22 Hornet for varminting - thoughts

[Mr_Sheesh]

I'm trying (some'd say VERY trying :P) to get back set up for varminting, Chucks and Coyotes mainly. Working on getting 223 and 243 set up, but also I've thought of getting a .22 Hornet for closer-in varmints. More "oomph" out near 100 yards than .22LR.

One outing TOO long ago, 2 of us fired 5000 rounds over 10 days or so, you'd shoot till that bolt gun was hot & change to another one, we DID of course leave breeding stocks of 'Chucks there - There had been 2 warm winters in a row though, and their numbers had skyrocketed; They were digging new tunnels ALL over. The land owner, a horse rancher, was losing lots of horses due to broken legs and then they'd founder, I guess even with slings, I am NOT a horse expert tho - was going to either Paralytic Poison his whole spread, OR, call us in, we were glad to go. Dang that was fun but challenging

So I've been thinking, do I want a longer barreled Contender for 22 Hornet, or just get a decent cheap sporter in 22 Hornet, or just use a .22LR? Choices, Choices... What do you folks use for those varmints? [Next I need to find someone in Eastern WA who has a severe varmint problem, I know where to go ask, should be someone there needing help.]

[richhodg66]

Do they make Contender rifle barrels in .22 Hornet? I have one in .17 HMR and it is a neat rifle, but I'd a lot rather have it in a Hornet.

To me, where the Hornet really shines is with reduced cast squirrel loads. I have .223s for anything more. Just not sure "full power" loads in the Hornet really makes sense when we have .22s and .223s.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Yes they do; Fleabay has 10", 12", 14" and even up to 21 - 23" barrels, I considered bidding on one. I've found that if I use a heavy cast boolit I can "organic trajectory computer" the round onto the target if I've shot it a few times; Even if it's a little mortar-like of a trajectory. I'd have to practice with the rifle or Contender somewhat tho (Oh noes! Forced to shoot at paper targets! The pain :P) Also cast boolit loads are easier for my budget

[M-Tecs]

I am an avid prairie shooter. For 125 and under I love the 17 HMR. For the 100 to 325 yard shots the .223 see the most use. For longer shots I use 22-250AI, various 6mm than 6.5x284. I wanted something between the 17 HMR and the .223 so I picked up a 22 Hornet in CZ 527 and some Contender barrels.

The 22 Hornet has been a disappointment. Three different chamber lengths so if I don't segregate the brass for each case life becomes an issue. More importantly the Hornet is almost as noisy as the 223. The 17 HMR is relatively quite and spooks PD's much less than the Hornet. I haven't taken the Hornet PD hunting in two years.

In retrospect I wished I would have went with the 221 Fireball. I want to like the Hornet but I am having a really hard time finding a niche for it.

[Drm50]

I have had several Hornets. That is the only rifle other than a 25/20 my wife will shoot after a 308
whacked her in the head. Used for ground hogs it anchors them good. She was aggravated by them getting back in the hole with 22lr. We had large gardens and she was constantly at war with
them. Not being a 22mg fan the Hornet fills a niche for Varmits. No recoil, less noise, less powder
and reloadable. I like 25/20s & 32/20s but the Hornet out does them on groundhogs just because
they shoot a little flatter. Presently we have a Savage 23 Hornet, it would outshoot the 43Win we
had and my Bro's Sav 340. We shoot jacketed bullets.

[dverna]

I am an avid prairie shooter. For 125 and under I love the 17 HMR. For the 100 to 325 yard shots the .223 see the most use. For longer shots I use 22-250AI, various 6mm than 6.5x284. I wanted something between the 17 HMR and the .223 so I picked up a 22 Hornet in CZ 527 and some Contender barrels.

The 22 Hornet has been a disappointment. Three different chamber lengths so if I don't segregate the brass for each case life becomes an issue. More importantly the Hornet is almost as noisy as the 223. The 17 HMR is relatively quite and spooks PD's much less than the Hornet. I haven't taken the Hornet PD hunting in two years.

In retrospect I wished I would have went with the 221 Fireball. I want to like the Hornet but I am having a really hard time finding a niche for it.

My thoughts as well. The .223 brass is cheap and if someone wants .22 Hornet ballistics the .223 can be downloaded. I bought a Howa mini-Mauser in .223 just for that purpose and to play with cast a bit. I had a .22 Hornet at one time and rarely shot it so it was sold.

