Ongoing Saga of .22 Hornet rifles

[Hickok]

I have owned two .22 Hornets now, both Savages, a Model 40, and a recently purchased Savage Model 25. The Model 40 single shot was a great shooter, but it had extraction problems. I worked on the extractor and almost completely fixed it. But still, occasionally had a case fail to extract. Got rid of it and bought a new Model 25. It too has extraction problems, and I replaced the extractor spring. This helped, but today shooting mild cast loads, I had two failures to extract in 35 rounds shot. Thinking full length resizing would help, but it did not. This model 25 shoots excellent with cast and j-word, but I just didn't like having to carry a cleaning rod every time I went out to shoot. Both these Savages were tack drivers, but just had some glitches I grew tired of.

I went to a little local gunstore to stock up on some primers after shooting the model 25 today, just a little POed at the faulty extraction. And what do I see in the gun rack? A brand new CZ American in .22 Hornet!!! Man I could have given a "Rebel Yell" when I picked it up! I bought it immediately.

It has a real nice set trigger, and a Mauser type extractor that looks like it would rip the rim off a case if it needed to!!!

So I am still in the Hornet business, but starting over again.

[Lights]

Them CZ's are pretty nice rifles.

[M-Tecs]

Really like my CZ but I also have two Contenders in 22 Hornet. None of the chambers are the same so I am thinking of doing all three into K-Hornets so I don't have to segregate the brass. As I stated I am very happy with the CZ but I wished it was a 14 twist instead of a 16 twist. I haven't done it yet but the mag. needs to be modified so the 40 grain Ballistic Tips aren't too long.

Page 27 for the mods. http://www.varminthunter.org/Portals...14_Issue89.pdf

[castalott]

Lucky man...I love CZ rifles. I am wanting to step off the deep end into 22 cast myself. I want to 'make' my own 22 short, long rifle and 22 magnum loads for a CZ. I am thinking hard about 222 Remington but I would be glad to wait and see how you do with the Hornet if you would post some of your insights and successes. Best of Luck to us both....

Dale

[rollmyown]

You won't look back, goodluck and enjoy your CZ.

[Jack Stanley]

That CZ is a rifle you will grow fond of real quick !

Jack

[Hickok]

A report on the CZ Hornet. Had the rifle out the range today. It shot a handload of 10 gr/ H110, CCI SP primers and a Sierra 45 gr Hornet J-word into 3/8" @ 50 yards and 1" @ 100 yards repeatedly. These were full length resized cases, so I expect a little better groups when I neck-size the next loads with Wilson neck die and Arbor press. Very happy with theses groups right out of the box!

Tried the Hornady 40 gr V-max and it didn't shoot too well, about 2 in groups @ 100. May be a bit too long for the 16" twist. The 40 gr V max is definitely too long for the magazine, and had to be single loaded. I think I will stay with Hornet-specific j-word slugs when not using cast boolits, as they are tailor made for the 1 in 16" twist, and it will make life simpler.

I absolutely love this rifle. The Mini Mauser action is a "class act"! The set trigger is great, and the claw extractor will pull any case out of the action without any failures. This is a beautiful little rifle.

I just received my Lyman #225438 mold, and it should be a good match for this barrel twist. I am also happy with this mold, as it casts a .225" boolit with my ACWW + tin, and the Gator gas checks fit nice and tight, before any sizing. The mold throws nice boolits, nicely filled out and at 45 gr with my alloy.

Checked some these boolits in the throat and leade, and they are just touching the rifling when seated to the first lube groove nearest the ogive of the nose of the slug. This is really good, as they fit nicely in the magazine at this length, with the case neck nearly covering the lube groove.

Now to work on the cast loads and get some good groups on the paper. (The hard work begins!)

[Jack Stanley]

It may be hard work but you're going to really enjoy doing it

Jack

[richhodg66]

I like the CZs I have handled, never shot one.

I have an old Savage 219 which I've been working with. I wouldn't call it a tack driver, but with the light, .22 LR duplication loads I've been working with, it is good enough.

