I have lusting for a 22 Hornet but stymied but the limited options in rifles. First is cost which drives pretty much everything I do. Second is utility. so here's the conclusion that I am leaning towards, your 2 cents are most certainly welcome.
I am wanting a 22 cal bullet at about 2500/2600 or so, think of a hot 22 mag for G-hogs.
Rifles<, CZ, Ruger #1 (price) and 77, BRNO, have short magazines that limit tipped bullets be used without trimming brass short to allow COAL in the mag or are to much $$$.
The 17 hornet is not a consideration, Nor the K-hornet.
Savage 25 is not appealing to me (ugly) and mags are junk.
Howas mini action would be perfect for the hornet but they do chamber it. $$$
223 REM, loaded down with blue dot and 40gr BT's
So...Two options, Cheap and not so cheap, Walmart Savage axis 223 for $269.00, second choice Henry single shot ( $370.00) 233/556 up scale H&R, More $ and a trigger job will be needed.
If anyone has a better idea please advise, I known that I have overlooked something with this pipe dream idea. Thanks

Take a look on Zastava m85/Remington 799/ InterArms Mark X MZ.
In 22 hornet they have steal magazines.
They are made in .223 Rem, .222 Rem, .222 Rem.Mag, .22-250 Rem, 7.62x39 mm and .22 HORNET.

I had very poor accuracy issues with Ruger hornets, both #1 and 77/22H.
You said price is an issue, so that knocks out Anschutz, which is the cream of the crop in Hornets, in my view.

My little CZ 527 has been an excellent shooter from the git-go. No, I don't use the plastic-tipped bullets, but there's no need, as I have other rifles for that. I honestly can't think of any groups I've shot with that rifle that have been over 1". Mine does best with Midsouth's 34gr. HPs, the shorter the bullets, the better. It shoots pretty good with Sierra 40s, too, but I like the 34s for the price (less than $50/500).

I have three other 527s, including a .17 Hornet, .221 Fireball, and .204. All of them shoot quite well. There is also a remedial "fix" to extend the interior length of the magazines on the CZs, by thinning the plastic spacer in the back of the magazine, but because of the 34s, I haven't bothered with it. It's not hard to do, but with the Fireball on hand, I won't do it. No need.

In fact, it might be smarter to watch for CZ to make a run of the Fireball rifles and just buy one of those, mine is the most accurate out-of-box rifle I've ever owned. Any bullet up to 53gr. with Reloader Seven powder and it's bughole time.

You might want to look at some rifles in 222 Rem, Howa-Mini, CZ, Krico, Husqvarna, 799, Sako, Marlin-Sako, H&R Sako, Savage 340 and variations, Win Model 70, Rem 600, 7000, 722. There is a pretty long list and there are usually very accurate. Easily loaded down.

Don't over look Savage 340's in 22H or the Savage 219. H&R SS came in 22H and TC Contenders. The Browning Micro Hunter came in 22H also.

Wow, thanks for your ideas. Many of the suggestions, I did not even think of or know about. Price will be hurdle to get past. I really just want a faster 22 magnum. Hence my 2500/2600 fps envelope. the center fire option gets some loading bench time which would be nice. As with most folks it is one of the things I wish I had more time to do. As to the CZ 527 magazine spacer mod, Does any one known if the spacer can be removed completely or thinned and returned to the rear of the magazine.?

Wow, thanks for your ideas. Many of the suggestions, I did not even think of or know about. Price will be hurdle to get past. I really just want a faster 22 magnum. Hence my 2500/2600 fps envelope. the center fire option gets some loading bench time which would be nice. As with most folks it is one of the things I wish I had more time to do. As to the CZ 527 magazine spacer mod, Does any one known if the spacer can be removed completely or thinned and returned to the rear of the magazine.?

I just went with Brno ZKW465 and 35 gr Hornady V-Max.

A .221 Fireball is a thing to behold. Almost perfect in every way.

Look around for a small frame Martini that's been converted to centerfire and rechambered to .22 Hornet or rebarreled to the same. They are very strong actions, quite accurate and almost impossible to wear out. I have one (a BSA Model 15) that I love, along with a TC Contender 10" barrel and a Springfield 1922 converted to centerfire repeater. These are all fun guns and the Hornet is a great cartridge that's cheap to shoot and quiet enough to allow you to hunt groundhogs in places that larger centerfires will get you banned for noise.

Were I going the cadet route I would be more inclined to neck down .357 maximum to 22 and go with that.

I bought a 77/22 with a Nikon Buckmaster off GB for $450 and a Win Model 43 with a vintage Weaver K6 for $650 and both put 10 rounds of vintage WW 46gr HP under an inch off a sandbag rest. I had the Ruger rechambered to K, the two piece bolt shimmed, the trigger worked down to 3 lbs no creep, and the barrel recrowned by a shop in Connecticut, of all places. He did the work for $225 total. It now shoots the same ammo into the same groups while fireforming to K. Anticipate groups half of that once I reload some K. The Model 43 makes me smile, though. Isnt that what its all about?

I have a 22K Hornet in a 22"TC Contender that I am totally happy with.
SO MUCH better performance with the "K" than standard.

The sure bet is a CZ in the Hornet or Fireball.

Go big or go home!

This one happens to be out of production now, but they can be found ever now and again.

What model is that Orange? I like the looks of that rifle.

Anschutz 54 action
Forgot the model number

cs2blue,

I have a CZ American .22 Hornet, which I absolutely love. It shoots both plastic-tipped 35gr. factory ammo, and Hornady factory 45 gr. SP ammo, with great, sub-.5" MOA accuracy.
Depending on what you want to do with the rifle, you can blow up varmints with the tipped 35 gr., or hunt deer (if legal), or turkeys, with the Hornady bullet, which is not as frangible.

