200 (two hundred) yard 22 hornet groups

[roedeerred]

I have been told on a few occasions that many old stalkers in Scotland had one for vermin and if they ran out of bigger ammo in the cull they used the hornet on hinds at close range becouse of its accuracy "tap them behind the ear laddie"

 

[Muir]

Well folks the verdict is not good!

I'll post a pic when I can of the 5 shots but even allowing for a nasty gusting wind to the right (didn't bother holding on left of aiming mark) I really feel a c10" drop from my keyhole 100Y LilGun/35g V-Max load makes consistent 200Y hits on foxes a job for either Harry Potter or Muir.

Not a total wasted afternoon however as I produced my best 5-shot group yet at 200Y with the K250 that went in a tad over 1/2".

Cheers

K

I need to get JAYB to help me post a short bit of video I shot last time JAYB graced the western prairies. It's my son in blistering July heat, shooting his Hornet in a steady gusting cross wind, at a prairiedog sitting atop a hole at a little over 160 yards. The wind is blowing so hard the prairiedog is leaning backwards. It's a pretty spectacular shot and illustrates what a good marksman can do when they've learned their gun and load.~Muir

 

[smullery]

I need to get JAYB to help me post a short bit of video I shot last time JAYB graced the western prairies. It's my son in blistering July heat, shooting his Hornet in a steady gusting cross wind, at a prairiedog sitting atop a hole at a little over 160 yards. The wind is blowing so hard the prairiedog is leaning backwards. It's a pretty spectacular shot and illustrates what a good marksman can do when they've learned their gun and load.~Muir

Muir,

Was in the Free State five years ago shooting Rock Rabbits aka Hyrax aka Prairedog on rock faces above a gorge.

Handed the rifle and, apart from the two triggers because of the set trigger, couldn't hit a thing....

Once the coach came in with the 21" high and 7 " right stuff got close enough to make them move. Never hit one

Never knew the range but it was NOT less than 200.

Stan

 

[Klenchblaize]

Further update and an apology:

The 10" drop turned out to be only 6" (exactly) when I took a ruler to the target and wind drift 5” so all jokes aside about blokes and their ability to gauge size honestly I maintain the Hornet cannot realistically be considered a 200 Yard varmint rifle albeit most certainly would be a fantastic round to develop one’s ability to read both wind and distance.

Interestingly, when setting up my gear at 200 yards I found the grass littered with spent 17HMR cases and only wished Id been around to see what groups and drop was experienced with a bullet weighing (15.5g) half that of the hornet in 20MPH wind!

K

 

[Effnjeff]

Further update and an apology:

The 10" drop turned out to be only 6" (exactly) when I took a ruler to the target and wind drift 5” so all jokes aside about blokes and their ability to gauge size honestly I maintain the Hornet cannot realistically be considered a 200 Yard varmint rifle albeit most certainly would be a fantastic round to develop one’s ability to read both wind and distance.

Interestingly, when setting up my gear at 200 yards I found the grass littered with spent 17HMR cases and only wished Id been around to see what groups and drop was experienced with a bullet weighing (15.5g) half that of the hornet in 20MPH wind!

K

The 200 yard drop of the HMR is the same 6" or so, but I'd imagine the performance in that wind would be significantly worse.
I quite like the HMR for it's convenience of factory ammo, but I think limited to a generous 150 yards and only in ideal conditions. By ideal, I mean no wind whatsoever. Longer shots have been accomplished, but they are far too inconsistent for my liking. I did once achieve a 200 yard 5 shot group of 1.15", back with my first CZ HMR, but I think that rather flukey. I'm often tempted by the Hornet, or the more glamorous K or 17 variants, but I already have a 223 for longer ranges and the HMR is good enough for my intentions. I don't really want to blow rabbits and to bits, so the HMR power is about right too.