.22 Hornet...
- Thread starter Cannibul
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CoalTrain49
Member
So true.
I only have one safe and it's full. If a new gun comes in something has to leave. One of everything isn't an option for me but I realize it may be for some.
I like those little 22 cal rifles like the Bee and Hornet. If someone has never had one then they should experience one. I had a Win 43 but it was seldom used. I think .223 has more utility and much less expensive to shoot. I usually take two rifles to the range and may go through 150-200 rounds every time I go so I need to keep a handle on reloading costs. I'm retired and I shoot a lot.
I only have one safe and it's full. If a new gun comes in something has to leave. One of everything isn't an option for me but I realize it may be for some.
I like those little 22 cal rifles like the Bee and Hornet. If someone has never had one then they should experience one. I had a Win 43 but it was seldom used. I think .223 has more utility and much less expensive to shoot. I usually take two rifles to the range and may go through 150-200 rounds every time I go so I need to keep a handle on reloading costs. I'm retired and I shoot a lot.
Plastikosmd
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I down-load the 223 in my encore but still enjoy the hornet.
I am reluctant to "try it out" on a game animal. If it were me, I'd put that bullet thru the brain. It will be adequate for that job.
Vern Humphrey
Member
I'm inclined to agree. You'd be experimenting on a live animal, and if the experiment fails and the animal escapes with a bad wound, what then?
OP
OP
Cannibul
Member
I've got an uncle, long since deceased who shot many deer with a .22 Mag. Really thick brush in the river bottom. All shots right behind the ear.
Shot placement means a lot.
Shot placement means a lot.
Vern Humphrey
Member
Get a right-handed bolt gun and hold it up in front of a mirror.
I love my little Ruger 77/22H. I did glass be the barrel many years ago. It loves about 9 grains of H110 and a 45 gr HP. It is such a handy little rifle it seems to find itself with more than many other rifles I own. I have killed deer with it, but was underwhelmed at its performance, with will kill with a heart shot or a neck shot but I passed on a LOT of shots I would have taken with other rifles. Still things tend to fall way more often than they should when packing around the little rifle.
CoalTrain49
Member
Man card?No reason one can not have more than one safe... if he has a man card anyhow
Is that like a Visa card with a man's name on it?
Olympus
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My hunting situation is probably different from others. I'm hunting my own property and I will be spending a lot of time in the stand. Not to mention, I have a LOT of does on my property so it won't be hard for me to pass up opportunities that would not be a "perfect" shot for my Hornet. I'll have plenty of time and opportunities for just the right shot.
barnbwt
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That sounds classy
Another option to consider are the new 22TCM rounds out there. Even shorter than a Hornet, derived from 223 brass (or is is 38 super, now?) and delivers basically the same performance. RIA also has a sub-micro bolt action set up for it from the factory.
A small step down in power if not range, 5.7 would be another cool bolt-gun option since a ten-round mag could be completely flush with the foregrip and still be very thin & lightweight, but no one besides T/C has looked into it from what I can tell.
TCB
cpt-t
Member
Hey Guys: The weather has cooled off and the wind has died down to nothing for the last few days. So I gather up my CZ 22 Hornet, Model 43 Win 218 Bee, an Old Sako in 223, and a CZ 17 Rem and went to the range both yesterday and today. I really need some trigger time and my rifles needed some time in the sunshine. I had the range except for some Old Friends almost to myself. That is the best stress relieving therapy for there is for me. And all 4 rifles made me proud, that I am lucky enough to have them. For they all shoot so well, with hardly any recoil. I am getting Older now and recoil is starting to become a problem for me. I won`t get out to Colorado to shoot any Rock Chucks this year. But I hope to get down to Amarillo Tx to shoot some Prairie Dogs and Jackrabbits, a few times before Winter sets in. And I also hope to shoot a few Coyotes here in Kansas this year, with these 4 old rifles that are so special to me. IMHO a fine shooting 22 Hornet is a gift from the Man Upstairs that few people really get to enjoy and appreciate.
ken
ken
Plastikosmd
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SwampWolf
Member
I also like the clever magazine design the A-Bolt has-though I understand that many don't.
GooseGestapo
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- Jan 6, 2003
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I've shot several dozen deer with my Hornets. It's more powerful than you realize, and trust me, IT AINT QUIET!
Not as loud as a .223 or .30/30, but more like a 9mm handgun.
One afternoon, I dropped 4 does with mine. 4 shots. Admittedly, 3 were head shots, but one was a broadside spine shot through the shoulder. All were pass through. In fact, I've never recovered but one bullet from the Hornet from a deer. It was a heart shot on a yearling with the 35 gr V-max over 11.5gr H110 for a chrono'd 3,100fps. Deer was taken by a 12yr old son of a friend, was what the gun was sighted in for. Deer dropped at the shot. Grapefruit sized wound cavity in chest, heart obliterated mush. I only found the red plastic tip, and small shreds of jacket and lead.
Most of the Hornet bullets expand like controlled expansion bullets from larger big game cartridges. Only the specified Blitz, TNT, or SX bullets have shown me explosive expansion from the Hornet. Two of my favorite Hornet bullets are the Sierra 40gr Varminter Hollowpoint, and the Hornady 45 gr Hornet bullet.
The only thing wrong with the Hornet is that mine is the identical twin of Float Pilots. Currently wears same Tasco scope. I too had to shim the bolt, freefloat the barrel, glass bead the action, and hone the trigger to ~2lbs to get it to "shoot"
Occasionally it'll group like FP's
It's got serious competition this year. I just landed a Marlin 1894CL in .218 Bee.
I've been wanting one for decades. Finally bit the bullet. I'd never seen but one, and it wasn't for sale.
Now I just have to find some brass!
Not as loud as a .223 or .30/30, but more like a 9mm handgun.
One afternoon, I dropped 4 does with mine. 4 shots. Admittedly, 3 were head shots, but one was a broadside spine shot through the shoulder. All were pass through. In fact, I've never recovered but one bullet from the Hornet from a deer. It was a heart shot on a yearling with the 35 gr V-max over 11.5gr H110 for a chrono'd 3,100fps. Deer was taken by a 12yr old son of a friend, was what the gun was sighted in for. Deer dropped at the shot. Grapefruit sized wound cavity in chest, heart obliterated mush. I only found the red plastic tip, and small shreds of jacket and lead.
Most of the Hornet bullets expand like controlled expansion bullets from larger big game cartridges. Only the specified Blitz, TNT, or SX bullets have shown me explosive expansion from the Hornet. Two of my favorite Hornet bullets are the Sierra 40gr Varminter Hollowpoint, and the Hornady 45 gr Hornet bullet.
The only thing wrong with the Hornet is that mine is the identical twin of Float Pilots. Currently wears same Tasco scope. I too had to shim the bolt, freefloat the barrel, glass bead the action, and hone the trigger to ~2lbs to get it to "shoot"
Occasionally it'll group like FP's
It's got serious competition this year. I just landed a Marlin 1894CL in .218 Bee.
I've been wanting one for decades. Finally bit the bullet. I'd never seen but one, and it wasn't for sale.
Now I just have to find some brass!
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