[Kosh75287]

`Unless you just WANT to get a .22 Hornet, what would be wrong with using a reduced-charge loading in .223? You could start with 16.5/H4895/45gr. jacketed & work up to Hornet velocities. You could also use 5.0-7.0/Unique/45 gr. jacketed and get close to Hornet velocities, while maybe reducing the round's report.

[Mr_Sheesh]

If I used reduced loads in .223 then the .223 won't get much of a chance to cool off, if I luck out and find chucks heavy on the ground, is all; Though I could get a different 223 in an inexpensive sporter and use it with cast boolits, that'd work & be more flexible than a Hornet. I know I won't always see 100+ chucks at one firing site, but I have seen that in the past a few times, and if you hit one you need to let the poor rifles cool off a bit

[firebyprolong]

Hornets are just neat, you either love them or declare them obsolete and shoot a 223. Much of the case life issues can become non issue if you ream to k- hornet but you give up the nice long neck if you want to shoot cast. To me just the fact that you asked about it means that you need to own one. Buy a cz or the savage, if you hate it you will not have any issues getting rid of it. I've seen all of 4 of them for sale locally in the last 10 years.

[vzerone]

I've been shooting a 22 Hornet for a good number of years. I use the LEE collet neck sizer and haven't lost a piece of brass since I got the rifle. I did loose one when I crumpled the neck bumping it on the die while in my press. Accuracy is better then good. Only thing I was worried about is if I got some once fired brass from anyone or pick up whether it would fit my chamber with just using that LEE collet neck sizer. So far once fired has. I wouldn't reamer my Hornet to K Hornet if it was free and they offered me a free rifle to go along with it. Honesly I mean that as my Hornet shoots that good. I scratch my head and wonder why others go through a lot of brass with problems. Maybe full length sizing is what's wearing the cases out. Anyone else neck size and get good case life?

If you find a good cast load I believe you can beat the cost of any of the rimfire stuff.

[Mr_Sheesh]

I neck size on my hunting bolt action rifles & 7mm TCU break action; yes it does increase case life as you're working the brass a lot less than FL sizing. If you shoot a semi auto it will stretch the brass more, so many use small base dies to reduce case size to make sure it chambers, that will wear your brass a bit faster - you do get the semi auto fast next round(s). (no wild hogs around here, but, I would not want - for example - to shoot hogs from ground level with a bolt gun so much, from a tree stand or from inside an armored car maybe would do. Fast repeat rounds are smart if you're shooting dangerous game.)

[jmorris]

I have a contender rifle in 22 hornet, with 35 grain Vmax bullets it can put five in under 1/2" at 100 yards. The only comparison to a .22 LR is that they both have "22" in the name, very explosive on small animals.

[richhodg66]

I've been shooting a 22 Hornet for a good number of years. I use the LEE collet neck sizer and haven't lost a piece of brass since I got the rifle. I did loose one when I crumpled the neck bumping it on the die while in my press. Accuracy is better then good. Only thing I was worried about is if I got some once fired brass from anyone or pick up whether it would fit my chamber with just using that LEE collet neck sizer. So far once fired has. I wouldn't reamer my Hornet to K Hornet if it was free and they offered me a free rifle to go along with it. Honesly I mean that as my Hornet shoots that good. I scratch my head and wonder why others go through a lot of brass with problems. Maybe full length sizing is what's wearing the cases out. Anyone else neck size and get good case life?

If you find a good cast load I believe you can beat the cost of any of the rimfire stuff.

I use that Lee neck size die too with similar results. As to cost, 45 grains of soft range scrap, a small pistol primer and 2 grains of powder (my math says 3500 shots to a pound of powder) and the cost per round is considerably less than the going rate for .22 LR if you don't count the reloading time as worth much. I don't because I enjoy reloading and casting.

[texasnative46]

Mr. Sheesh,

personally, I neither own nor plan to buy a .22 Hornet, though the Hornet is fully suitable for game up to bobcat/coyotes out to 150+M.

I own a Model 7615 pump-rifle with scope & it is suitable for both small game & our very numerous, though smaller, TX WT deer.
(I say that when/if I can get "D" to let me shoot the 7615. - My lady "adopted" the ,223, as she said that it is "perfect GRRL-size".)

yours, tex

[MOA]

When I lived in Arizona and southern Utah there was always lots of shooting for PD's. My set up was a 1941 Stevens Springfield Model 87A in 22lr, a Savage model 342 in 22 hornet, a Ruger model M77 MKII V/T in 223 Rem, and a custom 98 Mauser in 243 Win for the final an longest reach at PD's with a Leupold 6x18. I just start working the perimeter of each caliber's effective range and when there are no more targets I start working the next furthest out perimeter.