One thing it doesn't have is extraction problems, in fact, the ejector on the rifle is the thing I dislike the most about it, gotta be careful or those cases are in the next zip code.

[koehlerrk]

My current 22 Hornet is a Savage 340... sweet old rifle, shoots anything under 50 grain bullets, but really loves 45gr cast from my NOE mold. Add a little 2400 to the case and we're ready to rock!

As for the CZ, I have one in 204 Ruger. Model 527, and yes, that baby Mauser action is a thing of beauty! Just remember, it's a full up controlled round feed rifle, so you can not drop a round into the chamber and close the bolt... you must feed all rounds from the magazine. That said, my CZ is my usual partner when walking around looking for woodchucks. Great rifles!

[richhodg66]

I came real close to trading off my 219 for a Savage 25 when I realized it had a rough patch in the bore (yeah, I know, I didn't check it out carefully before buying), but after some mild fire lapping, you can still see the rough patch, but it shoots the kind of loads I wanted well enough. I'm in on the NOE group buy for a 45 grain PB design with a big maplat, can't wait to go squirrel hunting this Fall.

Those CZ mini Mausers are very intriguing. I have a Charles Daly mini Mauser in 7.62x39 that is the same, a scaled down Interarms Mark X. Is the CZ the same action? I never can seem to keep track of who used to import who's products and such, but this rifle would be sweet in something like .22 Hornet.

Wish I could find a good deal on a 340 in Hornet. Guys who have them for sale seem pretty proud of them.

[Merick]

I think the CD mini mauser (brno?) are a different animal from the CZ 527. I don't know much about either, but I have some experience with the CZ 550 and don't have anything bad to say, claw extractor (hence the mauser confusion), genius set triggers, and excellent barrels.

Some of their stock ergonomics are wonky compared to what we are used to, and they have proprietary scope bases. But if you can get past those two things they are worth a look.

[pietro]

.

My .22H CZ-527 Lux was the most accurate .22H I ever had - after myriad Savage 219's, a Ruger 77/22H, and a Handi.


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[fouronesix]

For some reason rifle manufacturers have trouble making consistently accurate 22 Hornets. Too bad, because it's such a great cartridge! It shouldn't be that hard to barrel and chamber a rifle in 22 Hornet for accuracy.

By far the most accurate I've ever had and for all common bullet weights was an early Contender with the thin 10" oct barrel. The worst by far was a new H&R with heavy barrel that wouldn't shoot ANY bullet into less than 10 inches at 50 yards. The H&R was new and thank goodness I was allowed to shoot before purchase! So so, in between shooters were a new Brno bolt gun and a new heavy carbine barreled Contender. Both of those were OK but nothing to write home about.

Don't even own a Hornet now. If I ever decide to get another Hornet it will be a proven shooter I know personally or will be a custom job of some sort. My experience with the factory product for accuracy is that it can be a cr*p shoot.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

My current 22 Hornet is a Savage 340... sweet old rifle, shoots anything under 50 grain bullets, but really loves 45gr cast from my NOE mold. Add a little 2400 to the case and we're ready to rock!

As for the CZ, I have one in 204 Ruger. Model 527, and yes, that baby Mauser action is a thing of beauty! Just remember, it's a full up controlled round feed rifle, so you can not drop a round into the chamber and close the bolt... you must feed all rounds from the magazine. That said, my CZ is my usual partner when walking around looking for woodchucks. Great rifles!

..."you must feed all rounds from the magazine." just isn't so. A number of new 527s in the 222/223 chambering that I have or have had, feed a cartridge easily into the chamber by placing it on the empty magazine follower and just closing the bolt(single shot mode).

Being close copies of the Mauser, those that do not come to you doing this are easily modified with a minimum of polishing of the bolt claw angle, to do so. Search several of the classic post-WWII gunsmithing books, Ray Dunlap's comes readily to mind, which explain the tuning method. Perhaps Kuhnhausens' does also. You see, many claw extractor Mausers in military calibers will do this without change, and the 527 CZs are no different. Perhaps an inquiry on our gunsmithing forum will give the instructions from an experienced smith in adjusting the extractor.

