Hornet vs NATO

I think you will be happier with the 223...you can load it light to mimick the hornet, but you can't load the hornet up.

Especially for longer shots on varmints.

The Hornet is a fun, mild mannered cartridge. It has come a long way with recent powders and the light 35 and 40 gr V-Max type bullets. It will do an honest 3,000 fps with only 13 grains of powder, and not much muzzle blast. Makes a great fox, woodchuck, and mid-range prairie dog rifle. It will never match the .223/5.56, just like the .223 will never match a .22-250 or .220 Swift. If you aren't a handloader, I would look at a .223 just for economies sake.

You can easily load 223 down to 3000 fps with a 40 grain pill as well. Search for Blue dot reduced loads and read up!

No love for the lowly Hornet? It is a great little small game round, but sadly with the coming lead free California rules, it might not have the twist to stabilize a longer all copper bullet. Mine shoots about 2500 fps with a 40 grainer and only uses 9 grains of powder. It is a fun little round that doesn't have any recoil and is great for pdogs and squirrels to 250 or so. The brass is thin, so be careful or you can crush necks pretty easy.

Caution: An old 5.6x35R single shot is not likely a Hornet.
It is the designation for the Vierling which amounts to .22 WCF Smokeless.
According to CotW, the Euro designation for Hornet is 5.6x36R.

The Vierling is loaded lighter than the Hornet, a lot of those little single shots are pretty lightly built. If it follows the .22 WCF closely, groove diameter is different.

Reloading for the Hornet is made difficult by the thin cases - I'd rather download 223 than try to wrestle with the Hornet...

The Hornet is a great little round. But comparing it to a .223 is asking quite a bit too much of it. If I could only have one, it would be the .223.

If I owned a a hornet, I'd use and treasure it. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one today other than for nostalgic reasons.

A CZ 527 in 223 would be on my short list in your position.

Kid's today LOL

The cool factor on an old single shot hornet would be off the charts IMHO. While it can be tricky to load with the thin cases, once you get the hang it's fairly easy. It's an extremely economical prospect to reload and with new powders (IE lil' gun) it can serve well as a varmint rifle.
In Alaska the Hornet accounts for a lot of game bigger than it probably should too.

As a bonus you can also down load it into 22 LR range with cast bullets.

I load for two Hornet rifles, one mostly jacketed bullets (CZ 527, SWEET ), the other an older Savage, with cast bullets, with and without gas checks (also SWEET ). I've probably loaded 1,000 rounds at least, and I have never crushed/crumpled a case neck yet. Case is thin indeed, but I have had no issues. Knocking on wood.

P51D

I know it's not PC to suggest shooting without ear protection, but it's nice to be able to take a shot if necessary without instant ear ringing.

I just bought my first 22 Hornet last week in a CZ 527. I have bolt guns and autos in 223 as well, but in terms of a bolt gun, there's nothing that impresses me about them in 223. It's just another 223 rifle like a million other people have. Nothing exciting or interesting to see here.

Now the 22 Hornet on the other hand...

I have a 22 Hornet, a 22 WCF and a 222 Magnum. Each has it's own purpose but the WCF and the Hornet get the most use.

The Hornet is not hard to reload, you can use cast or jacketed bullets and recipes are easily found. I prefer lead, but that is not a requirement for everyone. Newer powders allow the Hornet to get some fast speeds but I like the old powders.

Besides, finding a good rifle chambered for the Hornet is a fun hunt by itself! I found a Springfield Model 1922 that was reworked to handle the Hornet.

Kevin

jmr40 said:

If I owned a a hornet, I'd use and treasure it. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one today other than for nostalgic reasons.

Click to expand...

There's no question that from a practical standpoint the .223 is a superior choice. It can do anything the Hornet can do and more. Probably cheaper, too. The only area where the Hornet might shine is if you include the "cool factor" in your decision. Accurate .223 bolt guns are a dime a dozen but a single shot Hornet! Owning and hunting with one of those may provide the sort of personal enjoyment a more common gun never would.

Or not.

This is an entirely subjective decision that you can only make for yourself. [emoji6]

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heck I'd get both. I have both. have an old Winchester model 43 in 22 hornet that is just a sweeheart to shoot. I have a contender and ar in 223 so I can play around with bullets that can be used for all three.

some other things to look out for...if that vierling does wind up being a 22 hornet and not a 22 WCF then you need to make sure you slug the bore. some of the older 22 hornets used 223 dia and not 224 dia bullets. I know its a small difference but with that old of a rifle putting a slightly larger dia bullet in there might not be a good idea. bullet manufacturers make 223 dia specific for the old hornets, 218 Bee and other older 22's.

Id love to have an old vierling though..just something about them are cool.

I own three .223 rifles and one 22 Hornet. The Hornet is fun to shoot and fun to hand-load. It fits a different category of hunting and shooting than the 223s.


By the way, the 5.6x35mm Vierling uses .222 cal bullets and NOT the 224 used in a 22 Hornet. Plus it is not exactly a 22 Hornet. It is a sort of cross between the OLD 22 Winchester Center Fire and the later 22 Hornet. Originally the 5.5x35mm was loaded with non-jacketed slugs. So you would not be buying a true Hornet and the rifling twist and bore diameter would not be a good idea warmer modern loads.

RCBS makes or used to make a sizing die to make 5.6x35mm Brass from 22 Hornet brass. It was $100 when I looked into the idea a couple years ago.

The .22 WCF - also known as the .22-13-45 Winchester Center Fire, of 1885, introduced for and with the Winchester-Browning single-shot rifle of that year. This is probably the longest-lived and most popular of the three pioneer .22 cartridges. It was chambered not only in the Winchester single-shot from 1885 to 1920 or later and reportedly in some late Model 1873 Winchesters but also in the Ballard Number Three gallery rifle in about 1886 to 1891 (where it cost a
dollar extra) and in the Remington-Hepburn Number Three rifle (1886 to 1906) and their fancy and rare Number Seven rollingblock rifle (1904 to 1906).
This cartridge also went to Europe, where it became known as the 5.6x35mm Rimmed Vierling, was loaded to higher velocities than the United States loads were (thirty-ninegrain bullets at 2,630 feet per second by RWS and forty-six-grain bullets at 2,030 feet per second by DWM), and reached considerable popularity as the kleinkaliberluuf cartridge for drillings & vierlings.