[Mr_Sheesh]

IDK, MinuteShaver, I've used 87 grain BTHP's and had very good luck back in the 70s - 80s; And steels are probably nicely better now; Back in 1969ish you couldn't really GET 63+ grain .224 bullets readily here - At 700 yards a 55 grain .224 bullet in 222 Rem or .223 wasn't really up to the job of super accuracy, quite. Now we CAN get heavy good j-bullets though And - Nowadays a $600ish rifle can be re-barreled, I use slower caseful (compressed) powders usually for slower bore wear and better barrel life, on the 243. Probably will look at BL-C(2) for the 223? But it's faster than I usually use, it's just so NICE to meter

So far slow casefulls of powders that give the same velocities as faster powders have worked well for me (Tho the rig I'm going with won't be AS nice as what I used to own before a family member "helped themselves". Rem 700's probably instead of Sako heavy barrel rigs. Sigh.) Mechanical things don't last forever, anyways; Using a 223 and a .243 as well, I'll have to let each cool off after a few shots anyways, so I'll be doing that. Either should cause a 'Chuck to fly into the air, almost in 2 pieces, when hit, transforming them into a MESS but doing so very humanely.

I just want the Hornet, if I get that instead of a lighter .223, for closer-in targets; And it does make good sense to just use a .223 with lighter cast boollets, in a sporter, for the 0-125 yard targets. I can live with that and it should work to longer distances too

The main thing - for ME - here, is this: I'm disabled and tired of sitting at home every day, not reloading, not shooting anything; I'm going to get out doing something fun (that I can afford to do), that helps folks who own ranches / farms, I'll be of service to society and enjoying doing it - It may not make me any money - but, it'll get me the heck out of this apartment, and doing something that helps folks, that's a GOOD thing as it also will get me walking more and exercising more - Sorta covertly, but, I don't really "enjoy" exercising just for the sake of exercising - So exercising for the sake of making that hard shot on a 'chuck at 700 yards, that'll HAPPEN and be fun That'll get me healthier and mentally happier and so on - That's a good future to work towards And if I have to camp in the wilds of Eastern WA some nights, to manage it, oh well I need to do something to improve things, this is stage 1 at least, it should help! If it's not perfect I'll work on making it better.

If I hear a baby 'Yote barking at me to try to scare me off from HIS land, I'll do the usual and turn a big flashlight on, aimed at the roof of the tent, and listen to momma Coyote telling her baby "I told you that was dangerous, you IDIOT!" when baby screams and runs :P Pretty fun to hear, and it beats sitting alone at home, even with pets and the occasional friend.

[richhodg66]

If you want a Hornet, get one. They are a ton of fun, regardless of whether it is or isn't a great varmint gun. In my experience, it's a good performer with cast, and reduces loads easily too. I personally don't understand people who want to hot rod it and treat it like a long range varmint rifle (I'm on a facebook page devoted to it and it's surprising how many people hunt big game with it), but if that's their thing, so be it.

A Hornet is perfect for a slim, small, easy carrying and graceful pointing "stalking rifle", that's where it really shines. That handling characteristics of something like that make it perfect for poking around the woods small game hunting. I have a big, heavy .22-250 if I wanted to hunt prairie dogs at long range and a couple of .223s if I want something I can walk with, but the "Stalking Rifle" concept is best done with a Hornet, and can be handloaded unlike a rim fire.

[earlmck]

The hornet is the absolutely perfect cast boolet platform. If you are a jacketed bullet shooter then there are a number of other cartridges better for your purposes.

[Mr_Sheesh]

I pretty much just like putting holes in paper / varmints; I'll even shoot j-word rounds :P

[quilbilly]

The hornet is the absolutely perfect cast boolet platform. If you are a jacketed bullet shooter then there are a number of other cartridges better for your purposes.

I totally agree. I have had my Contender 21" barrel scoped Hornet for close to 20 years and it loves CB's. With 53 gr. cast at 1900 fps it has consistently kept groups at about 1.25"at 100 yards and 55 gr JSP's at about 1". It has dispatched dozens of coyotes with very little pelt damage at ranges out to 175 yards.