BvT

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

I had one of the Ruger Hornets, the all weather model. It was an inch and a quarter rifle at a hundred. Several years ago I went to a local gun show and there was an Old Model 70 (1937 year) in 22 Hornet, a carbine. It came home with me, needless to say. It really likes the Nosler 40gr, almost a sub-moa "money rifle". It amazes me that the OM 70 could be chambered in the Hornet and be made to feed flawlessly, and also feed 100% in 300/375 H&H. Quality was job one back then.

[birch]

I had the exact same American CZ in Hornet. I ended up trading it for a Ford 8N--It was a real sweetheart with j-words. Anything out to 200 yards was in a bad state. However, I tried, and tried, tried to get a "cast" load with that gun and It never gave me accuracy that I felt was good enough. I either got leading or poor groups with every load I tried. I hope you figure it out, as that was the only rifle that I gave up on in the cast department.

The only thing I didnt try was sizing it down to .224 exactly (no star sizer).
All the best.

[Mk42gunner]

I came real close to trading off my 219 for a Savage 25 when I realized it had a rough patch in the bore (yeah, I know, I didn't check it out carefully before buying), but after some mild fire lapping, you can still see the rough patch, but it shoots the kind of loads I wanted well enough. I'm in on the NOE group buy for a 45 grain PB design with a big maplat, can't wait to go squirrel hunting this Fall.

Those CZ mini Mausers are very intriguing. I have a Charles Daly mini Mauser in 7.62x39 that is the same, a scaled down Interarms Mark X. Is the CZ the same action? I never can seem to keep track of who used to import who's products and such, but this rifle would be sweet in something like .22 Hornet.

Wish I could find a good deal on a 340 in Hornet. Guys who have them for sale seem pretty proud of them.

The Interarms/ Charles Daly/ Rem 799 Mini Mausers are made by Zastava, not CZ. They are decent little guns, but they are different from the CZ.

Two tricks to keep brass in the same zip code for the 219 (maybe):

#1 is to put your thumb in the brass departure path.

#2 is to tilt the gun and open it more or less sideways, letting the brass hit your chest and hopefully landing at your feet.

I learned these tricks when I was a kid hunting with single shot shotguns, the 219 in .22 Hornet brought them back very quickly. Be sure to watch your muzzle discipline if you try #2.

Robert

[rking22]

"watch your muzzle discipline if you try #2."

A 45-70 handi will leave a bruise on your forehead if you arent paying attention

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Lucky man...I love CZ rifles. I am wanting to step off the deep end into 22 cast myself. I want to 'make' my own 22 short, long rifle and 22 magnum loads for a CZ. I am thinking hard about 222 Remington but I would be glad to wait and see how you do with the Hornet if you would post some of your insights and successes. Best of Luck to us both....

Dale

The CZ 527 in 222 R accepts 40 to 55 grain jacketed bullets using reduced Green Dot or Blue dot loads. My favorite is the cheap bulk 55 grain soft point at 1950 fps to mimic 22M velocity with a bit more throw weight. Be careful, you do not want to stick a jacketed bullet in your barrel.

I have down loaded the 225438 Lyman to 22 LR standard velocity using 700 X and have produced 22 LR subsonic, standard velocity, and high velocity loads in the CZ 22 Hornet with 700X . No reason you cannot do it in the 222R. I recommend using the faster powders, BE to Universal Clays and a small pistol primer to avoid any problems of powder shift changing ignition due to rifle positioning. Start higher as from some of the Lyman cast bullet loads and work down. Sticking a lead bullet is not much of a problem. My Ruger Hornet is subsonic @2 grains of 700x, CCI 500 primer, and a modestly snug fit in the case neck and no crimp. Accuracy is 3 shots touching at 25 yards.

BvT