In the History of 22Hornet Gun Makes What Would You Buy

[alientrainwreck]

Thanks mudstud I wasn't aware of that, I'd like to kram one of their fakes up their &*%#@$#&%

 

[Onmilo]

A High School buddies Father had aa Winchester 54 in .22 Hornet.
I got to shoot that rifle several times and it was the catalyst for my interest in the cartridge.
I have owned a few Hornets over the years including an excellent K-Hornet built on a short Mauser action.
One of those rifles I should not have let go but did.

 

[Offfhand]

In an earlier post on this thread Mr. mudstud advises that he is "not an authority on pre-64 Model 70's", with which I concur. Especially regarding M-70 Hornets, as they are significantly different from larger caliber M-70s and the difficulty of "faking" one would be more difficult and expensive than the value of the product. Besides which, M-70 Hornets are not all that rare and easily available, often found at gun shows. Where I have bought a few over the years. One thing to look out for however, is M-70 Hornets that were converted to .222 Rem, which was fairly common back in the 1950's-60's and are still around. And, another thing when looking for .22 Hornet rifles at gun shows, be on lookout for M-43 Winchesters. they are nice little rifles that have proven to be a great investment, doubling in value about every 5-6 years. They shoot good too.

 

[1911 guy]

I kn ow someone with an older 77/22 that shoots very well, averaging about 1 1/4" at 100 yards. But there are enough gripes about the accuracy of the Ruger that I think this has to be an outlier. There seem to be more problem guns than accurate guns in the Ruger barn.

Which is weird. They can make decent rifles, how did they mess up the Hornet?

 

[Gordon]

No mention of the Winchester model 43 that was designed around the .22 Hornet. It is available on Gunbroker from $500 up with good ones going $700 up. I had one with a Fecker 8x scope but sold it before really wringing it out. No Anschutz accuracy wise tho I assure you.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

My Kimber M82 (no longer made) will shoot 0.5" three-shot groups all day long.

I have found that proper reloading is the key to getting accuracy out of the Hornet.

1. Fire form you brass. Hornet chambers are deliberately oversize (because they use the old .22 WCF dimensions.) Once fire-formed, you will have a much better case-to-chamber fit.

2. Disturb the brass as little as possible. I use a Lee Collet Die and put a couple of washers on the shell holder to cause the collet to activate early and size only the front half of the neck. The unsized lower half acts as a pilot, centering the bullet in the throat.

3. Use Hodgdon's Li'l Gun. I simply dip the cases full, tap them to settle the powerr and set them in the loading block -- then check with a flashlight. Any that are out of line get dumped and refilled.

4. Use the 35-grain Hornady V-Max bullet. Not only is it accurate, but it has a short ogive which allows you to seat the bullet so the shoulder almost touches the origin of the rifling, and is still short enough to feed through the magazine.

My Kimber, as I said, puts the these reloads in 0.5" and they cross my chronograph at a touch over 3,000 fps.

 

[Zeke/PA]

I have a vintage Winchester Model 43 that I absolutely love.
I shot a turkey or two with it and a ton of groundhogs.
Reloading of course is mandatory as the price for the round commercially is roughly about a buck/ round.
I think that the Hornet is another great cartridge that has been abandoned.
My greatest bungle was NOT buying a Ruger #1 in .22 Hornet a few years back.
Have fun!
P.S. I shot my first Buck with a .22 Hornet.

 

[Hanshi]

I've only owned three Hornets; a 1970s contender, a Ruger #3 single shot and a Kimber M82. I still own the Kimber and have killed deer with it among other things. It's extremely accurate with groups well under 1" at 100 yards.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Sshhhhhh....!!!

Don't you guys know you aren't supposed to talk about shooting deer with ANY .22cf, not to mention a .223 or, especially the .22Hornet.

Those who haven't, can't imagine what the .22cf's will do, and will castigate anyone pondering the idea.

I've killed several dozen deer with my "hornets", and even though I don't routinely hunt with the "hornet", I do adore mine...
I wouldn't recommend the rifle, however; a Ruger M77/.22Hornet KBZ; meaning it is stainless steel with heavy 24"bbl and laminated stock.
When I got it, I thought it'd be the "creme de la creme" of Hornets.
What a night-mare PITA !!!
Finally, after ~5yrs of load developement, action bedding, bolt-halve shimming, free-floating barrel, and lightening trigger, I've finally gotten it to "shoot", meaning 5-shot groups around 1" at 100yds. "Sometimes"....!

But, I kinda expected such after having a "Topper" that "ate brass", a Ruger #3 that someone butchered the barrel trying to make it an "Ackley IMP", and not marking it as such, and a Ruger M77/.22Hornet "carbine" that had a "hogged out" chamber from the factory and was absurdly inaccurate such that I gave up on it...

So, I'd only recommend the T/C Contender, CZ, or possibly the Browning. I've never even seen one of the Brownings in .22Hornet. I don't know if the trigger's are "workable". If so, they might be a real "gem". I had a T/C Contender with 7.5"bbl in the '70's and it was very accurate, but "limited" by the short barrel and scope.

I would dearly love to have a CZ American .22Hornet to go with my CZ-452 in .22lr. It's (CZ-452) 1-hole accurate with match grade ammo. "Hunting" grade ammo is sub-1/2" at 50yds.

