.22 hornet users

danban

Well-Known Member
Hi i have noticed lots of people who use the .22 hornet of late.
I have seen how effective they can be on foxes out to 200 yards in the right hands and conditions.
What are people's real opinions on this calibre as I haven't been around these for over 15 years. Back then it wasn't very popular but I think it's very under estimated for what it is.
Regards Dan
 
Dan, the .22Hornet is a remarkable little round. It is cheap to run, especially if you load your own. The ballistics of factory ammunition is mediocre and barely outstrips the .22WMR. Home-loading can give 2,900fps with a 40 grain bullet and faster with lighter bullets.
I know a local gamekeeper who has owned the same BSA .22Hornet for about 30 years + and he is consistently capable of taking shots at 200 yards +, with factory ammunition.
We ordinary mortals find that the .22Hornet is a powerful and effective round for up to 150 yards, after which the trajectory becomes the main issue for accurate shooting. Practice seems to be the key.
It is what it is and is not in any way comparable to the .222Rem, which is in a different league. It is not capable of being made deer legal for Muntjac or CWD as it's muzzle energy is somewhere in the region of 800 ft.lbs.
I like my Hornet a lot.
 
Love my hornet, it shoots pretty much everything I load for inside an inch at 100 yards my favourite being 35 gr v-max doing 3050 fps. Mines a CZ527 AmericN and the calibre / rifle combo makes a great lightweight walking rifle for medium range vermin with plenty of legs to drop a fox if one appears. Also great for foxing in and around lambs as its a relatively quiet round.

My hornet is by far my most commonly used rifle!
 
The ballistics of factory ammunition is mediocre and barely outstrips the .22WMR.

Really ? Can you sell me some WMR ammo that sends 35 grain bullets away at well over 3000fps.


Not my experience at all, and funnily enough I was only saying yesterday I'd have no problem going back to factory ammo in my Hornet.
It's what I started with and it shot very well back then, and the half box I still have works just as well as ever.
As for bullet drop being the limiting factor, not really, after all everyone seems happy to use their .22lr out to at least 100 yards.
Well the same holdover for that will get the hornet from a 100 yard zero out to well past 200 yards.

Neil. :)
 
Really ? Can you sell me some WMR ammo that sends 35 grain bullets away at well over 3000fps.

Neil. :)

Wish that I could Neil, I would make a bob or two on the side.
The older more established 46 grain loads go across my chronograph at around 2,300 fps, give or take 100 fps. My 40 grain hp home-loads clock 2,900 fps and I think I could get a bit more if I filled the case with H.Li'l Gun.

I was zeroing my BSA .22 Hornet this morning and started off with Winchester 46 grain factory loads to get it on the paper. I then fired two four-shot groups to get it there or thereabouts. I then fired my 40 grain home-loads, which travel around 500 fps faster than the factory loads. I was expecting them to print higher than the factory loads. However they consistently printed about an inch lower and half an inch to the left.

All spot-on now, so crows etc. beware.
 
Surely Hornady factory 35grn ammo does around the 3100 mark which I wouldn't call mediocre. I've reloaded for the same bullet weght but still find in my Weihrauch it's a job to improve on the Factory ammo.
It's an excellent and rather addictive round though and I for one can't really say why, it's just nice to use!
 
Surely Hornady factory 35grn ammo does around the 3100 mark which I wouldn't call mediocre.
I thinks that's fair comment.

Until the arrival of the ammo you refer to, Hornet factory ammunition, available in the UK was relatively mild.

Several years ago I put several different brands of factory ammo across the chronograph and was quite surprised at their speeds. Invariably significantly lower than claimed by the manufacturers. I have never tried the 35 grain Hornady, so cannot comment upon real vs. claimed speeds.

The advent of lighter bullets and powders such as H. Li'll Gun, has brought the Hornet back into far greater popularity.

As I said at post #2, those who know how to use their Hornet, with standard factory ammo, can consistently produce quite remarkable shots.
I am certainly not 'knocking' the Hornet as it is a good round.

