Best Accuracy of the Small Calibers

[murf]

i think the op confused us all when he asked us which caliber is best. i believe he wants us to pick the best cartridge out of the three listed. it's obvious the ruger 204 is too powerful for his task. the 17 hornet is probably too under powered for the task. that leaves the 22 hornet which, thanks to machivshooter and vern humphrey, has been elevated to supreme 200 yard varmint caliber of all time. not a bad choice. i still pick the triple deuce, but it's not on the list.

if the op wants to expand the list, i would suggest the 222 remington. for a good video on this cartridge go to youtube, search "gunblue490" and watch "the great 222 remington". very informative.

murf

 

[MachIVshooter]

that leaves the 22 hornet which, thanks to machivshooter and vern humphrey, has been elevated to supreme 200 yard varmint caliber of all time.

The sarcastic hyperbole is not appropriate or appreciated. The Hornet has always been capable @ 200, and much further today with aerodynamic bullets such as the 40 gr. V-max and Blitzking that weren't available for the first 60 years of it's life. I've popped rats well beyond 300 and, while unspectacular compared to my .220 Swift, it still puts a hole through them.

the 17 hornet is probably too under powered for the task.

No. It's just not as well suited to the small game hunting aspect for the same reasons that .22 WMR is generally chosen over .17 HMR for meat hunting.

There is a huge gap between rimfires and .223 class rounds (of which the .222 is one). The Hornet fills it nicely, and has remained a popular choice in spite of several attempts to displace or augment it. The slightly faster .218 bee died out, the .221 fireball flopped, and 5.7x28 has never really found favor with sportsmen. The Hornet is just one of those with a good balance for someone needing more than a rimfire but not wanting the destructive capacity and/or noise of the primary varmint numbers. Love it or hate it, the Hornet is not going anywhere.

 

[murf]

machivshooter,

i'm glad you are not taking my sarcasm seriously. most people just say what is best without saying why it is best. the hornet has always been one of the best as a short range varmint round (even back in the "cup and core" days).

with the premium bullets available today, all cartridges have extended their effective ranges.

oh, and your including the 222 remington in the same class as the 223 is not appropriate or appreciated.

thanks for the info on the 17 calibers.

murf

 

[redneck2]

If anyone is interested, I have a friend that is selling a very lightly used early 60's Rem 700 in .222.

 

[MachIVshooter]

oh, and your including the 222 remington in the same class as the 223 is not appropriate or appreciated.

.222 Rem = 5.56x43.5mm
.223 Rem = 5.56x45.0mm

0.060" case length difference. That's it. Same rim, base and shoulder diameters, same shoulder angle, virtually same operating pressures (50K and 55K), handload muzzle velocities <100 FPS difference.

Unless you class cartridges by separations of just a couple dozen FPS or FPE, yeah, they're in the same category.

Fact: .222 Rem, .223 Rem and .222 Rem Mag are so similar as to be basically redundant, which is why only one of them is thriving. It's fine if .222 is your pet. Heck, I like such oddballs as the 8mm Rem Mag. But I don't go around trying to convince people of non-existent advantages of my pet cartridges.

 

[Plastikosmd]

Funny this comes up, I was out enjoying my hornet today.

 

[JRWhit]

With economy in mind I would choose the 22-250. Simply because cartridges are abundant and sell for cheaper than I can reload them.

Now that being said, I opted out of a 22-250 for that very reason. I like reloading for accuracy and that warm fuzzy felling you get when game is taken with a cartridge that you personally crafted for you rifle and its purpose.
I knew if factory ammo was that much cheaper I'd never reload it.

I instead opted for a .243 win but my needs where a little different. I was aiming primarily for coyotes and decided to leave the option for deer. If your aim is at the smaller end of varmints and you enjoy your own hand crafted loads I would go with the .204 ruger. It is one that is definitely on my list and nowhere is it stated that you have to max out the performance at the cost of barrel life.

 

[Geno]

Trent:

Have you looked at this Savage 12 rifle?

http://savagearms.com/firearms/model/12LRPVLEFTPORT

I would like this one in .223 Rem, .22-250 Rem or 6 Norma BR. I would be far less concerned about barrel life in a .22-250 with this rifle, because I could easily switch out to a new barrel myself, with minimal tools, minimal cost, and only about 30 minutes time. And I do like single-shots.

The other rifle I like is the Savage 12 LRP, in .243 Win:

http://savagearms.com/firearms/model/12LRP

Just some thoughts.

Geno