Hornet and .223 loading costs

[Fursty Ferret]

Just looking for some feedback on reloading costs (lets say per round for consistantcy)
on .17 hornet, .22 hornet and .223rem please gents.
Assuming i have all the loading gear already.
Which is the most cost effective to reload?
Considering replacing the rabbit rifle (currently a hmr). Dont want a .22rimmy
Already have a .223 so that seems the logical option but i shoot a lot of rabbits so we need to get as close to cost of hmr ammo as possible to make it cost effective.

 

[25 Sharps]

Just looking for some feedback on reloading costs (lets say per round for consistantcy)
on .17 hornet, .22 hornet and .223rem please gents.
Assuming i have all the loading gear already.
Which is the most cost effective to reload?
Considering replacing the rabbit rifle (currently a hmr). Dont want a .22rimmy
Already have a .223 so that seems the logical option but i shoot a lot of rabbits so we need to get as close to cost of hmr ammo as possible to make it cost effective.

I have a .223 which I load with Tac and 52 gr A-max for 38p per round.

My .22hornet loaded with Lil gun and 35grain v-max costs 32p per round or 28p per round laded with a Sierra soft point. This could be cheaper if I use h110 which would be 2 grains less of powder so you're down around HMR money easily.

My HMR will be up for sale very soon, now I have the hornet it just sits in the cabinet, definitely head shots only if you want to eat them though!

 

[Ray7756]

If you go with the Hornet you can cast your own bullets, oold pot gas burner ladle and a lot of care, get wheel weights from your local tyre fitter, cheap as chips

 

[Whitebeard]

Dont overlook 17 Fireball an excellent little round, IMO better then both the 17 and 22 hornet in all aspects.
My handloads work out at 34p around not taking into account the initial purchase of 100 factory rounds and 100 new cases.

Ian.

 

[Hornet 6]

Soft points in a .22 hornet with H110 is as cheap as it gets, easily beats HMR price per round, or did when I had both.

Neil.

 

[Muir]

If you use a 40 grain VM as a standard bullet for the .223 and 22 Hornet, and consider the price of primers and powder roughly equal, then the Hornet will give you twice as many loads per pound. With the 17 you have component issues so there is no real comparison. ~Muir

 

[Paul at Fechan]

i load 55gr sierra gamekings in .223 that works out about 30p a shot but the ammo is cwd and muntie legal in England and roe legal in Scotland while you can happily bash from rabbits through foxes without worrying about your wallet.

40gr can only ever be for the bunnies and fox but the 55gr's give a wider range of potential use

 

[nicholiath]

i reload .22 hornet for 30p a round.

 

[bewsher500]

Just rabbits?
if you are concerned about cost you'd be nuts not to consider the WMR

I have a .222 but I won't waste it on bunnies

 

[Fursty Ferret]

I rate the hmr above the wmr. Currently use the .223 on fox and munty but would consider using it more for rabbits if i can do it on a budget other wise i'll stick with the hmr as i shoot around 3k rabbits a year. Find myself using the 6.5 on everything bigger than rabbit nowadays though to be honest so find myself in a quandary over a "middle man" calibre. More deliberation required!

 

[bewsher500]

I rate the hmr above the wmr.

I used to .....until I had them both for a year or so

WMR is half price to feed, (only recently gone up as popularity spikes)
much more effective on fox
better bullet choice
ammo quality issues ...don't exist
you can get a semi-auto!
much better accuracy in less than perfect conditions

 

[Muir]

I rate the hmr above the wmr. Currently use the .223 on fox and munty but would consider using it more for rabbits if i can do it on a budget other wise i'll stick with the hmr as i shoot around 3k rabbits a year. Find myself using the 6.5 on everything bigger than rabbit nowadays though to be honest so find myself in a quandary over a "middle man" calibre. More deliberation required!

I have three custom 17HMR's and seven WMR's. I'll take a WMR any day.~Muir

 

[Fursty Ferret]

I have three custom 17HMR's and seven WMR's. I'll take a WMR any day.~Muir

Really? Why? Surely the hmr has the "legs" and accuracy over a wmr? Im talking small vermin shooting at 100yrds plus here. Sure i shoot a lot of rabbits at a lot less than 100yrds but would shoot a lot less overall if i didnt have that extra 50yrd+ buffer on top of the 100.
I have no experience with a wmr so only going from what i have heard/read (and happy to hear users opinions) but i was led to believe the wmr just aint as accurate as a hmr. Wrong??

