JDHasty
02-15-2015, 03:08 AM
Ruger makes a varmint barrel 22 Hornet, but I just am not interested. Nothing against Ruger in general, but I want a rifle to shoot chucks with, not tinker around with and a 77/22 based rifle is not something I want to deal with the potentialities of. I've been to that fire (with 22/77 based rifles) and I also belong to a club whose members have Ruger 77/22 Hornets and let's just leave it at: that is not the platform I am looking for for a splendidly accurate varmint rifle at this stage in my life.
I know how to make a 77/22 based rifle shoot, I just don't want to deal with correcting inherent design features in a 77/22 based rifle.
I also have absolutely nothing against 17 caliber rifles, I own a Harrington & Richardson Ultra Wildcat in 17 Remington and can say without reservation that if you ever have the opportunity - buy an Ultra Wildcat, especially in 17 Rem.
I bought four Douglas Ultra Rifled barrels when H&R was in bankruptcy and today have a fresh one on my rifle and one spare in my safe. Don't let the kids out of your sight with it if you get your hands on one or you will be sending it to Pac Nor to replicate that pencil thin barrel. The little rascal shoots sub half-inch groups, but only weighs about five pounds. Shooting like you are defending against the charge of the Light Brigade will take the barrel home.
But I digress. CZ offers the 17 Hornet in "varmint" configuration and I have been "this close" to saying: get me one. At least ten times. But I am getting north of 3250 across our Oehlers with a 40 grain Vmax with the 22 Hornet out of my sporter barrel CZ American.
If CZ were to offer this configuration in 22 Hornet I would order one tomorrow. I have a 527 American in 22 Hornet and I have a 4-20 Nitrex w/fine crosshairs mounted on it and have to turn the power down to ~12 to see the bullet impact.
I am shooting this rifle out to ~250 yards and the older I get the more antisocial I get in my chuck shooting habits. More and more, I like to just head out by myself with my seat cushion, rifle, binocular and a laser rangefinder and climb to the top of a talus slope between where a couple chuck colonies den and sit there all morning with only myself as company.
There are two reasons that I prefer the 22 Hornet over the 17 Hornet, and they are the 40 gr Vmax boattail bullet and Lil' Gun powder. Without either of these I would have a CZ 527 Varmint in 17 Hornet sitting in my safe today.
Actually Calhoon's single shot loading adapter for the CZ and his altered magazine for the 19 Calhoon are also major contributing factors, because without one or both you cannot seat this bullet long enough to not have the ogive behind the case mouth, leaving a gap. FYI Don't try single loading a 527 off the top of the mag, you will only break your extractor.
I suppose you could trim your brass back, but since they are both out there, and readily available, you don't have to resort to such an extraordinary measure. Beside that, the 527 22 Hornet likes it's bullets seated out close to the lands for best accuracy anyway.
When you put these four factors together... in the CZ 527, the 17 Hornet only has novelty to recommend it over what is a hundred plus year old cartridge. It most certainly does not have killing power at the margins of the effective range of both cartridges.
If you can afford to buy and feed a rifle, you can scrounge up a Benjamin for a laser range finder that is good for two and a half bucks. Trajectory, while it was a consideration, really isn't as important as wind any longer. Is it? Actually, with a laser and a trajectory table taped to your butt stock... if you miss low or high on a six inch target it is because you were not paying attention.
This 527 is my "dream offering" from a rifle company. When I look at what CZ has done with the 527 in order to expand their market: i.e. a stock only a mother could love on their Kevlar varmint rifle, it leaves me scratching my head. Riflemen are a conservative lot and that morphadite monstrosity was never going to interest more newcomers to come into the CZ fold than selling a second, or in my case fourth 527 would be to believers who are already sold on the CZ brand.
In case I have not bored you to sleep by now with my ramblings on what is on my mind this time of year: the upcoming varmint season. My second choice would be a Browning/Winchester Low Wall with a heavy barrel in 22 Hornet.
As for my theoretical discussion above re: a heavy barreled 22 Hornet, we have a 22-250 barrel that has the throat shot out of it and are going to cut it off at the muzzle & recrown it and ahead of the burned out throat and then turn it down and use a Contender barrel stub to fit it to a Contender frame and then chamber it for 22 Hornet then shoot it at the range this year just to see if a shooter can see bullets impact at 100 to 200 yards with a 20 power scope on it.
