.22 hornet or .222 ?

Squirrelbasher

Well-Known Member
I'm looking for a small cf .22 for a vermin and fox rifle. I know the .222 would most likely be better for me as a fox rifle but might be a bit over the top for general vermin, long range corvids mainly. I don't reload so ammo cost is also a consideration. Your thoughts please?
 
Hi Squirrel Basher,

I shoot a 222 most of the time for roe and fox, i have a 243 but usually the 222 is the gun of choice. Its a great round and pretty flat shooting. I usually zero it at 150 and will shoot easily out to 250. would shoot further with practice if extra distance is needed. As for ammo i shoot sako gamehead and there £16 a box and you can also get prvi in 222 for about £10 a box.
 
I went through the same thought process, and went for a .222.

I love it.

I chose it in the end because I wanted something I could still use for roe - and it works perfectly.
 
Hi Squirrel Basher,

I shoot a 222 most of the time for roe and fox, i have a 243 but usually the 222 is the gun of choice. Its a great round and pretty flat shooting. I usually zero it at 150 and will shoot easily out to 250. would shoot further with practice if extra distance is needed. As for ammo i shoot sako gamehead and there £16 a box and you can also get prvi in 222 for about £10 a box.

Where do you get Sako gamehead for £16???
 
Got them at bushwear and they were either £16 or £17 cant actually remember but that was last year. I'm guessing by your reply they have went up slightly??lol I need to stock up as well i'm running low.
 
Got them at bushwear and they were either £16 or £17 cant actually remember but that was last year. I'm guessing by your reply they have went up slightly??lol I need to stock up as well i'm running low.

Ah - yes. From what I understand, Bushwear were selling them at an artificially low price to get people to start buying them ('loss leader' is the technical term, I think). They've gone up to about £22-25 now, depending where you get them. Still use them though - great rounds.

Actually, I'll qualify that statement: they're *usually* very good. But I had a very dodgy batch recently that patterned like a shot gun. Back to normal now.
 
IMO .22 Hornet is a great little round. The advantages over .222 are less powder, noise & recoil, but I personally would go for .222 (I now have two) as this will give you better range, less holdover and my perhaps more relevant is that some Hornets can be hard to get to shoot accurately, whereas I doubt you will have this problem with a .222.

You could always consider the .17 Hornet or better still the .17Rem - brilliant little calibre!
 
Hornet great round at its best when rolling your own.

For corvids definately .222 as you need every advantage you can get.

.222 superior in almost every way except maybe cost of reloading and noise.

Andy.
 
17 Remington may also fit the bill. I have recently been through the same thought process. When I checked the ACPO calibre guidance the hornet and 17 rem were considered suitable for vermin but the 222 was not. If you are mainly going to be shooting vermin then it may be worth checking with your firearms dept whether they will grant 222 for vermin or just for fox and above
 
I have both but if I had to choose one it's be the 222 hands down !

I would also rather have a 222 then the 223 !
 
got to be the 222,

me and the keeper where shooting my 20 tac and his 222 out to 400 yards last weekend on some long range bunny bashing and its a cracking round.

i got a slot on my ticket for a 222, as i had all my remaining rifles up for sale and had they all sold i would have saved to get a 222 to keep my ticket and do a bit of foxing from time to time.

cheap to reload

inherently accurate

and there are some beauties about at great prices.

regards

bob.
 
Got to thank you fellas for all the replies. I've been having a look in one of my local gun shops today. My friend has .222 for fox and vermin so I should get a slot for that use. I have some land passed for .220 swift and more land for .243 so shouldn't be a problem. I've also been told by a few people that .222 is a sweeter shooting round than .223. Still not totally decided but I think I'm swaying towards .222 and keep the hmr for corvids mainly. But then, if i got a hornet I'd probably sell my hmr because it would probably do both jobs, ha I'm going round in circles, lol...
 
I was in your position. I went for the .222. I plan to start home loading in the near future. When I do I shall consider replacing the HMR with a Hornet, because to get the best form it you really need to load your own. And if its possible by then to buy a decent .17 Hornet instead of that Savage thing that will be another possibility. The ideal compromise would be Winchester's super magnum, if they can get it to shoot and get it into production, and if the ammo is similar in price to HMR rounds, because I do like the convenience of disposable rimfire ammo for high volume rabbit shooting.
So if it was me I'd get the triple and see how you feel about the HMR after living with the pair of them for a year.
 
I'm looking for a small cf .22 for a vermin and fox rifle. I know the .222 would most likely be better for me as a fox rifle but might be a bit over the top for general vermin, long range corvids mainly. I don't reload so ammo cost is also a consideration. Your thoughts please?

i would go along with the 222 being a bit more versatile / roe deer legal etc. but through in a 4 1/2 lb falling block Daniel Fraser in 22 hornet - http://auctions.holtsauctioneers.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=A1072+++1202+&refno=+++66629&saletype= the whole argument swings to how can I sneak this in past Mrs Heym and can you get the hornet to be deer legal - there must be a modern high intensity powder that gets it there!
 
Got to thank you fellas for all the replies. I've been having a look in one of my local gun shops today. My friend has .222 for fox and vermin so I should get a slot for that use. I have some land passed for .220 swift and more land for .243 so shouldn't be a problem. I've also been told by a few people that .222 is a sweeter shooting round than .223. Still not totally decided but I think I'm swaying towards .222 and keep the hmr for corvids mainly. But then, if i got a hornet I'd probably sell my hmr because it would probably do both jobs, ha I'm going round in circles, lol...


.222 every time
It is idiot proof to reload for
cheap as chips to feed and up here is roe legal

I have HMR and WMR and don't take them out any more
It is not a high volume rabbit rifle but for vermin (crows, foxes etc) it is a perfect option

I take a couple of Vmax loads when stalking on the off chance that I see a long range crow!
 
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