The versatile Hornet.

neil the plumber

Well-Known Member
Out last night with my newish CZ Hornet (22 of course). Horrible weather and was toying with the idea of going home early. So glad I stayed.
First on the agenda was a couple of rats, body shots at about 20 meters. Then seven rabbits all head shots ranging from 30 meters out to about 120 meters and then to top the night off a squeak brought in a couple of foxes, body shots at about 80 meters.
Everything dropped on the spot, no runners.
What a great caliber. Easily the cheapest to load, very quiet and lethal to boot. I can,t recommend the caliber highly enough.
 
What a pair of clods.
Twenty-Two Hornet is just marginally better than a 22 magnum. It's underpowered, inaccurate, and largely useless. You guys should grow a pair and get a Man's rifle.
Jeez! ~Muir :)lol:)

(PS: Good shooting!)
 
What a pair of clods.
Twenty-Two Hornet is just marginally better than a 22 magnum. It's underpowered, inaccurate, and largely useless. You guys should grow a pair and get a Man's rifle.
Jeez! ~Muir :)lol:)

(PS: Good shooting!)

Glad you've seen the light Muir....;)
 
I also use now and again a 22 hornet to great use, cheap and easy to reload and very accurate also sits nicely in among my "man" rifles in my cabinets.
 
well done neil. i am in the processes of swapping my 17 hmr for a 22 hornet. and posts like yours make me feel it cant come soon enough. can i ask what heads are you using. did you feel nervous about shooting rats so close
 
I am using 40 Blitzking with great results. Cheaper than a max and just as good through my rifle. Small finger nail groups at 140 meters off sand bags. Have used the soft nosed 40 grain and these open up to about a postage stamp size at the same distance.
Soft back drop or a step angle of entree with no trouble of metal coming back my way, guts are another matter. Tend not to shoot under ten meters after that little episode.
Glad to hear about your purchase. You will not be disappointed. Hand on heart, I could sell my 5 22lrs, HMR, Mach2, 2 223's and my .308 and just keep my 243 and Hornet, but where's the fun in that.
 
And another question if you don't mind. I see sierra do hornet heads. In 40 gn. How do these differ from the normal soft points. And what diameter heads do you use. 223 or 224.
 
And another question if you don't mind. I see sierra do hornet heads. In 40 gn. How do these differ from the normal soft points. And what diameter heads do you use. 223 or 224.

If I can jump in...
Shoot .224" bullets. That tripe about .223 bullets for the Hornet has persisted since well before I was born and it just isn't relevant any more. I have a 218 Bee that was made with a barrel produced at the Springfield Armory in 1925. These barrels were all .223" nominal groove diameter but in actual measurement they were closer to .224" and that is the only diameter bullet I've ever shot in it. Unless your particular Hornet is 75 years old, don't even consider a .223" diameter bullet. It's an old Hornet goblin that needs to be put to rest.

What kind of Hornet are you talking about? If it's a CZ many of the 40's will not fit in the magazine.~Muir
 
Ive tried the 40gr sierra hp's if they're the ones you mean and found them pretty accurate and they would fit in the mag on my brno zkw465, 40gr vmax and bk's I can only get 2 in the mag as the plastic tip makes em a bit too long. All the bullets I've tried in mine where more than accurate enough for me.
 
muir im not sure on mag length yet. its either cz or a nice weihrauch i have seen.
 
I tend to use 35 grain V-Max's for everything these days, but when I did play with heavier bullets I preferred the
Hornady 45 grain hornet bullet. It has a BC of .2 and fits in standard unmodified CZ magazines, was also very accurate.
These day I just use the .223 if I need heavier bullets and/or more power, which in reality is rarely.

Neil. :)
 
+1 for the 35gr V-Max. I tried the 30gr Barnes Varmint Grenades which were awesome on rabbits (assuming you don't want to eat them afterwards :) ), They just went pop!! Unfortunately, they aren't as accurate in my CZ as the V-max. They still achieved sub-MOA, just not good enough compared to the .5 MOA the V-max will do.

My Hornet is for sale btw. :scared: Is that allowed???
 
I love my hornet Ive got a Brno with a twin set trigger.
I use at the moment 40 grain Sierra Varminter Hornet. I find they stop foxes and dont do too much damage on rabbits. The 35 graing vmax are very good but they tend to cause more damage.

I use .224 diamiter.
 
The 35 graing vmax are very good but they tend to cause more damage.

I use .224 diamiter.

More damage ?
They seem very consistent to me, shoot bunny in head or neck, head detaches, less to carry what more could you want.
Shoot a fox and they drop on the spot, only time I get an exit is with a cub, or a neck shot, so all the energy is dumped in the fox.

Neil. :)

PS: ever measured a 35 grain v-max ?
Everyone batch I have ever checked are .2235" as an average.
 
So dagden which one is it for sale. And now reading all of this are you having second thoughts.

Been out this evening with my. 22 lr cz and had two very pleasing rabbits one at 80 yards one at 90. Had a very brief moment of madness and thought why do i need a hornet. But dont worry i got over it pretty quickly
 
So dagden which one is it for sale. And now reading all of this are you having second thoughts.

Been out this evening with my. 22 lr cz and had two very pleasing rabbits one at 80 yards one at 90. Had a very brief moment of madness and thought why do i need a hornet. But dont worry i got over it pretty quickly

Its a CZ 452. I think its the Lux model. I would love to keep her but I cant justify (to the wife anyway) keeping as I'm looking to buy a deer legal calibre. I already have an air rifle, Ruger 10/22 and a 223. Also, I'm looking to buy a NiteSite spotter. I can't afford all of the unfortunately.
 
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