when doing a walkabout.
The other thing I like about the .17 Hornet is brass is abundant and cheap. In fact, factory ammo is often on sale for such a low price I can't handload it any cheaper, and is incredibly accurate in my CZ. The brass then costs about half as much as .221's.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 6,774
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 6,774 |
I always had the best results with light bullets in my hornets...35 gr vmax ant 33 gt tnt
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 15,611
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 15,611 |
I have two Hornets, a Ruger no. 3 and a Kimber 82 Super America. I use either R-P or W-W brass snd CCI BR-4's in both.
The no.3 likes 11.7 IMR 4227 with the 45 Speer spitzer. For squirrels I've used the old Speer 55 fmj ( a semi-point) and 9.5 grs of IMR 4227. Another reduced load is with either the 50 gr. Speer or Sierra Blitz with 11.5 grs of IMR 4198 (compressed) for about 2250 fps.
For the Kimber I use 11.7 grs of WW 680 (discontinued but I've got a couple of pounds) and the 45 gr Speer
NRA Life,Endowment,Patron or Benefactor since '72.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 10,424
Campfire Outfitter
|
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 10,424 |
Thing is, all these cartridges have really hit the power curve with new bullets, powders, and KNOWLEDGE. It's great, isn't it?
Up hills slow,
Down hills fast
Tonnage first and
Safety last.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 10,871
Campfire Outfitter
|
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 10,871 |
CrowRifle,
Have tried a friend's VarTarg, and it's a nifty little cartridge. I would definitely choose it over the .221 because of the velocity it can get out of 32-grain bullets, which helps considerably within the 300-yard range where the vast majority of small burrowing rodents are shot. The Vartarg and the .17 Fireball shoot noticeably flatter than the .221, which even in these days of laser rangefinders makes hitting tiny targets out to 300 much easier.
But the .17 Hornet gets just about the same velocity with 20-grain bullets as the Vartarg gets with 32's, and does so using about 2/3 as much powder as any of the .221-based rounds. Plus, I can easily dump 100+ rounds in a shirt pocket when doing a walkabout.
The other thing I like about the .17 Hornet is brass is abundant and cheap. In fact, factory ammo is often on sale for such a low price I can't handload it any cheaper, and is incredibly accurate in my CZ. The brass then costs about half as much as .221's. Well now I gotta get me a .17 Hornet!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052
Campfire Kahuna
|
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,052 |
Went "gopher" (Richardson's ground squirrel) shooting with a couple of friends in June, one the rancher who owned the land. I let one of them shoot my .17 Hornet for a while, and he decided he needed one. The rancher had a pre-'64 Winchester M70 .22 Hornet, and we sat together while shooting for a couple of hours one day. Afterward he decided he needed a .17 Hornet too.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491 |
Lyman 225415 cast 55 grain bullet, #5 Little Dandy rotor charge of Lil'Gun, CCI 450 primer...quarter covers groups from Ruger Number One @ 50.
Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
|
|
|
|
|
562 members (2003and2013, 10Glocks, 222Sako, 163bc, 16Racing, 1badf350, 60 invisible),
2,503
guests, and
1,333
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,190,674
Posts18,456,135
Members73,909
| |
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|
