How loud is a 22 Hornet?

[crabo]

I have heard that they are fairly quiet, but what does that mean? How would you compare the report to a 17 HMR or HV 22 long rifle, when you are sitting om the back of a flatbed truck shooting gophers?

How about when you are 200 yards from housing? This is with fll velocity and jacketed bullets.

Thanks,

[Three44s]

Louder but not out of proportion with the amount of added powder you would be burning.

Three 44s

[M-Tecs]

I purchased a 22 Hornet to bridge the gap between the 17 HMR and the .223 for shooting prairie dogs. The louder the report the farther and longer the dogs go down. The Hornet drives them down almost like the 223 and way more than the 17 HMR. If I had to do it over again I would not have purchased a Hornet due to the noise and brass life issues. Buddy went with the 17 Hornet and he feels the same.

Using 40 and 45 grain jackets and mostly Lil'Gun.

[shoot-n-lead]

I shoot the Hornet...I load for sound as I hunt at night, around houses and I don't want to cause folks to come investigate or to be roused out of bed. Most of my hunting is within a 100yds...11grs of 296...it is quiet and effective. It is at about 22WMR velocity...but a better bullet...works quick....36gr Varmint Grenade. It shoots 45gr better...but for the distances I use it for, the 36gr does very well. I used to use the 22WMR...but I much prefer the Hornet.

[bubba.50]

a lot of it will depend on barrel length also. the longer the barrel, the better to me.

[quilbilly]

Barrel length, muzzle velocity, and the type of powder used will all play a role. For instance, I have found a significant differences in noise levels at a muzzle velocity of 1900 between 4198, 2400, and Bullseye in my 21" barrel. Faster powder will reduce noise but the supersonic crack is still there.

[BrassMagnet]

Then load cast and very light Bullseye load. Nearly quiet.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Then load cast and very light Bullseye load. Nearly quiet.
I do some of those loads...almost like colibri.

But, in general, standard loads of 22 hornet is about like 22 mag (rimfire).

[BigMagShooter]

using factory fodder in both, a 22 hornet is as loud as a 223 remington.

[flint45]

The nice thing about the hornet is they are fun to shoot load em down to be very quiet I only neck size with lee collet die and brass life is long. I love the .22 hornet super accurate.

[crabo]

I've got a 223 and was trying to figure out if the hornet was a good way to go. I don't care that much about shooting cast and would want to shoot it pretty much close to max.

[dverna]

Why not download your .223 with some Hornady 50 SX bullets?

[crabo]

Why not download your .223 with some Hornady 50 SX bullets?

I was kinda looking at buying something new, an itch I was looking to scratch. I don't like having a lot of guns, just to have a bunch of guns. I want guns to fit specific spaces in my collection. I would rather have one tricked out gun than a bunch of stock guns. If the factory load report for a Hornet is about the same as a 223, then it makes no real advantage to me to buy the hornet.

[country gent]

I have a hornet, several 223s, a 22-250, a 220 swift and a couple 243s. When working around farms and animals shooting wood chucks. Ive received complaints of the 243, 22-250, often, the Swift is only used in the fields away from buildings and animals, preferably with a cornfield along side or from in a corn field out. The hornet has never received a complaint so far. Its not just the noise level or decibels it produces but also the tone range or crack it has. A lower thud may be as loud but not noticed as much as the sharp high cracks of the others. Certain tone levels are more noticed and seem more intense. On woodchucks ( big bean feed boys) the hornet is good to about 125-150 yds. the 223 with the right bullets 250-300yds the 22-50 Swift and 243 Ive made one shot kills at 600-700 yds with the right bullets and loads. A corn field or brush tall grass goes a long way to breaking up the sound waves and deadening the report quicker.

[historicfirearms]

My 22 hornet (ruger #3) is loud with factory ammo. Not quite as loud as a 223 rifle but will still make my ears hurt if I don't wear hearing protection.

[marlin39a]

I load the NOE 225107 with a mild charge of Lil Gun. It sounds like a 22 WMR.

[richhodg66]

I own three Hornets, never loaded a jacketed bullet in that caliber yet, but I wanted a .22 LR replacement and it does that very well. 1.5-2 grains of Bullseye and a plain based cast bullet is a great squirrel getter. The 2 grains has a crack to it, about like a .22 LR, but 1.5 is very quiet. Most of my shooting is with a .Savage 219 that has quite a long barrel, 26" I believe.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Barrel length, muzzle velocity, and the type of powder used will all play a role. For instance, I have found a significant differences in noise levels at a muzzle velocity of 1900 between 4198, 2400, and Bullseye in my 21" barrel. Faster powder will reduce noise but the supersonic crack is still there.

The general rule is that the loudness of the report is proportional to terminal pressure, and the sonic crack is proportional to the size of the bullet, but not to the excess of speed over Mach 1. I remember the sonic boom of the speed trials of Concorde over the Irish Sea, at many times the distance a rifle shot of any kind would have been detectable at all.

[Tackleberry41]

I have not seen where the hornet is as loud as a 223. Part of the report is the powder, and a hornet uses half what a 223 does. Bullet weight and profile is another part of it, smaller lighter bullet makes less noise as it crosses the sound barrier. My 45-70 echoes thru the hills full power, but my hornet isnt very loud. I shoot mine without hearing protection, its not really any louder than a 22lr.

As for someone thinking of a hornet, but has a 223, you can make hornet loads for a 223. Mine are about 15gr of blue dot under a 40gr, for about 2800fps. Shockingly quiet thru a can.

[crabo]

As for someone thinking of a hornet, but has a 223, you can make hornet loads for a 223. Mine are about 15gr of blue dot under a 40gr, for about 2800fps. Shockingly quiet thru a can.

How fast is that 15 grain of Blue dot going? Any idea? My 223 is an AR so I doubt the light loads would work very well in it.

[BigMagShooter]

in a 223 use 7gr of unique and any 40-60gr bullet, you'll have a 22mag load.

[snuffy]

I load the NOE 225107 with a mild charge of Lil Gun. It sounds like a 22 WMR.

I searched for NOE 225107, there isn't a mold by that number. How heavy, what nose conf.?

My hornet is an old Savage (using memory here, to lazy to dig it out of safe) 322-A, I don't shoot it much, but would like a quite cast load. I would powder coat and prefer a plain base mold.

As far as regular loads, it's MUCH louder than a 22 LR, but much quieter than my AR. I'd say half as loud as a .223 AR.

[fred2892]

The Lyman 225107 was a 37grain mould but has been discontinued for many years now. Luckily NOE make the 225107 now in anything up to 5 gang.

Sent from my GT-P5110 using Tapatalk

[snuffy]

Thanks Fred, I see it now 37 gr. I just ordered the PB 5 cavity. This will be my first NOE mold, but I cast some boolits with a buddies 30 cal molds last summer.

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=24_124&products_id=1670

We'll see how it does for my hornet, may even try some in my .223.
(http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=24_124&products_id=1670)