.22 hornet terminal ballistics

[Puncha]

I am quite possibly going to buy a bolt action rifle chanbered in .22 hornet. Assuming a target at 50 meters, how is the terminal ballistics of this round? There is precious little data after this round's performance so i'd like your opinions.

Also, please don't tell me to upgrade to .223 or .243........the most powerful rifle caliber that the cops are willing to issue a license for is the .22 hornet. Yes, i've thought of a lever actioned .357 magnum but all four of the gun dealers in my country have refused to bring in any models in citing lack of demand.

 

[hammerklavier]

Is the .22 hornet your only option? Also, what do you need the gun for (self defense, hunting)?

 

[Red Tornado]

This is from Remington's site. In case the formatting gets hosed, here's the link it's from. It include the three loadings Rem has. http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/comparative_ballistics_results.aspx?data=PRA22HNA*R22HN1*R22HN2

Hope it helps.

Looks like ~2000fps and ~400 ft-lbs at 100, so 50 should be a bit better.
RT


Cartridge Information
Index Number Cartridge Type Weight (grs.) Bullet Style Primer No. Ballistic Coefficient
PRA22HNA Premier® AccuTip™ 35 AccuTip™-V 6 1/2 0.109
R22HN1 Remington® Express® 45 Pointed Soft Point 6 1/2 0.130
R22HN2 Remington® Express® 45 Hollow Point 6 1/2 0.130


Velocity (ft/sec)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Premier® AccuTip™ 35 ATV 3100 2271 1591 1127 924 806
Remington® Express® 45 PSP 2690 2042 1502 1128 948 840
Remington® Express® 45 HP 2690 2042 1502 1128 948 840


Energy (ft-lbs)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Premier® AccuTip™ 35 ATV 747 401 197 99 66 51
Remington® Express® 45 PSP 723 417 225 127 90 70
Remington® Express® 45 HP 723 417 225 127 90 70


Short-Range Trajectory
Cartridge Type Bullet 50 100 150 200 250 300
Premier® AccuTip™ 35 ATV -1.5 zero -1.6 -5.5 -13.0 -25.5
Remington® Express® 45 PSP 0.0 zero -2.1 -7.1 -16.0 -30.0
Remington® Express® 45 HP 0.0 zero -2.1 -7.1 -16.0 -30.0


Long-Range Trajectory
Cartridge Type Bullet 100 150 200 250 300 400 500
Premier® AccuTip™ 35 ATV -1.5 zero -3.5 -10.4 -22.3 -68.4 -155.3
Remington® Express® 45 PSP 1.4 zero -4.3 -12.4 -25.8 -74.2 -162.0
Remington® Express® 45 HP 1.4 zero -4.3 -12.4 -25.8 -74.2 -162.0

 

[Gordon]

45 grain Winchester factory load shot between the eyes of a 150 pound goat from 20 yards makes the eyes bulge out, scrambled brains with those eggs anyone?

 

[Byron]

Puncha, My Hornet is a Ruger 77/22 Hornet. I shoot the Hornady and feel very comfortable at a 150 yard shot on a groundhog. I would feel comfortable with it for defense. Byron

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

I have a (now-dead) friend who dropped a little doe with a neck shot from a .17 hummer, and this is quite a bit more oomph than that. I wouldn't stand in front of one purposely. Sorry, I'm not much help am I?

 

[rangerruck]

Looking at the above numbers, it is easily a game getter out to 300 yds.
If you can compensate for the 22 inch drop! assuming your target is deer size or smaller, anything out to 200 yds, would be in big trouble, especially if you are going to handload; you could get an accurate round, that is a bit hotter.

 

[tactikel]

Puncha, I appreciate your restrictions (I live near Chicago-one of the most anti-gun cities in the USA). Have you considered a rimfire? A .22 mag or .17 hmr or mach2 under 100 meters are quite close to the .22 hornet in performance. Can you get a .222 rem? it is very accurate and much easier to reload that the hornet. Please list the police regulations so we can figure the best gun they will allow.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

personaly i have a ruger 22 hornet and a multitude of .223s 22250s ect and i grab the hornet probably more then all the rest put together. Its just such a pleasant little round to shoot and its cheap to load for.

 

[alsaqr]

Presently I own several .22 Hornet guns. Factory ammo for the .22 Hornet is very expensive. If a person is going to get a .22 Hornet is best to reload. There are .22 Hornets and there are .22 Hornets. The problem with many US made .22 Hornet guns is the strange SAAMI chamber dimensions. In a word the chamber is huge and is not conducive to great accuracy. European made guns have much tighter chambers: As a rule they are much more accurate.

http://gunsandammomag.com/cs/Satellite/IMO_GA/Story_C/The+.22+Hornet

I discovered a few years ago what the Europeans have known for a long time. The standard American chambers for Hornet rifles are much too loose for good accuracy. The European guns in .22 Hornet (5.6x35R) have much tighter chambers and as a group, shoot far better. This chamber-dimension discrepancy goes a long way toward explaining why Hornets have such a spotty accuracy history. Some guns shoot great, and some are worse than ho-hum.

 

[rangerruck]

or if you can find a old t/c or remmy in 5mm mag rimfire, certainly they wouldn't complain about a rimfire, and they are very, very close in ballistics to 22 hornet, and ammo is 15 bucks per box of 50, of course there will be no reloading though.