What is the Lure of the .22 Hornet?

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Kestrel

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What are the benefits of the .22 Hornet?

How does it compare ballistically, with other .22s? (.22 LR, .22 mag, .223, etc.?)

How expensive is it, compared to other .22s?

Is the ammo easy to obtain?

What are some good rifles in .22 Hornet?

Thanks!
 
Hi Kestrel...

The 22 Horner is an old, old casrtridge (circa 1930) - and the first of the "souped up" centerfire 22 cartridges (like the 218 Bee and the 219 Wasp).
Of course its' primary differences from the rimfires are; it's close to 3000fps, the bullet is heavier (35 - 45gr), it's a necked cartridge case, and it is reloadable. A lot of it's appeal today is nostalgia because it is generally considered to be THE cartridge that ushered in the era of true (factory-produced) "Varmint Cartridges".
The rifle that first gave it a stage upon which to really strut its' stuff was the venerable Winnchester 54 - a very popular rifle from the 40s/50s. A little later, Sako brought out some beautiful "upscale" rifles chambered for it. Wasn't long though that it was eclipsed by the 220 Swift (probably the hands-down greatest 22 varmint cartridge of all times) tearing along at 4000fps.
One thing about the Sakos chambered for the Hornet - they had a bit of reputation for shooting two groups. By that I mean you might shoot 5 shots and have an overall group of 1" (or more) but it was common to see a couple of those shots touching each other and the other three touching each other but on the other side of the "group". Of course that doesn't matter much if the overall group size is 1" or so. But die-hard varmint shooters would get the fantods if half the group was 2" away from the other "half", especially since their Sakos cost such hefty prices.
The Hornet was also one of the rifle cartridges Savage used to chamber in their inexpensive model 24 rifle/shotgun combo guns, making it sort of a "poor man's varminter" in an age when a lot of Folks couldn't afford the rifles chambered for the Swift (and later the .222 Rem., 22/250 etc.).
The Hornet was, and still is, a pretty respectable little woodchuck rifle, its' primary drawbacks being susceptiblity to wind deflection which in turn limits its' range a little compared to the later 22 hotrock centerfires. It's still a fun little cartridge to use... Ya just can't brag to anyone about your "magnum". ;)
 
I don't have one, but it has great appeal. It is a comparatively low intensity cartridge; low muzzle blast, and prospects for very long barrel life. Ansheutz would be a top pick for this cartridge, but CZ would likely be my choice and budget.

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It was the natural progression of the 22's.

You had the 22 Long rifle,the 22 WRF(not to be confused with the 22 WMR) then the 22 Hornet.

The 22 Mag came around and it took some thunder away from the Hornet, but not too much...but now you can get Hi-Vel 22 Mag ammo that will come close to duplicating Hornet specs. CLOSE, mind you...not duplcate completely.

The 22 Hornet is excellent for a shooter that is sure his shots won't wander too far from say 150-175 yards maximum, in need of a low report, and if he reloads will be one of the most economical rifle rounds to load for...EVER.

If you reload, this will duplicate everything from 22 short all the way up to standard 22 Hornet loads. If you need extra performance, then find some of the Hornady factory 35 gr. V-max ammo...this stuff is pretty hot for a hornet.

Ammo prices are reasonable...you get them in boxes of 50, except for Hornady which comes in 25's. It is less expensive than premium 223 ammo for sure...

I have a 1954 Model 43 Winchester. Ruger makes a modern version in the M-77 line. NEF makes them in a handi-rifle...Contenders are also easy to come by in pistol, carbine and rifle lengths. I also want to say that CZ makes a rifle chambered for the Hornet.

I love mine and would never get rid of it. :) In fact its one of three rifles I own that I don't need hearing protection to shoot.

D
 
I had a Ruger 77/22 in Hornet for a couple of years and really enjoyed it. I managed to take Squirells, coons, skunks, and ground hogs with it. Very nice little gun. Plenty accurate, not too expensive to shoot, and relatively quiet. I bought it for using around the farm where I needed a gun a little quieter than my 220 Swift. The little Hornet fit the bill nicely. The particular specimen I had really like the Sellier & Bellot SP ammo. Good shooting
 
My best shootin' buddy is loooking to buy one, now.

He wants an accurate .22 centerfire, that he can reload for cheap and the Hornet fits the bill.
 
a long, long time ago, I read an article in Guns & Ammo in which they claimed that Robert Petersen (Petersen Publications Founder) had used the .22 Hornet on a wide variety of game with great success due to his ability to place the round precisely where he wanted it, every time. Believe it or not, I recall them saying that he had shot a polar bear. To be honest, I had a hard time believing it then, and I have a hard time believing it now, but there you have it. I think that I read that something like 10 years ago, so I will allow some fudging on the species due to memory, but in any event, I specificially remember thinking "What? That can't be right...."
 
I have an H&R 158 in .22 Hornet the only real down side is that I do not reload and it cost up wards of 50 cents every time I pull the trigger. Other than that I love the little bugger.

RH
 
Husker is totally right on! Although I shoot mostly K hornet in my varmint guns (a BSA small martini, a Krico Carbine, and an Anshutz Exemplar) and my Cristy converted 1908 Colt Bisely:D the m-6 scout rifles and the Uberti rolling block in my family also get shot with standard Hornet. I can get away with not bothering the neighbor on the far pasture on my 40. The .17 HMR works but the best is a .17 Ackley Hornet- the ultimate suburban ranch round!:)
 
In my CZ it is accurate, fairly quiet for populated areas, negligible recoil, miserly in powder use for reloading, and besides............it has a really cool name........HORNET:evil:
 
I grew up in northeast Pennsylvania. My neighbors were each about 500 yards away, but the groundhogs were everywhere. The longest shot possible was about 200 yards, most were 50-125 yards and the Hornet was perfect for that terrain and game.