 

[Fursty Ferret]

Oh, and 7 wmr's.......why? Darn you yanks lol

 

[Muir]

Oh, and 7 wmr's.......why? Darn you yanks lol

My HMR's are accurate with a decent LOT of ammo. No question about that. When the HMR was new and MarinePMI and I were testing barrels for one of the US makers, it was the finest rim fire ammo either of us had shot. Amazing stuff. Then it turned unreliable. Quality was hit and miss. I watched the Marine hit 9 prairiedogs under 100 yards with a custom Ruger 77/17 and seven or eight of them made it down their holes; some after multiple hits. My WMR's on the other hand, have been infallibly accurate. Ammunition quality control is remarkably consistent. The Federal and CCI 30 grain loads generate over 2300 fps and will hollow out a rabbit like a canoe with a body shot at 100 yards. Unlike the HMR, for which all weapons are made to shoot the same round, made at the same factory, the WMR's must accommodate a wide range of bullet makers,styles and weights -up to 50 grains. Because of this, the WMR owner must seek out the ammo that his or her rifle likes best- not unlike a centerfire. I have yet to see a WMR in good trim that won't shoot with a HMR if it is fed the ammo it likes. My CZ will. I have a Savage bolt action handgun that will shoot .7 at 100 yards.

Not understanding the fickleness of the rimfire, many shooters are quick to pronounce judgement on rimfires; rifles and ammunition. They will try an ammo in one weapon and pronounce the ammo junk. Or they will try a rifle with one ammo and pronounce the rifle junk. Either could be true, but most likely, neither are. It is simply an incompatibility of the two. Until recently, any store would carry 5 or 6 different kinds of 22WMR ammo for a shooter to try. (Now we are lucky to get it. Despite CCI/Hornady saying they are running at full capacity+) WHen I pick up a new rifle or handgun I try several kinds of ammo to see what it likes and I usually stumble across the favorite in short order. If you live in a locality where the store might carry ONE kind of 22WMR, you are a lucky man if that round gives the best possible accuracy from your rifle. I recently shot my Brno 611A autoloading 22WMR with CCI Maxi Mag HP. I'd never tried that ammo in that rifle before. It shot marvelously and I count myself lucky as that CCI is the only 22WMR ammo I've seen on the shelves in half a year.~Muir

Why seven rifles? They are simply rifles I like, in a chambering I like.~Muir

 

[bewsher500]

Surely the hmr has the "legs" and accuracy over a wmr?
Im talking small vermin shooting at 100yrds plus here. Sure i shoot a lot of rabbits at a lot less than 100yrds but would shoot a lot less overall if i didnt have that extra 50yrd+ buffer on top of the 100.

legs maybe, only if you are talking drop stats
I have both the HMR and WMR in Sako barrels
The HMR is nice but I have never been able to replicate the marketing accuracy with ANY ammo (rem, hornady, CCI 17 and 20gr)
At best I am talking around an inch at 100m, unfortunately that is on a calm day and solid rest, slightest breeze and that opens up by an inch

The WMR is hole on hole at 100m
doesn't float around in the wind being more than double the weight
It was my urban fox tool of choice for several years. Allowed me the choice of shot placement I never had with the .17's (I have the Mach2 also, m2/HMR chest shot foxes run like steam trains!)

zeroed at 100m you are flat to 120m
with practice and learning your ammo you are only talking a hold over of maybe a "minute of ear" on a rabbit at 150-160.
33gr ammo is faster than 40gr and subsequently flatter, but it drops faster past 150m

I rarely take the HMR out now

 

[25 Sharps]

Having owned CZ452s in HMR & WMR and shot them side by side I too would rate the WMR over HMR on all counts.

I rate the .22 hornet over the pair of them but it's a bit of a different animal, if you're happy to load the rounds cost wise it's on a par. Advantage with the WMR is you can go out and stock up on ammo without the faff of loading.

The other big plus if you shoot a lot of rabbits is you can have a semi auto WMR, you'll sacrifice a little accuracy but I know my RFD swears we gets sub inch at 100 with his 512, ugly gun mind!

 

[Fursty Ferret]

Perhaps i'll try one