I have a floor-plate magazine on my BSA, which I find fussy to load. If I don't get the rim of each cartridge 'in front' of the next, I can get a 'stuff up'. It seems that the rim of the cartridge catches the next. Loading it in the dark is a bit of an art.
 
My CZ 527 .22 Hornet shot the 35 Vmax at 3070fpt with 13 grains of Lil-gun and it shot the 40 grain Vmax (best 22 Hornet bullet) at 3019ftps with 13.2 grains of Lil-gun.

It all so shot the 50 grain SPSX bullet pretty well I had it running at just under 3000 ftps with was around 997ftlb of energy.

Accuracy with the 35/40 Vmax was fantastic.
 
When I bought my CZ hornet, new, it was swapping for a shotgun, and included swapping all my shells for hornet ammo.
I ended up with 400 rounds of 35grain Remington Accutips, they shot extremely well, and to be honest I would be happy
to go back to using them, my home loads are only marginally faster and accuracy is to all intents the same.
I have tried plenty of 40 to 46 grain factory ammo, yes it is a bit slower, but the rifle shoots it all very well.

Neil. :)
 
the .22 hornet is a very nice rifle to shoot with next to no recoil and not overly noisey either ive got a cz 527 which i bought new last year and it has served me very well, its main use is as a foxing rifle for when im out lamping on foot and ive taken foxes out to around 175yrds with it but the rifle also gets used as a general vermin rifle and ive even taken cock pheasants with it with neck shots out over 150yrds for the pot. I have tryed factory ammo out of my rifle some old rws and privi but i couldnt get them to group at less that 2 1/2 inches at 100yrds but i always took the decicision to homload for the hornet as to be honest with the price of factory ammo i couldnt justify wasting it on crows ect. Is there better calibers out there tho, yes more than likley things like the .204 or .17rem are going to be faster flatter shooting rounds easily capbible of taking verim out much further than the .22 hornet and also be able to take foxes but i think most people who buy and use a hornet realise this look more at the hornet as a peice of romantic shooting history
 
My CZ 527 .22 Hornet shot the 40 grain Vmax (best 22 Hornet bullet) at 3019ftps with 13.2 grains of Lil-gun.

Accuracy with the 35/40 Vmax was fantastic.
That's a good recommendation.
I really must try these polymer tipped bullets in my Hornet. Anyone else using the 40grain Vmax and H.Li'l Gun in the .22Hornet ?
 
Just about put variation in after selling my 204.....some interesting points here making it hard for me to decide between 204, 20 tac or 22 hornet
 
I send 44grn cast bullets with gas checks and 8grn of H110 and they chrono at 2100 fps might try the hornaday vmax 35 grn as they claim 3100 fps with H110, but as I use it for plinking rabbits its plenty accurate out to 150 yds with the cast bullets and cheep as chips to keep it going
Ray
 
Anyone else using the 40grain Vmax and H.Li'l Gun in the .22Hornet ?

the trouble with the Vmax is that they are the conventional long slender bullet shape not like a short nosed hornet bullet which can give you issues with the length of the bullet when trying to fit them into the rifles magazine im sure this is not the case with every gun but i know its an issue with my cz
 
the trouble with the Vmax is that they are the conventional long slender bullet shape not like a short nosed hornet bullet which can give you issues with the length of the bullet when trying to fit them into the rifles magazine im sure this is not the case with every gun but i know its an issue with my cz

+1 on this,i tried 40grn v max in my hornet (brno 465 ) and had issues with feeding through the magazine,no probs with 40grn soft points for the reasons sir-lamp-a lot mentions.
 
+1 on this,i tried 40grn v max in my hornet (brno 465 ) and had issues with feeding through the magazine,no probs with 40grn soft points for the reasons sir-lamp-a lot mentions.


I just made alterations and modified the teh mag at the 40 Vmax cycled perfectly.
 
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