It was plenty adequate on killing power if you could shoot, was relatively quiet, very economical and a really pleasure to carry. I had a Ruger and later inherited a Stevens 322A (I think that was it) that was UGLY, but shot just as well as the Ruger. They both shot into 1" at 100 off the bench and were certainly adequate for sitting position headshots out to 175 yds.

222 Remington was also very good at it, but the Hornet is really better suited to those parameters. I need to do some loading with the 35 gr. V-Max bullets and see what an "updated" Hornet will do. All of my experience was with either the Sierra 45 gr. SP or the Winchester 46 gr. HP. Both were very good, but loading and experimenting are fun.

I also like the fact that the Hornet looks like a downsized version of the Bofors 40mm shell. Stupid reason, but that just seals the deal.
 
proly the two bestmakers for 22 hornet are cz and ruger. though an m6 survival rifle is mighty tempting. the beauty of the hornet, is it is a 3000 fps round, it is normally a very accurate round, especially if you handload. Academy here in houston, and most gunshops here, allways have them, the rifles and the rounds. The 22 hornet is more expensive than the 223, but the benefits are; a super mild round, usually you can still look through the scope of your varmint rig, and see the impact. You can safely take most game out to 200 yds, and varmints out to 250. Low pressure and powder capacity make for excellent bbl life. Also not near as loud as a 223, so if you hunt pdog towns, they are a little thrown off as to how far away they can pop their heads back up, and yet they will still be in your range.

This is also the great benefit of the 17 hmr.
 
oh yeah, if you do reload, you can buy a supply of powder, and mild primers, and it seems like the supplies just seem to last forever, since they use about half the supplies of the 223.
 
I think I'm getting more interested.

Does anyone happen to have a picture, showing the .22 Hornet, lined up with .22LR, .22 WMR, .223, etc? Is there a site that may show this?

Also, how much more is .22 Hornet, than .223? How much more than .22 WMR?

Thanks again.
 
zi could be wrong ,bu tit seems to me that Academy sells 50 rounds of hornet for 15 to 20 dollars a box. im sure there are other sources out there who may have it cheaper. so it is more than 22mag It is high priced, because there are basically only 2 or 3 mfgrs of this , factory wise. The deal here is handloading. there is a ton of handloading primers, powders, and bullets for this round. from slow poking at about 2500 fps , up to vmaxes at about 3300 fps. And the components for this is about the cheapest out there, and it is the general consensus that loading the 22H is cheaper to do than any other round out there.
 
22 hornet

Many of the advantages have been pointed out, almost no recoil, mild muzzle report, less range for populated areas, the three I have are very accurate. What is amazing is so much out of a small case and powder charge (cheap reloading)all mine shoot the inexpensive remington 45 g HP well for plinking and small game. No question they have killed larger animals with percisioned placed shots. The newer designed more efficent bullets such as Vmax and Ballistic tip really add range , accuracy and killing power. The real deal is they are just plain fun to shoot for young and old alike. Some of the current manufactors are Anshult, Ruger, Browning, NEF H&R, CZ with Savage Stevens ,Winchester, Sako older models available. The CZ is a lot of rifle for $$ and and have only seen very favorable reviews.
Hope it helps
 
For some fun plinking, you can reload with a Magnum rifle primer, no powder and a .22 cal. pellet. The Mag primer has enough pop to send the pellet out about the same speed as a .22lr. It's pretty quiet and the pellets are a low richochet risk which it a great pest gun in housing developments.
 
This going to sound like a negative comment, but I don't mean it that way.

It's been my understanding that the .22 Hornet is the 'cartridge of choice' among poachers for killing deer. I guess it kind of makes sense when you realize they look for something with decent power and accurate shot placement, that doesn't make a lot of noise.
 
The Hornet is a neat little round but if you can also load the Hornady 35 grain vmax bullets down a bit in a .223 and get pretty much the same benefits.
 
3000fps

Is really hot rodding the Hornet. 2700fps with a 45gr bullet is a more normal max. The are fine little guns for <200yd pest shooting on a calm day, <150 if the wind is kicking up.

As for reloading, it is the way to go. The Hornet can be anything from .22lr up to its max for considerably less than any other standard rifle round, on a per shot basis. Brass is available (although not always common), and it uses standard .224 bullets. And about 10-12grs pf powder (or less). The only drawback is that the brass is very thin at the neck, and crushes easily. Make sure there is a good chamfer on the case mouth, and take it slow and easy until you get the hang of this little round. Expect to mash a few cases when you are learning. After you get the quirks figured out, it is smooth sailing.

Early .22 Hornet rifles used a .223 bullet, and these can still be found once in a while. If your rifle was made in the last 50 years or so, odds are it has the (now) standard .224 barrel. My Hornet is a Ruger No.3, which I am quite happy with. It is a classy combination.

Hornets generally perform best with bullets in the 40-45gr range. They can be accurate with heavier bullets, but since heavier bullets are intended for higher velocity cartridges, they generally don't give the "explosive" expansion at the slowder Hornet speeds. This is no reason not to use them, just don't expect a 55gr from a Hornet to behave like the same bullet from a .22-250.

Magnum primers are not a good idea in Hornet reloads. Standard small rifle works just fine.
 
What everyone else said, and it's just a neat, historical, and fun round. You can also get it in trim little rifles, like my Browning Low Wall:

standard.jpg
 
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