 

[FROGO207]

I have a break open Savage combo (219??) 22 Hornet rifle/16 GA shotgun. If I do my part along with reloads assembled pretty much the way Vern Humphry described (I size the whole neck, around 13.8 grains LG), mine is good for 1" or better at 100 YDS. I also had a NEF Handi Rifle in Hornet that was a 1 3/4" shooter at best at 100 YDS but traded it for a heavy barreled one in 223 cause the trigger was so poor. A single shot is a good choice IMHO. On the other hand I have used a friends CZ 527 and it was a great shooter out of the box and now he has done stuff to make it better he claims but I have not had a chance to try it again.

 

[Panfisher]

My biggest hurdle with my Ruger was learning not to try to turn it into a .223. It has had 3 basic loads 9 grains of H110, 12 grains of Lil gun, and 9.5 I think oh IMR 4227 which was the most accurate of all, all of those are with 45 grain .224 HPs designed for the hornet. Every time I tried to boost the velocity the case necks would begin to split, so back to mild hornet like loads and all good again. My riflegs is one of those that seem to connect with the chosen target more often than it should leaving squirrels, crows, groundhogs, coyotes and other targets of opportunity in the dirt. Man I need more empty cases now.

 

[flintlocke]

After a poor start with an OLD Savage and then a Ruger I stumbled on a Browning A-Bolt Micro. A case full of Lil Gun with a 35 gr Hornady and I never looked back, although I have never heard of an unhappy CZ owner.

 

[Lj1941]

I haven't seen anyone mention the Savage Model 340. I had one for a short time and really didn't shoot it enough to form an opinion. I know that they were a bargain basement gun but there had to be a lot of them sold. I am just throwing this out there because I have had a couple of Savages that were very accurate.

 

[redneck2]

Which is weird. They can make decent rifles, how did they mess up the Hornet?

From the rather extensive number of posts I've researched, they evidentially aren't precise about the clearance on the rim. Go back and read post #12 which explains it

Some guys will shim the bolt, which (as I understand it) moves the bolt face forward which tightens the clearance

 

[Gordon]

The middle gun is a .22K Hornet that prints 1/2" at 100 yards bagged with careful loads. It has a Douglas target barrel from the 50s. The Martini above it is a .17 K Hornet made up in the early 80s and is even more accurate. Both are fairly quiet but the .17 is quieter . My Anschutz Exemplar pistol and the 1730 Sporter are both standard Hornet and that where the factory ammo is first fired. Both Anschutzes are about as accurate with good factory (RWS especially) ammo as the K is with it's favorite handloads.

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[redneck2]

I wonder if there's one brand of brass that is more accurate (consistent).

Just that picture above gets me torqued up to get my CZ scoped and get shooting

 

[Offfhand]

Probably the classiest Hornets ever made were those turned out by Griffin & Howe. Built on Springfield's M-22 Rimfire rifles, the G&H Hornets displayed the fine worksmanship and refined taste for which the firm was, and is, renown. Attached are a few photos a G&H Hornet in my collection, showing how the action has been adapted for the cartridge and customized in other stylish ways: such a altering bolt handle, installing M-70 style safety and restocking in classic style.

 

[PapaG]

I would like to have that Savae 23d I had back in 61 or so, even with the skinny little 6X scope. I remember it as more accurate than it probably was.
Reloaded with a Lyman tong tool. Steel drive in sized. H240 was $1.25/pound, Sisk Hornet bullets about $3/100. Primers, $.56/100. Of course I got a buck for mowing a small yard.

 

[Gordon]

Oh dear G-d that G&H is to die for!

 

[Zeke/PA]

Gordon,
I'm really envious of all those Single Shots !
Regards, Zeke

 

[alientrainwreck]

I can't wait for Watermakers big gun show, gonna have to put my walkin shoes on But I am gonna find me a nice 22 Hornet, I hope the sayin stands true.( good things come to those who wait)

 

[Cee Zee]

I thought I'd come back with some more info on the stalking rifle I mentioned earlier. There are many versions of this rifle. They were generally put together by small family operations but some companies grew into brands we would recognize today like Suhl. The Emil Kerner I got to shoot is an incredible rifle on par with the likes of Anschutz and Suhl. Some have even claimed that the Emil Kerner and sons operation became what we know as Suhl. Whatever the case this is a top shelf rifle. It would make a tremendous hunting rifle as it's very light and very accurate. And although it's possible to mount a scope it's mainly an iron sights rifle. There are other much more ornate versions of the stalking rifles and their close cousins the Shutzen rifles. This one is probably near the top of the lower range of these rifles. It has the accuracy without the fancy engraving and metal work meant for royalty. All I know for sure is that this is one heck of a shooter and even this one isn't exactly cheap. It's for sale for around $3500. He may be undervaluing the rifle at that price. Anyway here's a photo of the one I kept in my safe for a winter. I did get it out and shoot it and I thought about buying it myself. I was tempted to give him a lowball price when he asked me to find the value of the rifle but I couldn't do that. He nearly sold it for $300 at one point. Someone really wanted to burn him alive on that deal. It was a gun shop that tried that. Talk about lowball prices.

Double set triggers, octagon barrel, super nice walnut with a thin forestock (to cut down on weight and make off hand aiming easier) and a well designed cheek rest, a super light trigger, and metal designed to make a good grip - this is a well thought out design that was popular among many rifle makers in what was a cottage industry essentially. Great rifle companies grew out of those cottage industry locations though.