I have a "Bantam" shoulder stock for my contender frame and have promised it too my six-year old daughter and have no intention of "reclaiming" it, or I might just be fine with that as my heavy barrel 22 hornet. I really want a CZ 527 Varmint in 22 Hornet though.
I know how to make a 77/22 based rifle shoot, I just don't want to deal with correcting inherent design features in a 77/22 based rifle.
I also have absolutely nothing against 17 caliber rifles, I own a Harrington & Richardson Ultra Wildcat in 17 Remington and can say without reservation that if you ever have the opportunity - buy an Ultra Wildcat, especially in 17 Rem.
I bought four Douglas Ultra Rifled barrels when H&R was in bankruptcy and today have a fresh one on my rifle and one spare in my safe. Don't let the kids out of your sight with it if you get your hands on one or you will be sending it to Pac Nor to replicate that pencil thin barrel. The little rascal shoots sub half-inch groups, but only weighs about five pounds. Shooting like you are defending against the charge of the Light Brigade will take the barrel home.
But I digress. CZ offers the 17 Hornet in "varmint" configuration and I have been "this close" to saying: get me one. At least ten times. But I am getting north of 3250 across our Oehlers with a 40 grain Vmax with the 22 Hornet out of my sporter barrel CZ American.
If CZ were to offer this configuration in 22 Hornet I would order one tomorrow. I have a 527 American in 22 Hornet and I have a 4-20 Nitrex w/fine crosshairs mounted on it and have to turn the power down to ~12 to see the bullet impact.
I am shooting this rifle out to ~250 yards and the older I get the more antisocial I get in my chuck shooting habits. More and more, I like to just head out by myself with my seat cushion, rifle, binocular and a laser rangefinder and climb to the top of a talus slope between where a couple chuck colonies den and sit there all morning with only myself as company.
There are two reasons that I prefer the 22 Hornet over the 17 Hornet, and they are the 40 gr Vmax boattail bullet and Lil' Gun powder. Without either of these I would have a CZ 527 Varmint in 17 Hornet sitting in my safe today.
Actually Calhoon's single shot loading adapter for the CZ and his altered magazine for the 19 Calhoon are also major contributing factors, because without one or both you cannot seat this bullet long enough to not have the ogive behind the case mouth, leaving a gap. FYI Don't try single loading a 527 off the top of the mag, you will only break your extractor.
I suppose you could trim your brass back, but since they are both out there, and readily available, you don't have to resort to such an extraordinary measure. Beside that, the 527 22 Hornet likes it's bullets seated out close to the lands for best accuracy anyway.
When you put these four factors together... in the CZ 527, the 17 Hornet only has novelty to recommend it over what is a hundred plus year old cartridge. It most certainly does not have killing power at the margins of the effective range of both cartridges.
If you can afford to buy and feed a rifle, you can scrounge up a Benjamin for a laser range finder that is good for two and a half bucks. Trajectory, while it was a consideration, really isn't as important as wind any longer. Is it? Actually, with a laser and a trajectory table taped to your butt stock... if you miss low or high on a six inch target it is because you were not paying attention.
This 527 is my "dream offering" from a rifle company. When I look at what CZ has done with the 527 in order to expand their market: i.e. a stock only a mother could love on their Kevlar varmint rifle, it leaves me scratching my head. Riflemen are a conservative lot and that morphadite monstrosity was never going to interest more newcomers to come into the CZ fold than selling a second, or in my case fourth 527 would be to believers who are already sold on the CZ brand.
In case I have not bored you to sleep by now with my ramblings on what is on my mind this time of year: the upcoming varmint season. My second choice would be a Browning/Winchester Low Wall with a heavy barrel in 22 Hornet.
As for my theoretical discussion above re: a heavy barreled 22 Hornet, we have a 22-250 barrel that has the throat shot out of it and are going to cut it off at the muzzle & recrown it and ahead of the burned out throat and then turn it down and use a Contender barrel stub to fit it to a Contender frame and then chamber it for 22 Hornet then shoot it at the range this year just to see if a shooter can see bullets impact at 100 to 200 yards with a 20 power scope on it.
I have a "Bantam" shoulder stock for my contender frame and have promised it too my six-year old daughter and have no intention of "reclaiming" it, or I might just be fine with that as my heavy barrel 22 hornet. I really want a CZ 527 Varmint in 22 Hornet though.