My vote is for the CZ!!!

Think it might be a model 1730. I have one in sporter and varmint barrels. Both very accurate, neither for sale.

H&R or NEF Single shots shoot lights out and are very accurate. Don't cost an arm and leg either.

That said, I sold a Win 43 that was so-so and bought a Ruger 77/22 that will one hole them. Only thing I did was replace the trigger spring.

T/C Contender, Hornet barrel, shop around a little.

For your stated purpose, the short magazines in CZs and Rugers won't be a problem.

The bargain leader in small rifles, IMO, is the Howa Mini in .222 or .223. The slow twist in their .222 won't be a problem, again for the purpose you stated. These can be found for from $350-$450 all over the www. I love my Hornet, but if money was a big issue could do very well with either a .222 or .223. Don't know if you handload, but a Lee Loader and a powder scale will keep you in good ammo for very few bucks once you've got some brass. Same applies to the Hornet, BTW. Neck-sizing only makes that thin brass last.

Pappy, thanks for your reply. Money is the biggest hurdle and it the most important one. I like the Howa rifles and the 223 cambering offers even more utility from the mild to full speed 223 loads. I do hand load and I think this is best option. For every used hornet out there,there are 15 used 223's sitting on the rack. My local Walmart has a savage Axis for $269.00 new. Blue dot reduced loads will fill the bill and i have a pound of it on hand. Blue

Here's a link to .22 Hornet, K-Hornet. Have posted before.

Some B.S., mostly good stuff. You'll have to sort it out...

JB contributes a bunch of good information that you may not find elsewhere.

www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/11390994

DF

Newer Minis out there will have 1-8" twists in .223. No way to tell without the serial number, according to the guy at LSI. .222s are probably 1-12, maybe 1-14, but fine for bullets uot o 55 or 60gr.

The same guy told me they are in negotiations with Howa for blind mag and floorplate versions of the Mini. No time frame on that. Either would be more better than the DM for me.

The Howa mini and the 22 hornet go together like peas and carrots! I just wish Howa would come to that realization! I would buy it!

The mag on a mini Howa is an easy fix.

I have an Anschutz that is really accurate with a varmint type barrel. Not cheap but they shoot well.

Cs2blue: You may not have been paying attention but Fireball2 already answered your query correctly - 221 Remington Fireball!
I have two Rifles in this caliber (221 Remington Fireball) and they are both very capable of EXCELLENT accuracy.
First is a Kimber of Oregon Ultra-Varmint and the other is a Remington 700 Classic.
Again both Rifles are splendidly accurate, the 221 Remington Fireball brass lasts forever and your reloading options are infinite.
Best of luck to you with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

It is good to see that the .221 Fireball has a good following here on the forum from guys who know their rifles. I looked at a Hornet and K Hornet before I got the .221 FB, but I thought that the Hornet case looked thin and weak compared to the larger bottle necked cartridges. The Fireball does everything I'll ever need as a walk around varmint rifle. Factory ammunition is pretty much mail order only unlike the .223 stuff, but I have enough to last for the shooting that I'll do.

I'll offer a 2nd vote for a T/C contender in 22 H. You can choose the length, contour and twist by using a Match Grade Machine barrel and you will be very happy with the accuracy you will get using it.

CZ 527 is a good bet. Or, if you can find a good used Savage Model 40 single-shot (not the 25 M25!), that would be the best bang for the buck.

Go S/S 77/22 chop it at 20" and punch it "K".

Hint..................

Go S/S 77/22 chop it at 20" and punch it "K".

Hint..................

this is what I did. I sent in a round to JGS, had a reamer made to fit the base dimension, neck dimension, and throat geometry where the leade angle started on the end of the case neck, no freebore or chamfer coming off the front of the case.... on the K version. I set the barrel back .250 which allowed the old chamber to be cleaned up.

Bedded the ruger All Weather skeleton stock, honed the trigger. I hunted coyotes with the rifle in Az, killed a lot of them with 40g speer spire point which could touch the lands and still use the Ruger magazine. 40g speer spire point will break some bones but is a POS on ballistic's for 200 and further shooting. Plastic tip bullets were in their infancy at that time with market being dominated by Nosler only.

Since you already handload, a CZ 527 in 221 Fireball ( or any other 22 centerfire ) will eliminate dealing with thin Hornet brass. The set trigger is also a nice feature. A single shot adapter from Jim Calhoon is an option that does away with the overall cartridge length issue and the ugly ( in my humble opinion ) magazine protruding from the bottom of the rifle.

CZ's can't/don't enter anything approaching serious consideration.

Hint...................

You get what you pay for. I won't settle for crap results just to get cheap.

My favorite .22 Hornet is the Ruger 77/22 varmint-target. The magazine is short so you can't use long, pointed bullets in the magazine but they single feed just fine and thats perfectly ok if you're shooting in a colony of varmints from a rest of some sort. Look at the Nosler 40 and 50 grain ballistic tip, Hornady 40 and 50 grain VMAX, and the Hornady 45 grain spire point Hornet bullet. (Sierra Blitzkings in 40 and 50 grains should be good too, just haven't had a hornet since they came out.) For magazine feeding, Sierra and Speer 40 and 45 grain stubby semi-spitzers and roundnoses work fine. The very best bullet of all for a Ruger hornet is the 35 grain VMAX. Stubby, low BC, but remembering that a Hornet is not a .22-250 and using the Hornet for what it does best, it is an incredible little bullet.

I don't know that I'll ever go back to the Hornet. The .17 HMR does everything I'd do with a Hornet. However, if I do, it'll be another 77/22 VT.

Tom

The 32,33 and 35 'Max are Deer Killing bastards in a herd of 77/22 K-Hornets.

Hint...................

Another TC Contender Hornet fan !